By Robbin Laird With the US Navy’s FMS Offer to Germany for Triton having expired without being extended, Germany is now pursuing a manned aircraft alternative for the SIGINT mission. The approach would be to buy three Bombardier G6000 aircraft and equip them as special mission aircraft. Germany already has…
We tracked in some detail of the coming of the new class of LHAs to the fleet. The flagship is LHA-6, the USS America. These ships represent a significant break from the past in that it can operate as a flagship of an amphibious task force with unprecedented airpower onboard.…
According to a recent news story on the NATO website, "Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG 1) has concluded a historical ordnance disposal operation, enhancing knowledge about the seabed by working in Norwegian waters and contributing to the Norwegian compiled historic ordnance database. "Conducted between 4-12 August, 2020 in…
The first Exercise TRIDENT TRAP was conducted in July 2020. EX TT20 is a joint Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare exercise. P-8A Poseidon aircrew and maintenance personnel from RAAF Number 11 Squadron together with support staff from Number 92 Wing based at RAAF Base…
By Robbin Laird Next generation air platforms encompass several changes as compared to the predecessors which are at least thirty years old or older, notably in terms of design. Next generation air platforms are designed from the ground up with the digital age as a key reality. This means that…
By Robbin Laird Clearly, the shift to joint warfare encompassing all domains, the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and work approaches and styles, and the growing impact of commercial investments in 5G communications or artificial intelligence in managing data are all having a significant impact on the way ahead…
More than 150 Royal Australian Air Force personnel have travelled to the United States’ Anderson Air Force Base in Guam to participate in the Regional Presence Deployment from July 21 – August 2. Along with strike and surveillance aircraft, the air task unit is part of a series of routine…
By Robbin Laird As I suggested in the lead article in this series on how to evaluate platform choices in the context of evolving needs and concepts of operations, too often, a simple platform versus platform presentation is made which confuses rather than clarifies what the tactical and strategic implications…
