The Why for the Norwegian F-35 Decision: The Arctic Dimension

06/15/2012
6/15/12: by Robbin Laird I personally have done quite a lot of work on Arctic security.  And in the course of working on the Arctic and dealing with Norwegians, Canadians and Danes, the F-35 and in the Norwegian case the Aegis systems came into play as well.  And in a…

A Congressional Staffer Perspective on the F-35: “Build Planes and Get Them into the Hands of the Warfighters”

06/15/2012
A key member of the panel at the Heritage Foundation event on the F-35 and allies was Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, 
Military Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK).  Lazarski is a former USAF officer with operational experience in several type model series of aircraft, and a very knowledgeable practitioner…

Japan to Purchase First 4 F-35As, June 2012

06/15/2012
Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister of Defense, Shu Watanabe, revealed at the House of Representatives Security Council that Japan and the U.S. would seal a contract to purchase first four F-35s before June 30. Both Governments have almost agreed on the unit price 10.2 billion JPY, 300 million JPY higher than the…

Shaping a 21st Century U.S. Military

06/13/2012
6/13/12: By Robbin Laird [caption id="attachment_40496" align="alignnone" width="300"] Both the right and the left believe in realities that no longer exist. We could not do the 1991 air war today; we cannot man the oceans or provide for global presence with a maritime force operational NOW and planned for the…

Sierra Nevada Sues the USAF: Super Tucano Showing Up in Afghanistan?

06/12/2012
6/12/12: By Ed Timperlake In the same week that Second Line of Defense’s own Murielle Delaporte returned from Afghanistan with the dead and wounded from a recent Taliban terrorist attack on the French forces, a lawsuit was filed against the Secretary of the US Air Force. https://www.sldinfo.com/with-the-french-forces-in-afghanistan-at-crucial-point-of-transition/ How are these…

Sustaining a Forward Presence: The Military Sealift Command

06/12/2012
by Robbin Laird In a series of articles for AOL Defense, I am going to look at several elements of re-shaping U.S. forces to enable an Asian pivot.  And intend to look at several neglected aspects of a sustainable power projection force for the 21st century. The U.S. can afford…

The Coming Chinese-Pakistani Threat to India

06/12/2012
6/12/12: By Robbin Laird In a recent issue of Force magazine, an Indian colleague provided an insightful analysis of a key axis point where the combined Chinese-Pakistani threat could combine to pose a significant strategic challenge to India. In their article: Can Siachen Spring the Next Surprise? Pravin Sawhney and…