The Danes, The Russians and Shaping a Deterrent Strategy

11/28/2017
2017-11-17 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Denmark is a small country, but an important player in the NATO Alliance and part of the reworking of Nordic defense with Norway, Sweden and Finland to deal with resurgent Russia. Notably, in mid-October 2017, the Danish government released its proposed new six-year…

Putin Sets the Stage at the Valdai Conference: Driving Demand for Enhanced Missile Defense

11/10/2017
2017-11-01 By Richard Weitz President Vladimir Putin made one of his most anti-American presentations at the Valdai Conference in Sochi since his February 2007 speech to the Munich Security Conference. His comments suggest the prospects for future Russian-U.S. arms control are bleak due to fundamental differences between Moscow and Washington.…

Facing Core Threats in the Nordic Region: Reverse Engineering the Russian A2/D2 Threat to Denmark

10/19/2017
2017-10-15 By Robbin Laird During my past visits to Denmark, I have had the opportunity to talk with the current head of the Danish Royal Military Academy, Rear Admiral Nils Wang. During past discussions, we focused on the evolving Nordic Defense Zone from the Arctic to the Baltics. With the…

A Norwegian Perspective on Nordic Security: Challenges and Shaping a Way Ahead

10/17/2017
2017-10-13 By Robbin Laird Earlier this year, I visited Norway and conducted a series of interviews with various Norwegian military leaders and specialists. These interviews led to the publication of a Special Report entitled: Shaping a Way Ahead for Norwegian Defense.  http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/shaping-a-way-ahead-for-norwegian-defense/ During that visit I had a chance to…

The Danes Take the Threats Seriously: Investing in More Effective Defense Forces

10/15/2017
2017-10-13  In October 2017, the Danish government released its proposed new five-year defense guidance and defense spending guidelines. The government was very clear about what the threats facing Denmark are, the importance of allies modernizing and working effective interdependence in the defense of the North Atlantic and beyond, and need…

Shaping a Way Ahead to Prepare for 21st Century Conflicts: Payload-Utility Capabilities and the Kill Web

09/14/2017
2017-09-03  by Ed Timperlake This article argues that payload utility can be a driver for understanding the future development of combat systems. To understand Pu with full honor to John Boyd, it can be noted that Observe/Orient (OO) is essentially target acquisition, and Decide/Act (DA) is target engagement. Thus there…