Training for SP-MAGTF Missions

12/22/2014
12/22/2014: Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, conduct a quick reaction force exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Dec. 17, 2014. The Marines are preparing for an upcoming deployment with the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response.   Credit:II Marine…

JLENS Inflates: A Look at the Capability

12/18/2014
12/18/2014: Time-lapse inflation of a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) aerostat at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., Dec. 14, 2014. LENS provides national command authorities with increased situational awareness and early warning detection against possible threats. Credit:U.S. Northern Command:12/14/14 According to the Raytheon website: JLENS,…

UK F-35B and Carrier Integration: An F-35B Pilot Looks at the Way Ahead

12/17/2014
2014-12-17 Recently, we published an interview with Group Captain Paul Godfrey, one of the senior RAF officers involved with bringing the F-35B into service with the UK armed forces. A key aspect which he highlighted was the cross-fertilization of the force by bringing both the F-35B and the new class…

PLA(N) and USN Cooperation in Counter-Piracy Operations

12/16/2014
12/16/2014: Chinese Harbin Z-9E helicopter practices landing aboard the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104). Sterett and ships from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (Navy) PLA(N) commenced a bilateral counter-piracy exercise, U.S.-China Counter-Piracy Exercise 15, in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa. Aiming to promote…

Baltic Air Policing and Russian Intrusions: Dutch F-16s Engage

12/14/2014
2014-12-14 The Baltic Air Policing mission has been a regular one for NATO. The latest Air Policing mission was set in motion in early September 2014. According to Gaerth Jennings of Jane's in a September 8th 2014 story: The Netherlands has contributed fighter aircraft to the current Baltic Air Policing…

Steel Knight Exercise Tests Digital Interoperability Systems

12/13/2014
12/13/2014: U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division (MARDIV), from Twentynine Palms, Calif., board MV-22 Ospreys of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 165, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 16, 3D Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), Miramar, Calif., in order to execute an amphibious raid on San Clemente Island,…