Visiting the KC-30A in Australia: March 2018

03/31/2018
During our latest visit to Australia, the Second Line of Defense team had a chance to talk with the commander of the Air Mobility Group, Air Commodore Bill “K9” Kourelakos, during our visit to Richmond Airbase and with Group Captain Steve Pesce, Office Commanding 86 Wing, at Amberley Airbase. During…

Preparing for 2018: Implementing the Trump Administration National Security Strategy

12/28/2017
2017-12-28 By Stephen Blank The Trump Administration’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) received a flood of public scrutiny even before it was announced. Not surprisingly this flood morphed into a tidal wave once it appeared. But virtually all of this commentary focused on the tone and major themes observers claimed…

Dutch Air Force Takes Baltic Air Patrol Lead

01/14/2017
2017-01-14 ŠIAULIAI, Lithuania On 5 January 2017, NATO’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission entered its 43rd rotation since its beginning in 2004. After four months of leading the mission, France handed over the symbolic key to the Baltic Airspace to the Netherlands at the traditional ceremony held at Šiauliai Air Base. The…

The Evolving North Korea’s Missile Arsenal: A Direct and Proliferation Threat

03/27/2013
2013-03-27 by Richard Weitz The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is working on an intercontinental-range missile (ICBM) capable of hitting targets as far as California and Alaska. In 1998, 2006, 2009, April 2012, and most recently in December 2012, the DPRK test launched a three-stage long-range missile designed to…