Working the Left Side of the Kill Chain: MISR Comes to the Navy

10/29/2020
By Robbin Laird Frankly, until I went to San Diego this February, I had never heard of Maritime ISR officers. And looking at the web, it is apparent that I am not alone. But now NAWDC is training MISR officers and they have their own warfighting patch as well. The…

Publication Announcement: The Return of Direct Defense in Europe: Meeting the 21st Century Authoritarian Challenge

10/28/2020
We have just published our latest book which is entitled, The Return of Direct Defense in Europe: Meeting the 21st Century Authoritarian Challenge. The book focuses on how the liberal democracies are addressing the challenges of the 21st century authoritarian powers, in terms of the evolving approaches and capabilities to…

Thales and European Defense: October 2020

10/27/2020
By Pierre Tran Paris - There has been little interest in big consolidation moves in the European defense industry, with the creation of EADS the last time there was a major merger, said Thales executive chairman Patrice Caine. The European Aeronautics Defence and Space company, the previous name for Airbus,…

Re-Designing the Strike Syllabus at NAWDC: A Key Building Block for Shaping a Way Ahead for the Fleet

10/26/2020
By Robbin Laird During my visit to NAWDC in early July 2020, I had a chance to continue discussions begun earlier in the year with the CO of NAWDC and his senior officers. Rear Admiral Brophy had highlighted as one major change at NAWDC from the time when I had…

60th Anniversary of First E-2 Flight: Looking Back and Shaping a Way Ahead

10/25/2020
By Robbin Laird This week the Navy's Airborne Command and Control Community celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first E-2 flight. According to a story released by the public affairs team from Naval Air Force Atlantic: "While the U.S. Navy celebrated its 245th birthday this October, the Airborne Command &…

Historic GCC Commercial Flight: Israel and UAE Link Up Via Etihad Airways

10/24/2020
By India Strategic Tel Aviv/ Abu Dhabi. Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has become the first GCC carrier to operate a commercial passenger flight to and from Israel. The historic flight, operated by an Etihad Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, was flown in partnership with the Maman Group,…

Building Blocks on the USS Ford: Reshaping the Flight Deck and Ops Tempo

10/23/2020
By Robbin Laird In the last article on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), I looked at one key building block which enhances both the ops tempo of the strike package on the USS Gerald R. Ford as well the flexibility of the weapons packages which can be moved…