By Robbin Laird (Updated) With the all the focus on the Russian intervention in the last US presidential elections, it is useful to take a broader view of the challenge focused by the new technologies and approaches. During my recent visit to Helsinki, a visit the European Centre of Excellence…
We have written for years about the impact of the decline of the icebreaker force in the USCG on US Arctic policy. We referred to the US as the "reluctant Arctic power." In our interview with the USCG Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft we focused on the need to shift policy…
02/19/2018: "A year’s worth of planning has come to fruitition. We started off the exercise with a para accuracy event that challenged our SAR techs at hitting a marked target. We moved into Monday where we did a major air disaster exercise where a number of agencies from 8 Wing produced a scenario that really stressed…
2017-11-28 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake It is clear that information system security and appropriate defenses is a very significant issue. However, shaping an effective way ahead, which both gets the job done and shapes rethinking which can lead to further progress is more difficult that simply buying a…
2017-09-25 Several years ago we visited a key USCG air base where the new Ocean Sentry patrol aircraft had just arrived for service. We have reposted that interview done in 2010 below. But fast forward to 2017, and that aircraft has now reached a flight hour milestone. In a ceremony…
2017-07-31 By Guy Martin Growing maritime threats off Africa’s coastline and new offshore oil and gas finds are driving the need for better maritime security while the drop in the oil price means securing oil and gas supplies is more important than ever as there is less margin for loss.…
2017-07-20 The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a 420-foot Medium Icebreaker homeported in Seattle, conducts a shakedown cruise around the Puget Sound, May 22, 2017. As part of Healy's preparations for their Arctic West Summer 2017 deployment, they conducted flight operations with an aircrew from Coast Guard Sector Field…
2017-07-13 By Robbin Laird The C295 has become a global asset. With nearly 200 aircraft already sold and operating worldwide, the C295 is gaining traction as a global aircraft. This is in significant contrast to the C-27J, which has been purchased by a much smaller number of nations and therefore…
