2014-07-14 By James Marconi, Military Sealift Command As RIMPAC heads into its underway phase off the coast of Hawaii, USNS Montford Point (MLP 1) tested its state-of-the-art sea basing capabilities 2,500 miles away in San Diego, as part of RIMPAC’s Southern California element. From July 8-10, Montford Point participated in…
2014-07-15 By Robbin Laird It was a pleasure when visiting the Second Marine Air Wing in June 2014, to be able to visit with the VMU-2 squadron and to get a perspective on how UAVs are part of the future of combat, and not learn that they are the future…
2014-07-09 By Robbin Laird When we wrote our book on Pacific strategy, a key element in considering how the key challenges facing the United States and its allies was how Japanese relationships with the US and the Pacific allies might evolve. The entire second section of our book deals with…
2014-07-09 By Robbin Laird One does not build military aircraft primarily to fly at airshows. It is fun to see such aircraft, visit static displays and talk with manufacturers and users alike. But the reality of military aircraft innovation is seen in the battlespace, and how operators, maintainers and leaders…
2014-07-14 According to a press release dated today from Airbus Defence and Space: Airbus Defence and Space has successfully completed the first paratrooping trials of the A400M new generation airlifter. Spanish Army troops took part in a series of jumps at drop zones in France and Spain. The 11-flight test…
2014-07-12 While the press focuses on the F-35B landing vertically (amazing press out there!), Lt. Col. "OD" Bachman and the squadron is moving from Eglin to MCAS Beaufort where the F-35B partners will train as well in the future. Italians, British and other nations who acquire the B will come…
2014-07-08 By Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird Iraq is clearly in play. The ISIS are bent on the destruction of Iraqi Christians, and the Kurds are coming to their aide. Indeed, the Kurds have demonstrated a level of tolerance in Iraq not evident by other ethnic groups within Iraq itself.…
2014-07-11 The Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector (UHAC) begins to rotate on the beach, July 9, at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows on Oahu, Hawaii during a Marine Corps Advanced Warfighting Experiment. The AWE is the culmination of a decade of progressive experimentation conducted by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL)…
