A Spanish Approach to Maritime Security: The Role of Salvamento Marítimo

06/16/2011
06/16/2011: A very interesting presentation by one user of Airbus Military products at the Airbus Military Trade Media event was by Néstor Perales, Surveillance and Prediction Manager at Salvamento Marítimo. http://www.salvamentomaritimo.es/ The organization provided a different business model for the use of a fleet of planes and ships to deliver…

An Update on the A400M Program

06/16/2011
06/16/2011: Cédric Gautier, head of the A400M program, provided an update on the program at the Airbus Trade Media event in mid-May 2011. [slidepress gallery='an-update-on-the-a400m-program'] Photo Credit: Airbus Military Gautier started by providing an overview on the aircraft itself.  He argued that this is “a new modern aircraft with modern…

The Portuguese 502 Squadron “Elefantes”: Leveraging the C-295M

06/14/2011
06/14/2011: During the Airbus Trade Media event, the 502 Squadron Commander, Major Dina Azevedo, discussed the mission sets, which the Command performed, and how they used the C-295M in meeting mission needs. She has been based at Seville, Spain as part of the initial acceptance team and then became the…

Evolving Air Power Paradigms

06/13/2011
The Emergence of the Three Dimensional Warriors By Robbin Laird 06/16/2011 - As we look forward to the next decade of air power, the question of how best to understand the way forward is rooted in an understanding that past is not prologue.  The leveraging of new technologies in preparing…

An Update on the Evolution of the Tanker Boom

06/13/2011
Miguel-Angel Morrell Fuentes, Senior Vice President Engineering, provided an update of the evolution of the Airbus Military tanker technology during the Airbus Trade Media event in mid-May. 06/13/2011 - Although the company is working on elements for a next generation boom, the focus of the briefing was upon changes in…

Afghan Air Force Arms Helicopters

06/12/2011
06/12/2011 - Prior to a mission, Afghan and U.S. Airmen equip an AAF MI-17 helicopter with 57mm rockets for the first time, allowing the Afghans to provide for their own mission security without reliance on ISAF aircraft for assistance in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan   Credit: 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment…

NATO’s Tactical Nuclear Dilemmas

06/12/2011
By Richard Weitz 06/12/2011 - The role of nuclear weapons in NATO’s defense and deterrence policies is clearly declining. The alliance’s Strategic Concept adopted last November clearly states that NATO will retain nuclear weapons as long as they exist, and that NATO wants its nuclear deterrent to be credible and…