Will the Indian Fighter Decision Downselect be Implemented Prior to the 2014 Elections?

05/30/2012
By Robbin Laird During the Airbus Trade Media 2012 event in Toulouse, I had a chance to sit down with Pravin Sawhney, Editor of the Indian defense magazine, Force, and to get caught up on the state of play in the Indian fighter selection process. http://www.forceindia.net/ Last year, Sawhney provided…

Why did India choose the Rafale?

05/29/2012
5/29/12: By Robbin Laird During the Airbus Military Trade Media event, I had a chance to talk with Vikramjit S. Chopra, Managing Editor of Vayu Aerospace and Defense Review about the Indian fighter competition. http://www.vayuaerospace.in/ http://www.vayuaerospace.in/images1/IAF_Strike_Mirage_2000s.pdf I asked my colleague: why did India pick the Rafale over the other Europeans…

Getting on With It: Building, Deploying and Learning with 21st Century Aircraft

05/28/2012
5/28/12: by Robbin Laird During my recent visits in Spain and France as part of the Trade Media event held by Airbus Military, I had a chance to reflect on two key elements shaping the future of military aviation. The first is that no platform fights alone. Whether it is…

The Department of Homeland Cyber Security: Does it Work?

05/27/2012
May 27, 2012: by Richard Weitz When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established in March 2003, enhancing U.S. cybersecurity was designated as one of the new department’s primary goals. In signing the legislation creating DHS, President George W. Bush said, “The Department will gather and focus all-out efforts…

The Impact of the F-35B: Strategic Deterrence with Tactical Flexibility

05/27/2012
5/27/12: by Ed Timperlake Every fighter pilot has had or will have a moment in the air when the biggest indicator in the cockpit is showing how much fuel is left: the fuel indicator immediately can dominate the pilots attention and really focus thinking on where to immediately land. Fuel…