2015-03-15 The Cope North exercises tests allied capacity to cooperate in providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Pacfic. According to a recent piece published on the Japanese Ministry of Defense website, the role of Japan was highlighted in the exercise: The ASDF took part in the trilateral combat…
2015-03-05 By Robbin Laird Recently, the Centro Studi Internazionali based in Rome published a report by Marco di Liddo and Gabriele Iacovino on Libya and the fluid situation in the country. Obviously, the general situation involving ISIL in the region, Egyptian reactions and the general dynamics of the region feed…
2015-03-04 By Robbin Laird The F-35 program has been built around a very different manufacturing model for fighter jets, more modeled on what an Airbus would do than the more traditional station build approach. The F-35 is to be built on three final assembly lines (FALs)– Fort Worth, Cameri, and…
2015-03-12 Spain took over the rotating command of NATO’s air policing mission in January 2015. The Spanish Air Force is flying its Eurofighters in this role. According to an El Pais article published on February 19, 2015: Planes from Group 11 of the Spanish Air Force have been in control…
2015-03-11 With the return of direct defense considerations for the Balts and the Nordics, key states like Sweden are rethinking their approach to defense. In an interview in Copenhagen last year with Hans Tino Hansen, the founder and CEO of Risk Intelligence, the shift was the focus of attention: Question:…
2015-03-10 The Dutch Ministry of Defence recently highlighted the role of HNLMS John de Witt in the European counterpiracy mission. In a piece published on February 3, 2015 on the Dutch MoD website the role of the ship was highlighted: Since today, Admiral Jonas Haggren of the Royal Swedish Navy…
2015-03-09 By Stephen Blank One year after the Russian occupation of Crimea we are beginning to see the see some of the consequences of the militarization of Russian policy. It is not an aberration but part of a larger policy.[i] The most recent examples of an expanded policy into the Mediterranean…
2015-03-03 By Richard Weitz Recent weeks have seen China reenergize its campaign against the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. The reasons for Chinese concern is puzzling, since the U.S. and South Korean governments have not held any formal talks on such a…
