UK F-35B Flies to Eglin AFB to Start its Testing

07/23/2012
2012-07-23  ZM135, a British F-35B and the first international Lightning II, takes off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 9:03 a.m. CDT en route for Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. United Kingdom Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Jim Schofield piloted the short takeoff and vertical landing…

Iraqi Economic Challenges: Beyond Hydrocarbons

07/19/2012
2012-07-19  by Richard Weitz Iraq faces another danger in the country’s overwhelming economic dependence on oil: The constant threat of price instability. Price instability in international energy markets constantly threatens government revenue, deters private investment, and curtails government-funded projects. The implications of oil market fluctuations for the country’s budget were…

The Joint Strike Fighter and the Australian Defense Sector

07/17/2012
2012-07-18 By Kym Bergmann / Canberra This article has been provided by our new partner, Asia Pacific Defence Reporter and is published with their permission. The announcement that Australia would participate in the Joint Strike Fighter project was made almost exactly a decade ago on June 22, 2002.  In another…

The Parting: The Pentagon and Iraq

07/17/2012
2012-07-17  By Richard Weitz The U.S. military operated in since 2008 and until their departure in 2010 under a special Status of Forces Agreement The “Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of…

High Speed, High Value: The X 3 Visits America

07/16/2012
2012-07-16  By Robbin Laird The month long visit of the X3 – high-speed hybrid Eurocopter to America is half-way overview. It began at the Eurocopter facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas in June 2012. With the Lt Governor of Texas and other political dignitaries present, the senior leadership of Eurocopter introduced…

A Whole New Twist on “Buy America”

07/16/2012
2012-07-16 by Robbin Laird This past weekend in a fine piece in The New York Times, C.J. Chivers focused on  the airpower dimension in Afghan operations.  The title was tellingly: “Afghan Conflict Losing Air Power as U.S. pulls out.” In its way, this strike was a model of what air power can…

Britain Demonstrates the Flexibility Inherent in the F-35 Program

07/16/2012
2012-07-16 by Robbin Laird This week the UK government will officially accept its first F-35B. There are a total of 4 under contract, which includes the first operational aircraft to be received in LRIP 7. This is a re-affirmation of the importance of the F-35 and the B version for the…

The Australian Defense Industry Market: Forecast Through 2017

07/15/2012
2012-07-15  Our partner ICD has published a new report looking at the evolution of the Australian defense industry market through 2017. The report offers insights into the market opportunities and entry strategies adopted by foreign OEMs  (original equipment manufacturers) to gain a market share in the Australian defense industry. In…