North American Defense and the Evolving Strategic Environment: Admiral Gortney Focuses on the Need to Defend North America at the Ten and Two O’clock Positions

05/08/2016
2016-04-22 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake We had the opportunity in late 2012 to interview the then head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command (NORAD-NORTHCOM), Army General Chuck Jacoby. Then on March 31, 2016, we sat down with the current NORAD and NORTHCOM Commander,…

The RAF and Royal Navy Prepare for the F-35 (Video)

05/06/2016
2016-05-06 According to the UK MoD: "Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Pilots are training to fly the new state-of-the-art stealth jet the F-35B Lightning II alongside their US counterparts at Marine Air Corps Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The highly advanced 5th generation jet will come into UK service from…

A-29 Super Tucanos Train for Close Air Support Role in Afghanistan

05/06/2016
05/06/2016: The highest priority skillset for the Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano pilots is the effective execution of close air support (CAS). Pilots are trained to employ rockets, precision-guided bombs, general purpose bombs, and strafe. The A-29 can employ a variety of weapons to do this mission: .50 cal…

Getting Ready for the P-8 and Triton: Aussie P-3s Operating Over the South China Sea

05/03/2016
05/03/2016: As Air Commodore Heap, head of the Surveillance Response Group, noted in an interview with Second Line of Defense in March 2016: “We are small but we want to be capable of being a little Tasmanian Devil that you don’t want to play with because if you come at…

New Approaches to Air-Land Integration: A New Special Report

05/02/2016
2016-04-19  On March 17, 2016, the Williams Foundation held its latest seminar on fifth generation enabled combat operations, this one focused on new approaches to air-land integration. The terms of reference for the seminar highlighted the way ahead. “Air forces need to be capable of delivering air and space power…

Shaping the Template for Air Interceptions While Russians Continue Their Hot Dog Tactics

05/02/2016
05/02/2016: It is not difficult to see how air intercepts in the Northern European region could escalate. Nato is working hard to shape an effective air intercept template. A number of fighter jets from NATO and NATO partner nations have been training together at an airbase in Estonia. Among the…