By Robbin Laird "Royal Australian Air Force personnel deployed to Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, USA prepare the aircraft they will bring home in December 2018. Royal Australian Air Force pilots and maintenance personnel are embedded within United States Air Force units and partnering with Lockheed Martin to prepare…
Recently, the RAF hosted the latest iteration of the Point Blank exercises. The French joined the exercise held in the UK for the first time this year. 26 fighter juets plus combat support units participated in the exercise held November 26, 2018 over the North Sea. Two UK F-35Bs, four…
By Pierre Tran, Paris A planned F4 upgrade of the Rafale fighter jet will serve as technology demonstrator for network capability of the Future Combat Air System, said the Air Chief of staff, Gen. Philippe Lavigne. “Studies are fine but we need a demonstrator to see if the technology works,” Lavigne…
By Ed Timperlake USNA 69 As we approach the Army-Navy game this coming Saturday, we want to honor an earlier Naval football star who has gone on to life an incredible life. And this week, we are honoring as well another heroic naval aviator, President George H.W. Bush. William Faulkner in…
By Robbin Laird It seems a world ago, that George H.W. Bush was President. He was the Vice President for a very controversial President, namely President Reagan and brought with him extensive foreign policy expertise. And this expertise was put to the test at a crucial turning point in history.…
On 28 November 2018, after more than 400 days out of the water, Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta undocked to finalise her midlife capability assurance program upgrade at BAE Henderson Dockyard, Western Australia. [maxgallery id="121586"] The upgrade included significant improvements to major platform systems such as the communications centre,…
The Nordics are clearly working a way ahead for enhanced direct defense of their region. And they are doing so within the context of a reworking of NATO capabilities for Northern European defense. F-35 acquisition is one way the Norwegians are working this approach. The common acquisition of submarines with…
We have recently published two new Special Reports on airpower modernization. The first has focused on the Danes and their approach to airpower modernization, first with regard to their F-16s and then with regard to preparing for the F-35 transition. The second highlights several presentations and the discussion at the…
