2013-03-08 By Richard Weitz In the past decade, Sino-African relations have increased in importance. Recent trends point to Chinese involvement in three areas of interest: economic policy, diplomacy, and military cooperation. Beijing’s policies with reference to sub-Saharan Africa reflect clear goals: 1) expanding export markets (to Africa’s growing middle class) 2) …
2013-03-07 According to an Airbus Military press release of March 6, 2013: [caption id="attachment_51288" align="alignnone" width="300"] The first French A400M will be delivered soon. Credit: Airbus Military[/caption] The first production Airbus Military A400M new generation airlifter has made its maiden flight, marking a key milestone towards its delivery to the…
2013-03-07 By Richard A. McCormack,
[email protected] http://www.manufacturingnews.com Structural changes in U.S. industry over the past 30 years caused primarily by the financial sector's insatiable quest for profits have left "gaping holes" in the American system of scaling up new technologies to large-scale production, according to preliminary findings from a study…
2013-03-07 During the week prior to the christening of the new Mobile Landing Platform in San Diego, Second Line of Defense sat down with Rear Admiral Mark Buzby to discuss the role of the ship and the evolution of the seabase. We have focused on several dynamic tools being added…
2013-03-07 by Richard Weitz In the past decade, the PLA has increasingly participated in multilateral peacekeeping operations in Africa. Since 2000—when China deployed fewer than 100 peacekeepers—there has been nearly a twenty-fold increase in troops-on-the-ground. In recent years, China has provided more troops, police, and observer teams to UN peacekeeping…
2013-03-04 By Murielle Delaporte Editor, French magazine “Soutien Logistique Défense”( http://www.sldmag.com) and co-founder, Second Line of Defense. *** This article is based on an interview with the French forces in Mali and lessons learned from recent French operations and military training. The entire French approach is embedded in both history and…
2013-02-27 On February 27, 2013, Second Line of Defense interviewed the head of the Military Sealift Command, Admiral Buzby, in his office in the Navy yard. The ship is to be christened this coming Saturday on March 2. The full interview will be available soon. But here we are presenting…
2013-02-27 By Dave Deptula Recently there have been multiple commentaries questioning the efficacy, legality, and appropriateness of using remotely piloted aircraft (RPA)—also referred to inaccurately as “drones.” Many of those who embrace constraining America’s RPA operations have formed their positions as a result of two fundamental areas of misunderstanding. One…
