2013-04-16 Second Line of Defense had a chance to continue our discussions with Rear Admiral Buzby, Military Sealift Command Commander, in early April 2013. Day in and day on the oceans of the world, operating in the support of the Navy fleet in all weather, climate and sea states it…
2013-04-15 Robbin Laird My family and I will be participating in an event honoring the B-17 crews this summer in France. In preparing for the event and my presentation on the B-17, I have had the chance to read through many books, and diaries of participants or analysts of the…
04/14/2013: First UK Royal Navy student-pilot flies F-35 [slidepress gallery='first-uk-royal-navy-student-pilot-flies-f-35'] Credit:33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs By: Maj. Karen Roganov 4/10/2013 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. The first United Kingdom Royal Navy student aviator at the 33rd Fighter Wing, training to be an F-35B Lightning II instructor pilot, completed his first sortie…
2013-04-14 by Robbin Laird With 2014 coming, NATO faces a transition in Afghanistan. With this transition, comes the need to attend as best as possible to Afghan security and to ensure that the conditions which led to the U.S. and then NATO intervention simply return. A decade of war, which…
2013-04-14 The North Korean crisis reminds us that the role of Chinese arms exports and technology transfer are already globally significant. The involvement of China in the proliferation of nuclear technology to Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran is a key element in supporting triangular trade among the emergent nuclear club. As…
2013-04-14 The Chinese military or the PLA is often looked at as the odd man out of Chinese decision-making. But a recent Japanese study of Chinese decision-making suggests that the PLA is a key player in shaping evolving Chinese thinking and approaches to global reach. In effect, the PLA is a…
2013-04-13 By Richard McCormack The federal government’s R&D accounts are taking a big hit, as both the House and Senate have passed a budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year that includes “sequestration.” Total federal spending on both defense and non-defense R&D will decline to $130.9 billion in…
2013-04-12 by Robbin Laird As NATO shapes the transition strategy in Afghanistan, the airpower dimension is a central one. The geography and threat environment requires an ability to move forces throughout the country to deal with disparate threats. And it is crucial as well to impede the concentration of force…
