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…

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.…

The Few, the Proud: The American Defenders

07/10/2012
7/10/12: by Michael W. Wynne 21st Secretary of the USAF In his new Book, The Price of Civilization, Jeffrey Sachs decries the cost of defense; assuming that it is not his role to evaluate how America achieved its freedoms; simply accepting that the world will permit its continuation. http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576589090204327736.html?mg=reno-wsj Although…

More Operational-Coded F-35s than Test Aircraft for DOD

07/10/2012
July 10, 2012 With the delivery of four Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] F-35 Lightning II aircraft since June 29, an important milestone was achieved as the Department of Defense now possesses more operational-coded F-35s than test aircraft. A total of nine F-35s have been delivered for the year, giving the DOD a…

F-35 Flight Test Progress (July 2012)

07/10/2012
July 10, 2012 F-35 program accrued the highest number of test points in single month during June, an accomplishment indicative of the program’s ongoing maturation. Additionally, for the 18th consecutive month the F-35 test program remained ahead of plan. As of June 30, the F-35 Lightning II 5th Generation multirole…

Misleading Headlines and Progress: Does the One Hinder the Other?

07/09/2012
7/9/12: by Robbin Laird Building new platforms in the 21st century is challenging. caroThe challenge in part is that it has been so long since new air platforms have been built that an entire generation has grown up as the recipients of the work of the 50s and 60s and…