By Robbin Laird During my visit to MAWTS-1 shortly after the completion of their latest WTI course, I had a chance to talk with Marines involved in the WTI about their combat focus. In the strategic shift, an adversary clearly has access to a variety of advanced combat capabilities and…
The security of Australia’s maritime borders will be significantly strengthened with another major military investment. The Turnbull Government will invest $1.4 billion and acquire the first of six MQ-4C Triton remotely piloted aircraft through a cooperative program with the United States Navy. The Triton will complement the surveillance role of…
By Stephen Blank The revelation that President Trump has seriously considered the desirability of invading Venezuela ought to focus our attention on that unhappy country and others like it in Latin America. While Venezuela’s crisis is an extreme manifestation of the kleptocratic autocracies masquerading under the socialist or Chavista sobriquet…
By Robbin Laird Putin has clearly focused on expanding Russian influence in the areas of strategic interest to Russia. While the United States has diffused its efforts with an over emphasis on stability operations and counter-insurgency in the Middle East, the Russians have focused on their core interests and how…
A new MBDA facility was officially opened during a July 2, 2018 ceremony during the visit of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. According to a Ministry of Defence article: An opening ceremony saw the Defence Secretary unveil a plaque to mark the completion of five years of work and £50 million…
As the land wars dominated the past 15 years, a number of key skill sets atrophied or certainly were drawn down. A core one was clearly anti-submarine warfare skill sets. As the defense of Northern Europe returns as a direct challenge to core NATO nations, recovering and building maritime domain…
By Robbin Laird During the past couple of years, I have focused on the part of Europe which is very serious about defense, namely, Northern Europe. The Danes, the Norwegians, the Swedes and the Finns, all have refocused efforts on defense of their nations, but in a broader regional context.…
By Robbin Laird Maintainability is a key aspect to ensure aircraft availability to support combat operations. The readiness crisis of the past few years has also included the challenge of upgrading maintenance support efforts as well. The strategic shift from counter-insurgency to preparing for force-on-force conflict and a more rapid…
