By Dr. Gary Schaub, Jr. Acquiring new combat aircraft is a big deal. The combat aircraft fleets of most Western countries are nearing the end of their useful service life and therefore must be replaced. Such acquisition programs have been among the most expensive ever pursued and have therefore been…
By Robbin Laird For many years, Airbus Defence and Space hosted an annual media event. These were well run events where Airbus provided overviews on their various programs in front of an invited audience of journalists from many parts of the world. There was a clear opportunity to meet new…
By Robbin Laird Because the F-35 has been built from the outset on a digital thread production approach and foundation, the program can incorporate, and contribute to a broader set of industrial transformations, known as Industry 4.0. In other words, the F-35 can produce an innovative combat aircraft but it…
By Stephen Blank Recently John Bolton, Director of the National Security Council, gave a speech attacking what he called the Troika of Tyranny: Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and announcing new sanctions on these states. Perhaps it is not coincidental that Bolton’s speech, announcing a new tough-minded U.S. policy towards Latin America,…
by defenceWeb Pakistan has provided an $184 million government guarantee to cover production of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets for the Nigerian Air Force as the Nigerian government continues to fund the type. Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved the $184.3 million sovereign guarantee for the production of three Pakistan Aeronautical…
By Kabelo Tsogang A delegation from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Central Military Commission Logistics Support division, steered by its Deputy Chief of Administrative Office, Senior Colonel Huang Dongping, have visited the South African Department of Defence Logistics Division in Pretoria and Cape Town to finalise hosting the first military…
By Ian McDonald AM, MSc, DipEng & AVM John Blackburn (Retd) AO, MA, MDefStud The phrase “5th Generation” (Gen) is often dismissed as just another fad, whilst totally missing the paradigm shift in both technology and operations that is implied or intended by it. It is envisaged that mature 5th…
Trident Juncture 2018 is a major NATO exercise which is focused on Northern Tier defense. It also is an exercise for the Norwegians in mobilizing their society to deal with crises in the region in which NATO forces would be called upon to operate from Norwegian soil. A key part…