The Danish firm Risk Intelligence provides regular assessments and consulting services to support governments and maritime firms in providing for enhanced maritime security. In their regular subscription publication Strategic Insights, the firm provides assessments of maritime security challenges and approaches to dealing with those challenges. The CEO of the firm,…
Ninety years ago, British strategist and inventor Major General J.F.C. Fuller understood that “Tools, or weapons, if only the right ones can be discovered, form 99 percent of victory…. Strategy, command, leadership, courage, discipline, supply, organization and all the moral and physical paraphernalia of war are nothing to a high…
With a significant shortfall in spending for new power projection platforms, the U.S. faces a core challenge of how to most effectively build forces for the years ahead. At the heart of this opportunity will be to shape joint con-ops for the US Air Force and Navy and to ensure…
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles were rapidly acquired based upon an undeniable urgent operational requirement. In short, the rapid fielding of MRAPs was an absolute necessity. The use of improvised explosive devices in Iraq and beyond had become a clear threat after several years in the Iraqi theater. And,…
Robert Dudney, Editor in Chief of Air Force Magazine, comments on the “Real B-2 Acquisition Mistakes” and the lessons one should apply when thinking about the acquisition of the next-generation bomber. *** In the B-2 program, one can find lots of mistakes not to repeat, but they aren’t as Robert Gates…
I have had a broad experience base in Acquisition: from working as a junior engineer on a few Programs to Deputy PEO for Naval TACAIR Aviation, on to a series of positions in the departments of the navy and the air force in the Acquisition, Strategy/programming and Requirements/Policy sectors. A…
The State Of U.S. Research: Fund Only Old Ideas It has gotten more difficult for university researchers to conduct high-risk research in the United States. Few programs exist for research into "transformational" science and technology, according to witnesses at a recent hearing on the subject held by the House Science…
In his recent monthly Teal newsletter, Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group provided an insightful overview on the state of play of Italian aerospace and defense. The global business is in a serious period of re-structuring and redesign. The Russians, the Brazilians, the Chinese and the Japanese all have aspirations,…
