By Pierre Tran Paris - The French Air Force has requested a faster delivery of Rafale jets to replace the Mirage 2000-5 fighters due to be sent to Ukraine, the air chief of staff, General Jérôme Bellanger, told the Association des Journalistes Defense, a press club, on November 20, 2024.…
By John Blaxland There’s an understandable inclination at first blush to see the U.S. presidential election outcome as auguring difficult times ahead on the global stage. President elect Donald Trump’s iconoclastic rhetoric on Ukraine, Gaza, Taiwan, tariffs and more in the lead-up to the election, coupled with his transactional approach…
By Robbin Laird In 2015, I wrote an article asking the question of what era in American politics did the 2016 election remind me of? I answered in part that perhaps the 1890s and the collapse of the main stream parties and their re-alignment was the best analogy. The force…
By Pierre Tran Paris - The title of a new book - The Idea of China: Chinese Thinkers on Power, Progress, and People (European Council on Foreign Relations) - carries a sense of what drives Beijing when its leaders look at the world and consider how it works. It may be a…
By Robbin Laird If one is focused on how the force in being can be a more ready force, one will generally look in vain in the political class for a keen focus on this challenge. And this is true for all of the AUKUS partners. It is not difficult…
By Chloe Ladd In the European parliamentary elections this June, far-right parties surged. In France, the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) demolished President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissanceparty. Macron the loss to heart and consequently announced the dissolution of the French National Assembly. Never before had a French president made such a drastic decision in the aftermath of the European elections.…
By Pierre Tran Paris - The Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet may be “an old bird,” but there was a large supply of spare parts, which will be a “big advantage” for the Ukrainian air force, a French ex-fighter pilot said. It was not clear how many of the French-built fighters…
By Pierre Tran Paris - A surprise announcement from president Emmanuel Macron of the sale of the Dassault Aviation Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet to Ukraine has sparked political controversy and public debate over the arms deal. The head of state said June 6 on live national television France would enter…