USS Freedom in the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal

01/03/2011
01/02/2011 - Sailors assigned to the littoral combat ship USS Freedom watch from the flight deck as a set of gates closes within the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal. Freedom was conducting counter-illicit trafficking operations and theater security cooperation in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility. [slidepress gallery='uss-freedom-in-the-gatun-locks-of-the-panama-canal']…

Marine Corps Operations in Afghanistan

01/03/2011
01/02/2011 - In this slide show, a USMC operation to ferret out adversaries and to protect the local population is pictured. [slidepress gallery='marine-corps-operations-in-afghanistan'] Credit: Regimental Combat Team-2, 1st Marine Division Public Affairs 8/10/10 In the first photo,  Lance Cpl. Addison Brinks, an infantryman with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine…

Crafting Energy Security in the 21st Century: A German View of the Challenge

01/03/2011
By Caroline Mükusch 01/02/2011 - Securing the availability of energy resources – namely oil and gas – in accordance with environmental sustainability is a key challenge of the 21st century. (See treatment of the issue by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs) Also, history shows that conflicts over resources are…

Why UAVs Have Become the Anti-Terror Weapon of Choice in the Afghan-Pak Border

01/03/2011
[caption id="attachment_12897" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dr. Richard Weitz (Credit: The Hudson Institute)"][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/02/2011 - In recent years, the main form of U.S. military operation in Pakistan, Yemen, and other terrorist havens has been the missiles launched from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These remotely piloted armed drones are…

Threats to UAVs: Putting the Toolset in Perspective

01/03/2011
[caption id="attachment_14105" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="UAV Crash (Credit: http://deepbluehorizon.blogspot.com/2009/04/no-one-dies-in-unmanned-uav-crash.html)"][/caption] 01/02/2011 - UAVs are key tools in the toolbox to support ground forces and to augment and or supplement manned aircraft.  Whether they are able to operate in the contested airspaces of post-Afghan military environments or even the threats posed by a…

The Longer Term Effects of the Ian King Letter

01/03/2011
No-One Likes A Harsh Awakening Defence Analysis Vol 13 No 12 (December 2010) 01/02/2011 - The Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee expressed outrage at having “a gun held to the head” by BAES over the naval shipbuilding/support Terms of Business Agreement (ToBA) which includes the contract…

The Chinese Challenge

01/03/2011
01/04 /2011 - In a sidebar conversation to the presentation of Lt. General Deptula’s briefing on the PLA Air Force, Second Line of Defense’s Robbin Laird discussed with Lt. General Deptula ways to think about the evolving Chinese challenge. China’s Yilong UAV Credit: www.china-defense-mashup.com   R. Laird: Why don’t we…