2016-08-31 By Vitaliy Katsenelson The Great Recession may be over, but seven years later we can still see the deep scars and unhealed wounds it left on the global economy. In an attempt to prevent an unpleasant revisit to the Stone Age, global governments have bailed out banks and the…
2016-08-25 By Robbin Laird I first met Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown, when he was the head of the Royal Australian Air Force. At that time, he was focused on ensuring that the F-35 became a key element of the modernizing RAAF. Since his retirement, he joined the Williams Foundation and…
2016-08-29 By Robbin Laird The lead off speaker at the Williams Foundation seminar on air-land integration was Rear Admiral Manazir. Rear Admiral Manazir currently serves as the deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems (OPNAV N9) on the staff of the chief of naval operations. In this capacity, he…
2016-08-28 By Garth McLennan The United States Congress is contemplating changes to the standards it uses to define its defense architecture against ballistic missile threats. Any such changes are likely to be more symbolic than substantive in the short term, but over time will create more political space for the development…
2016-08-20 By Robbin Laird The Aussies are shaping a transformed military force. It is one which is built around new platforms but working together across services to achieve a joint effect and able to operate in a joint manner in an extended battlespace. It is about extending the defense perimeter…
2016-08-22 By Kenneth Maxwell The most negative expectations for the Rio Olympic Games did not materialize. Zika did not impact tourists or athletes as expected (at least not so far). The number of foreign visitors was less than anticipated, though those that came to Rio enjoyed the competitions. Many stadiums were often…
2016-08-20 By Richard Weitz In another of the bold moves that has marked Putin’s Syria campaign since it began last September, the Russian Air Force began using bases in Iran on August 16 to support its bombing campaign in Syria. For several days now, Tupolev-22M3 Backfire long-range supersonic bombers and the…
2016-07-17 By Robbin Laird During my visit to the United Kingdom in June 2016, I had a chance to talk with Air Commodore Dean Andrew, the ISTAR Force Commander based at RAF Waddington. We spoke about the challenges of transforming the current platform focused Air ISTAR community to an integrated…
