2012-12-04 by Richard Weitz If Russian energy policy were to shift from Europe as a key market, the obvious focus would be China. But after many years of false hopes and frustrated deals, China and Russia have made only modest progress in establishing their long-anticipated energy partnership. But what are the…
2012-12-03 Airbus military has delivered the last of its tankers under contract to the RAAF. An update on the Aussie tanker was recently discussed by a senior RAAF officer. https://sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the-a330-tanker-from-down-under/ Commodore Gary Martin, commander Air Lift Group, noted “This aircraft can take six fighters from Australia to the mainland United…
2012-12-02 by Robbin Laird The ceremony to declare the USS Enterprise inactive was held yesterday. After a glorious career, and after shaping many innovations in Naval history, the USS Enterprise enters into history. [caption id="attachment_48170" align="alignnone" width="300"] USS Enterprise over the years. Graphic Credit: Huntington Ingalls [/caption] It is an…
2012-12-02 The first flight of the jointly developed European UAV was seen this week. [caption id="attachment_48186" align="alignnone" width="300"] First flight of jointly developed European UAV. Credit: Alenia[/caption] According to an Alenia press release from December 1, 2012: The nEUROn, the first European technology demonstrator for an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV),…
2012-12-02 By Richard Weitz Russian diplomats generally oppose using sanctions to punish countries whose governments misbehave. In the case of the DPRK, as with Iran, Russian policy makers argue that a non-coercive, incentive-based strategy offers the best means for persuading Pyongyang to denuclearize. Especially in the case of North Korea, Russian…
2012-11-30 by Robbin Laird Ed Timperlake has pioneered work on how to understand the entire approach to re-thinking what the new generation of combat air is really all about. To capture the difference between his generation of aircraft and the F-35, Timperlake has focused on what he calls the Z-axis and…
2012-11-30 Earlier Second Line of Defense had a wide-ranging discussion with Don Kinard of Lockheed Martin, one of the best production specialists in the aviation business today. In that conversation we focused on the approach to building wings for the F-35. https://www.sldinfo.com/the-f-35a-lands-at-eglin-what-does-that-say-about-the-current-state-of-production/ https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-f-35-manufacturing-the-case-of-wing-assembly/ In our most recent visit to the F-35…
2012-11-30 by Robbin Laird The 1982 Lebanese War was a significant event on many levels. But one of those levels was the testing of military equipment and operational approaches. The Israelis used new unmanned aerial vehicles, new weapons against tanks, and new approaches to air-ground operations to defeat its enemies in…
