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…

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…

RFID Technology: From Cattle Herds to Military Use

01/03/2011
By Kirsten Ashbaugh [email protected] 01/02/2011 - In September 2010, Second Line of Defense attended IDGA’s Military Logistics Summit 2010 in Vienna, VA.  At the conference, Dr. Robb Clarke of Michigan State University discussed RFID and other Auto-ID technologies and their role with supply chain optimization. RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification,…

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']…