Chinese Military Power 2018: Building a Strategy to Counter a Modern Authoritarian State With a Clear Vision if Not a Clear Future

08/17/2018
By Robbin Laird The PRC is combing military with economic with political warfare means to expand its global reach. In the words of Ross Babbage, the PRC and Russia are focused on making the world safe for authoritarian states. https://sldinfo.com/2018/08/information-warfare-and-the-authoritarian-states-how-best-to-respond/ As the context within the Pacific changes, Australia, Japan and…

The Role of the Australian Army in Australia’ Indo-Pacific Strategy: A Work in Progress

08/16/2018
By Robbin Laird Australia is building an integrated force and working to extend the reach and range of that force. This is a core effort for the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force and clearly focused on dealing with challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. But what is…

The Perspective of the Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force: Shaping a Way Ahead

08/15/2018
By Air Marshal VK Jimmy Bhatia (Retd) Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, has confirmed that IAF has received bids from six global vendors in response to IAF’s Request for Information (RFI) for 110 modern combat jets, and that the induction of 36 Rafale jets already…

US Working with India and Australia on P-8 Operations

08/13/2018
By the end of RIMPAC, the U.S. and Indian planes were sharing high-end missions, an Australian P-8A squadron joined in as a major step towards the Royal Australian Navy declaring final operational capability on their new planes, and the U.S. and Australian P-8s not only prosecuted submarines but also dropped Harpoon missiles on a decommissioned…

The Coming of the A320neo Multi-Mission Aircraft

08/13/2018
Airbus Defence and Space is shaping a template for integrated air operations, which they call the Future Combat Air Systems. Within this template, each key air combat platform is being reshaped or designed from the ground up to provide a contribution to integrated air operations. A platform which makes sense…

Modernizing the Egyptian Fleet: Adding the Meko Frigate?

08/13/2018
By defenceWeb Egypt is considering purchasing two Meko A200 frigates from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as discussions with France’s Naval Group on the acquisition of further Gowind corvettes grinds to a halt over cost concerns. France’s La Tribune late last month reported that the German deal would be worth…

The SCALP Missile for Egypt: The ITAR Barrier

08/11/2018
By defenceWeb France is looking for a way around the United States’ blocking of Scalp cruise missile technology for Egypt, and is exploring the possibility of replacing American components with alternatives so it can deliver the missiles as well as additional Rafale fighters to Egypt. French Defence Minister Florence Parly…

UAV Market Growing: Projected $25 Billion by 2023

08/11/2018
by defenceWeb The global market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, is anticipated to reach $25 billion by the end of 2023, witnessing a compound annual growth rate of 18.2% over the forecast period owing to the significant use of drones in various sectors. This is according to a…