NATO Enlargement and Moscow

06/26/2013
by Richard Weitz Despite their differences over Yugoslavia, the shock of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which vividly reminded Russian and Western officials of their shared security interests, led to a revival and restructuring of the NATO-Russian relationship. At the May 2002 NATO summit in Rome, the allies issued a joint…

Pillars of the ROK-US Partnership

06/26/2013
2013-06-26 by Richard Weitz At the 28th Annual Conference of the Council on U.S.-Korean Security Studies combined with the International Council on Korean Studies in Seoul this week—which marks the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War—a senior U.S. administration official laid out the Obama administration’s assessment  of…

French Train Nigerian Pilots

06/25/2013
2013-06-25 French company DCI has trained six Niger Air Force helicopter pilots and will train more aircrew under an extended contract. The six pilots, together with six flight mechanics, graduated with their diplomas in March at a ceremony held in Niamey, Niger. “This innovative project, supported by the presidency of Niger,…

The F-35 Program and Defense Industrial Innovation: The Case of ITT Exelis

06/23/2013
2013-06-23 One of the missing aspects in discussing the F-35 program is its impact on innovation in the defense industry. A case in point is ITT Exelis which is opening a new facility, in part triggered by an F-35 contract. But the composites to be built at this facility has…

The USN Receives its First F-35C at Eglin AFB

06/22/2013
[slidepress gallery='the-f-35c-arrives-at-eglin-afb'] 2013-06-22  Today, the USN received its first F-35c for its training squadron at Eglin AFB. According to a press release issued by the 33rd Fighter Wing: The U.S. Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-101 is preparing to receive the Navy’s first F-35C Lightning II carrier variant aircraft from Lockheed…

Russia, NATO, and The Yugoslav Wars

06/22/2013
by Richard Weitz In March 1999 NATO bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. NATO claimed that the Yugoslav Security Forces were responsible for crimes against humanity and human rights abuse and cited these as their reasons for intervention. The bombing shocked Russia since it devalued Russia’s veto right as NATO…