2012-09-23 by Richard Weitz Japan’s “Three Principles on Arms Exports” have also constrained the development of its domestic defense industry. The Japanese government adopted these comprehensive restrictions on the export of military equipment in 1967 to affirm the country’s renunciation of militarism. At the time, they prohibited Japanese companies from…
2012-09-23 In a continuing dialogue with Lt. Col. Boniface, VMM 266 Commanding Officer, we talked about the future. Where was the Osprey going in terms of Marine Corps operations and what challenges needed to be met to get best value operationally from what this transformational aircraft brings to the fight.…
2012-09-22 by Richard Weitz At the 2012 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference, organized by the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS),Nikolai Spassky, Deputy Director-General of the State Corporation on Atomic Energy ‘Rosatom’, enlightened us attendees as to the civil nuclear energy plans of the Russian Federation. Although Spassy was perhaps too…
2012-09-23 We have written about the challenges facing the nation's 911 force. We have argued that the USCG is facing a downslope in its capabilities due to the inability of the procurement system, the Congress and the Administration to buy replacement assets. As an AOL Defense piece put it: "Shaping…
2012-09-20 By Richard Weitz Japan’s defense procurement policy maintains a desire for autonomy, corporate nurturing, and technology diffusion. Although it is somewhat more open to arms exports and collaborating with foreign companies than in the past, defense procurement still suffers from two grave defects. First, the high degree of protectionism…
2012-09-19 by Robbin Laird Instead of flying into buildings, Muslim extremists are killing American representatives abroad. In a vote of thanks for ending the Gaddafi repression, the American ambassador to Libya has been humiliated and killed. In an act reminiscent of the Nazis burning down the Reichstag and blaming various…
2012-09-18 by George Talbot For Mobile, Ala., the announcement on July 2, 2012 that the city would be the site of a $600 million, 1,000-worker assembly plant for Airbus aircraft seemed to prove the point that persistence pays off. The city in 2011 lost its bid to become the assembly…
2012-09-17 By Richard Weitz The Japanese government continues to allocate approximately one percent of the country’s GDP to the military, a fairly low level compared to most countries. But the enormous size of Japan’s economy means that even this formula generates one of the largest defense budgets in the world.…
