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…
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…
By Richard Weitz 01/02/2011 - Although the concept of a rail gun is not a novel idea, and has been considered by militaries and science fiction writers for decades, only in the last few years has the technology developed sufficiently to allow fiction to become fact. This progress became evident…
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,…
Building an Unmanned Cargo Vehicle: The Case of the AirMule An Interview With Rafi Yoeli 12/22/2010 - In a recent visit to Urban Aeronautics, a small Israeli company with significant experience in unmanned vehicles, Rafi Yoeli, CEO of the company outlined their basic cargo UAV offerings, built around variants of…
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…
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:…
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…
