By Murielle Delaporte Afghanistan and operations in the Middle East against jihadist terror groups mark the rebirth of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as probably the most modern and innovative air force among US allies and partners. The Aussies deployed a new force package during their most recent Middle…
Robbin Laird During a visit to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown in March 2018, Murielle Delaporte and I had the chance to talk with the new commander of the Air Combat Group, Air Commodore Kitcher. RAAF Williamtown is undergoing significant infrastructure modernization as it prepares for the F-35A…
Robbin Laird During a visit to Amberley Airbase, Murielle Delaporte and I had a chance to talk with Group Captain Steve Pesce, Officer Commanding 86 Wing, comprising the RAAF’s C-17, KC-30A, B300, CL604 and B737 fleets. We discussed his perspectives on the future of air tanking, and specifically the next…
Interview with Paul Bracken In February, the U.S. Department of Defense released the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, a report that outlines the state of the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and the threats it faces from other nuclear powers, as well as recommending policies and strategies for the future of the…
By Robbin Laird During my visit with Murielle Delaporte to RAAF Williamtown in mid-March 2018, we had a chance to meet with Air Commodore (AIRCDRE) Craig Heap the Commander of the RAAF’s Surveillance and Response Group (SRG). I have had a chance twice before to talk with AIRCDRE Heap as…
Richard Weitz The Trump administration is skeptical of nuclear disarmament, but supports arms control and strategic stability measures, under appropriate conditions, designed to keep state competition constrained. Specifically, the administration recognizes that arms control, along with other measures, can bolster the security of the United States, its allies, and U.S.…
Over the last decade, African arms imports dropped by 22 per cent, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), but Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria continued to order large quantities of weapons and equipment. According to an article published by our partner defenceWeb, the trends were discussed leveraging a…
By Richard Weitz The newly enacted FY2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill provides urgently needed funding for U.S. defense priorities. The spending package signed by President Trump supports fighting terrorism, rebuilding the U.S. Navy, developing next-generation capabilities to manage emerging challenges, and protecting Americans from immediate threats. North Korea’s emerging nuclear missile…
