Military Intervention in Syria? A French Perspective

07/14/2012
2012-07-14 By Lt. General (Retired) Gaviard Last June, in the backdrop of the growing number of casualties in Syria, the French President did not rule out the possibility of a military intervention. As a recent poll showed, the majority of the French public is in favor of an armed solution to…

Central Asian Terrorists in Operation

07/14/2012
2012-07-14 by Richard Weitz Bombing in Northern Afghanistan Confirms The IMU’s Return The suicide bomber who today killed a prominent Afghan MP, a former warlord, and some two dozen other people at his daughter's wedding party in northern Afghanistan probably belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a key…

100th F-35 Lightning II Sortie

07/14/2012
07/26/2012: 100th F-35 Lightning II Sortie 7/12/2012 Marine Lt. Col. David Berke, commanding officer for the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, taxis in from completing the 100th F-35 Lightning II sortie at the 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla. July 11. The 33rd FW’s 100 flights completed include 74…

An “Act of War”? The Law of Naval Mining

07/12/2012
2012-07-12 by  Scott C. Truver, Director, TeamBlue, Gryphon Technologies LC [email protected] As tensions between the United States and Iran increased in early 2012, with threats from Teheran to close the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz––exacerbating concerns in jittery world petroleum markets––countered by increasingly draconian U.S. and UN sanctions, a U.S. Navy…

F-35 Pilots Comment on Flying the Aircraft

07/12/2012
At the Farnbourgh Air Show three pilots of the F-35 discussed the plane.  We will post their discussions when the video is available.  This post from Defense Technology provides an initial read of what they said. Lockheed’s chief test pilot, Alan Norman, said he was amazed how “easy” it was…

F-35 Fighter Attracts Foreign Interest

07/12/2012
By Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters 7/11/12 (Excerpts) More than 25 countries have expressed interest in Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, including Singapore, which is still evaluating its options, and South Korea, which is due to pick a winner in its fighter competition by year's end, top Lockheed officials said…

An Interview with the First “Regular” Pilot of the F-35

07/12/2012
In an interview at Eglin AFB, Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, the first non-test pilot to start his transition to the F-35 discusses the experience.  Kloos has 2000 hours of flight experience on the F-16 and is a USAF Weapons School graduate. Kloos started his F-35 training at Eglin last October. …

Turkey, Syria and the Future of NATO

07/11/2012
2012-07-11  By Richard Weitz The preoccupation with the current Turkey-Syria crisis needs to be placed in context of the evolving global situation. With much of Europe paralyzed due to the Euro crisis, and with U.S. attention drifting eastward, Turkey has the opportunity to emerge as one of NATO’s new leaders.…