Geopolitics and Shaping a Way Ahead for the Liberal Democracies in the Pacific

04/04/2018
During the RAAF Airpower Conference, 2018, one key subject was the nature of the change geopolitical dynamics in the region and its implication for Australian and for its liberal democratic allies. The keynote address by Bilahari Kausikan Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore provided a challenging…

Working the Integrated Fires Mission at Fort Sill

04/04/2018
Fort Sill, Oklahoma The Second Line of Defense team is currently visiting Fort Sill to learn about the evolving approach to the Army's Air Defense mission. In February, an article published by Fort Sill highlighted the evolving mission set encompassed by the focus on integrated fires, reflecting the drive to…

Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review: More Continuity Than Change

04/04/2018
By Richard Weitz In think tank meetings and congressional hearings, the Trump administration have explained that its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) aligns with the general post-Cold War consensus that the United States will possess nuclear weapons that are safe, secure, and usable but never actually used. It follows all recent…

Debut of Republic of Korea’s First F-35A

04/01/2018
South Korea is the ninth country to get the F-35. An article by Nick Zazulia published on March 28, 2018, underscored the South Korean perception of the importance of receiving the aircraft to their defense efforts. Korean ministers, generals and pilots and American legislators all (sang) the F-35's praises and…

F-35-C Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln

04/01/2018
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jessica Paulauskas Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed fleet carrier qualifications (CQ) for the F-35C Lightning II program, marking another milestone for the new aircraft, while underway March 17-21. Pilots assigned to the "Rough Raiders" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125…

Russian Arms Exports to Africa, 2017

03/31/2018
During 2017 Russia exported some $15 billion worth of weapons around the world. This included African nations, which received an array of equipment from fighter jets to ballistic missiles – Africa accounted for 13% of Russian arms sales over the last five years. An article published by our partner defenceWeb…

Arms Exports from Israel to Africa on the Upswing

03/31/2018
Israeli arms sales to African countries are growing steadily, with defence exports increasing 70% between 2015 and 2016 to reach $275 million. According to an article published on March 19, 2018 by our partner defenceWeb and written by Arie Egozi the dynamic was analyzed as follows: 2017 numbers are not…