First Brexit: Now the Exeter “Bombing”

03/05/2021
By Kenneth Maxwell Exeter was among the beautiful English cites chosen for attack on Hitler’s orders in retaliation for the RAF bombing of the mediaeval city of Lubeck in March 1942. The German aim was to target small English historic cities and damage historical buildings and cultural sites in revenge…

An Update on the Future Combat Air System: March 2021

03/05/2021
By Pierre Tran Paris - Thales will have a major role in the upcoming phase 1B in development of a technology demonstrator for the European future combat air system, including work on sensors and the combat cloud network, executive chairman Patrice Caine said March 4. “We are one of the…

Climate Change Versus Defense: The Swedish Case

03/04/2021
Although the militaries of the industrial West certainly are interested in and in some cases actively pursuing new forms of energy sources to operate their forces, clearly defense needs to operate with fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. But a EURACTIV story highlights a warning from the Swedish military that…

France and the Sale of Rafale to Egypt: Sans Meteor

03/03/2021
By Pierre Tran Paris - France withheld the sale of the Meteor long-range, air-to-air missile to Egypt in response to a request from Israel, an arms specialist said. That French decision to forego an order for the Meteor missile differed from an initial withholding of the Scalp cruise missile to…

First Flight of Australia’s First Locally Constructed Defence Aircraft in over 50 years

03/02/2021
The Boeing/RAAF Loyal Wingman has had its maiden flight. This marks the first flight of an Australian locally constructed defence aircraft in more than 50 years. “The Loyal Wingman’s first flight is a major step in this long-term, significant project for the Air Force and Boeing Australia, and we’re thrilled…

Leveraging an African Opportunity for the Counter-Terrorism Fight

03/01/2021
By Murielle Delaporte Sahel is among the worst nightmares for any counter-terrorist expert and planner. It feels like the old saying of getting rid of an enemy through the door before it comes back – regenerated or under a different form – via the window. In some ways the level…

Looking Back and Looking Forward with Regard to Airpower: Don’t Ignore Organizational Culture in Sorting Through Mastering the Targeting Enterprise

02/28/2021
By Robbin Laird In his book, Selling Schweinfurt, Col. Brian D. Vlaun discusses how combat leaders, supported by their structures that provide cross-cutting assessments of target effectiveness, sorted through the challenge of how to use the World War II European-based bomber force. The core effort was pretty straightforward — attrite…

Colonel Perrin Provides an Update on the CH-53K: February 2021

02/27/2021
By Robbin Laird A year ago, I visited Pax River and had a chance to discuss the progress of the CH-53K with  Colonel Jack Perrin Program Manager, PMA-261 H53 Heavy Lift Helicopters, US Naval Air Systems Command at Pax River Naval Air Station. And this week, he provided an update…