The View from the Hill: The UK in the COVID-19 Pandemic

03/24/2020
By Kenneth Maxwell I am quarantined on my hill in Devon. The British Media had been celebrating the “Dunkirk” spirit. The British Prime Minister, the old Etonian, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, better know as as “Boris” or “BoJo” is the author of a book on Winston Churchill. He likes…

The New Australian Offshore Patrol Vessel: Its Impact in the Perspective of Vice Admiral (Retired) Tim Barrett

03/23/2020
By Robbin Laird The first time I met Vice Admiral (Retired) Tim Barrett was at the 2016 Williams Foundation Seminar in which he addressed the evolving role of the Australian Navy in the transformation of the Australian Defence Force. He provided a keynote presentation to the August 2016 Seminar on…

France Sails Helicopter Carrier on Medical Mission

03/23/2020
By Pierre Tran Paris - The French navy sailed a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean island of Corsica to pick up patients hit by the coronavirus infection, the armed forces ministry said March 22. Florence Parly tweeted the arrival today of Thunder, a Mistral class helicopter carrier, at the port…

Industry and the Australian Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessel: The Role of CIVMEC

03/20/2020
By Robbin Laird The Australian Offshore Patrol Vessel or the Arafura Class OPV program is the launch program for the new Australian approach to shipbuilding. Termed a “continuous shipbuilding process,” the core point is to have an ongoing shipbuilding effort, rather than a start and stop approach built around a…

French Air Force Flies Medical Airlift in France for First Time

03/19/2020
By Pierre Tran Paris - On March 18, 2020, the French air force flew six civilian patients severely hit by the deadly coronavirus in an A330 MRTT military transport jet fitted out with an onboard medical evacuation unit, the armed forces ministry said. That was the first time the service…

Counter-Piracy Operations by Japanese Self-Defense Force

03/18/2020
By Japanese Ministry of Defense For Japan and the international community, the waters off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden are extremely important sea lanes. In response to the piracy incidents in the area, Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) takes measures for counter-piracy…