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…

Combat-Proven Tiger

12/21/2010
A Conversation with Dominique Maudet 12/21/2010 - The Tiger helicopter has been used by the French military in their Afghan engagement.  The operational role has been to work with two other helo types in providing crucial air capabilities for the French Army.  The impact of operations has highlighted the significance…

The Afghan Drug Challenge

12/19/2010
A Russian Perspective By Dr. Richard Weitz and Dmitri Titoff, October 21, 2010 12/21/2010 - Translation provided by Dr. Richard Weitz Q: What accounts for the fact that, since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the flow of narcotics from that country has increased significantly? Victor P. Ivanov:…

“It Takes Time”

12/19/2010
An Update on the Osprey From New River (VIII) [download PDF of full report] An Interview With Master Sgt. Jeremy Kirk 12/21/2010 - Master Sgt. Jeremy Kirk discussed his experience with maintaining the V-22. As an experience CH-46 maintainer he underscored that the Corps had decades of experience maintaining this…