Updated German Defense Report: March 5, 2019

03/05/2019
We have just published the third version of report on German defense. According to Brigadier General (Retired) Meyer sum Felde: “Priority must now be again on collective defence and related high intensity warfighting capabilities for credible deterrence. “The Bundeswehr must become again essential part of the conventional backbone of defence…

The Strategic Shift and German Defense: The Perspective of Brigadier General (Retired) Rainer Meyer zum Felde

03/04/2019
By Robbin Laird During my visit to Germany in February 2019, I had the chance to discuss the return of direct defense in Europe and the way ahead for German defense with an experienced Bundeswehr officer and thinker with many years of NATO experience, Brigadier General (ret.) Rainer Meyer zum…

Dealing with the Sub-Launched HSCM as a “Smaller Chunk” Within Escalation Dominance

03/04/2019
By Edward Timperlake In the first article in the series, we introduced the notion developed by Paul Bracken of breaking escalation dominance into smaller chunks. In his book on the Second Nuclear Age , he argued that mastering the maneuver space for the threat to use nuclear weapons was part…

Putin Works to Shape Escalation Dominance: Challenging the US Navy and the US Kill Web

03/03/2019
By Edward Timperlake President Putin has recently threatened a direct attack against the United States with nuclear weapons if we do not comply with his strategic approach to Europe and the West. The Russian PR machine has kicked in and we have a recent you tube visit from a St.…

Australia and the F-35 Global Enterprise: Avalon Airshow 2019 Update

03/03/2019
Defence has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Australia and Lockheed Martin Corporation to ensure the effective long-term sustainment of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter capability in Australia. The agreement includes intellectual property, technical data and software arrangements for Australia’s direct sovereign sustainment contracts with Lockheed Martin entities. The Minister for…

The Royal Canadian Air Force and Australian F-18s

03/02/2019
The first two Australian fighters arrived at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake in Alberta last week, and are expected to be ready for operations following some conversion work in the coming months. That work will include taking out the engines, ejection seats and targeting pods, which are being swapped with…

Exercise Red Flag 19-1

03/01/2019
The Royal Australian Air Force has deployed a contingent of approximately 370 personnel to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for Exercise Red Flag 19-1, which took place from 22 January to 15 February 2019.  Up to 6 F/A-18A Hornet aircraft from Number 77 Squadron, an E-7A Wedgetail from Number…