2012-10-23 by Richard Weitz One way Uzbekistan is responding to the new Central Asian environment is by moving closer to Kazakhstan. The two countries are the two most influential of the “stans,” having the largest land mass and population in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is also Kazakhstan’s major trading partner within Central…
2012-10-23 by Robbin Laird The United States became a Pacific power by means of gaining Spanish territory after the Spanish-American war, and events in Hawaii that eventually led to Hawaii becoming a U.S. territory. The late 19th century saw the emergence of the U.S. as a Pacific power, so the pivot…
2012-10-22 By Robbin Laird The F-35 is a fifth generation aircraft, which has been characterized by one of its most notable pilots as a “situational awareness machine.” I referred to in a Defense News op ed in 2005 as a “flying combat system.” But too often in a platform centric acquisition…
10/08/12 Excerpt from The Manfucturer The best engineering solutions for specific parts of the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft have inadvertently created a very British supply chain. Will Stirling reports. When plans for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) were first drawn up about 20-years ago, the prime contractor Lockheed Martin…
2012-10-22 Second Line of Defense visited the Seville final assembly line (FAL) in late September for an update on the delivery schedule and process. And our guide to the effort was the senior Airbus Military engineer Jesús Portillo, in charge of the A400M Program Management Office. As with engineers, the approach…
2012-10-22 by Richard Weitz The government of China will play a key role, either positively or negatively, in whether the next U.S. administration will achieve its foreign and domestic objectives. The Obama administration’s increased focus on China and the Asia-Pacific region enjoys widespread bipartisan support in Washington and even a…
2012-10-19 By Robbin Laird I am attending the christening event for the new America class ship which will be held October 20, 2012. And have had the opportunity to discuss the ship with several key players in developing and defining the new ship. Discussions have been held with the prospective…
2012-10-21 by Robbin Laird Norm Dicks known in Washington state and national politics as Mr. Boeing spared nothing in attacking Northrop Grumman or EADS in derailing the preferred position of the USAF. Even though Boeing hardly had a stable of veterans in building tankers, Dicks frequently asserted the historic experience…
