The Challenge of Maintaining a Global Fleet

06/05/2011
Shaping the Tools and Approaches to a Maintainable Force An Interview with Captain Mike Kelly 06/05/2011 - During a visit in San Diego in late March 2011 to the Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Second Line of Defense sat down Captain Mike Kelly to learn about the approach of…

Russian Arms Sellers Exude Optimism

06/05/2011
06/05/2011 by Richard Weitz Some of our most remarkable discussions during the May 25-27 session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Moscow were with senior military and civilian officials in Russia’s defense community. These occurred under “Chatham House Rules,” which allows us to use the information without attributing it…

Preserving Israeli Air Superiority

06/04/2011
[caption id="attachment_19828" align="alignleft" width="236" caption="An F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle from the U.S. Air Force Weapons School's 433rd Weapons Squadron pull into a vertical climb over the Nevada Test and Training Range July 16, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald)"][/caption] 06/04/2011 by Ed Timperlake To paraphrase a…

Renewed Fighting in Sudan

06/03/2011
06/03/2011: Second Line of Defense Backgrounder Sudan's northern-based government in Khartoum has forcefully seized control of the disputed Abyei region, risking renewed flare-up of the civil war just when the South Sudan is about to become an independent country on July 9. Northern President Omar al-Bashir had warned that his…

European Airpower At a Turning Point

06/03/2011
06/02/2011 By Robbin Laird When the UK government issued its amazingly “un-strategic” strategic defense review, the main casualties were air and naval power.  In probably the most rapid invalidation of a government strategy on record, the Libyan events underscored that everything the Cameron government wished to get rid of, it…

Russian Views on European Missile Defense

06/03/2011
06/03/2011 By Richard Weitz Many of our discussions in Russia last week focused on missile defense issues in preparation for the June 9 meeting of the NATO-Russian Council (NRC) at the level of defense ministers. NATO-Russian differences over ballistic missile defense (BMD) have persisted even after both parties, at the…