From 05-18 December 2018, the Royal Australian Air Force joined the United States Pacific Air Forces and Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self-Defense Force) for Operation Christmas Drop, the Department of Defense’s longest-running humanitarian airlift operation. [maxgallery id="122143"] Launching from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, C-130J Hercules aircraft delivered donated…
Although questions have been raised about trans-Atlantic solidarity, the Trident Juncture 18 exercise was a demonstration of its reality. The bond between North America and NATO was underscored when the United States and Canada sent thousands of troops to Europe for exercise Trident Juncture 2018. Since its founding in…
The first two RAAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters to be based in Australia have been formally welcomed to their home base of RAAF Williamtown December 10, 2018. [maxgallery id="122262"] The two jets, A35-009 and -010 arrived at Williamtown at 10:20am on December 10 from RAAF Amberley Williamtown. The aircraft…
The ADF’s newly-created role of the Chief of Joint Capabilities has been upgraded to a three-star officer position to align it with the chiefs of the ADF’s three services and Joint Operations Command. The position, held by the newly-promoted AIRMSHL Warren McDonald since it was formed in July 2017, is…
The Bletchley story is a fascinating one. But no story within that overall story is more intriguing than that of Tommy Flowers. Here was a man who believed that one could build a programmable computer; and he invested his own money to make this vision happen with very little support…
With the Dutch government focused on enhanced defense capabilities, a core building block in the way ahead clearly has been the purchase and involvement of the Dutch in the F-35 program. The Netherlands was one of the original nine partner nations for the F-35 as well as the second international…
Iraqis had to wait for more than five months after the parliamentary elections to form a new government. In October 2018, after a complicated electoral campaign, the Iraqis finally had a new president and prime minister. What will happen next and how will the team lead Iraq, a divided country…
Capt. Max McCoy, the commodore of the squadron, told USNI News in a recent interview that having a single point-person overseeing all Navy efforts related to operating and maintaining the new airplanes will prove to be a smart decision. “The F-35C is unlike any other airplane we’ve had to date.…
