Shaping Adaptive Innovation for the Warfighter

01/19/2011
The Air Armament Center Functions as the Linchpin An Interview with Randy Brown, Norma Taylor, and Wally Messmore 01/19/2011 - The Air Armament Center at Eglin AFB designs weapons for the U.S. and allied warfighters.  We earlier described a key effort to modify the Small Diameter Bomb to provide a…

The Second World

01/19/2011
Empires and Influence in the New Global Order By Parag Khanna Review by Robbin Laird 01/19/2011 - The author provides an overview on what he sees as the new global order for the 21st century.  The book was completed prior to the global financial crisis, which clearly affects some of…

Lessons of Tunisia “Leaderless” Revolution

01/19/2011
By Dr. Harald Malmgren 01/19/2011 - The collapse of the 23+ year reign of Tunisia’s autocratic leadership was the result of a revolt in the streets without apparent political leadership. 21st Century technology enabled discontented citizens to interact and organize, in a kind of spontaneous combustion across the entire country.…

Balancing China Through Vietnam

01/13/2011
By Richard Weitz 01/13/2011 - The public display of China’s new J-20 stealth fighter, the expected appearance soon of China’s first aircraft carrier, and Secretary Gates’ troubled visit to the PRC reaffirm the importance for the United States of having good security relations with China’s neighbors. Defense ties with the…

Pakistan and the Afghan End Game

01/04/2011
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 12/22/2011 - Following the November 26 incident, the Pakistani government convened an emergency session of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC), Pakistan’s highest forum for defense policy consultation and coordination. The DCC decided to retaliate for the attack by…

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…

Predator Landing in Afghanistan

01/03/2011
01/02/2011 - An MQ-9 Reaper makes its final approach to the runway at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, following a mission, Dec. 16. The MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial system with primary missions of close-air support, air interdictions, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Reaper is assigned to the 451st Air…