Crafting Baltic Defense: A Key Role for Allied Air and Seapower

05/15/2015
2015-05-08 By Robbin Laird With the Russian approach to Ukraine as defining a threat envelope, the question of Baltic defense has become a central one for NATO. And deterrence rests not simply on having exercises and declarations but a credible strategy to defeat the Russians if they decided to probe,…

VMFA-121 Conducts F-35B Simulated Flight Deck Training At MCAS Yuma

05/15/2015
05/15/2015: F-35B pilots, Maj. Aric Liberman (05 jet) and Capt. Brian Hansell (01 jet), with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., perform short take off and vertical landings as part of required flying field carrier landing practices (FCLP) at the stations auxiliary…

First Female F-35 Pilot

05/15/2015
05/14/2015: Lt. Col. Christine Mau completed her first training flight in the F-35 Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, making her the first female F-35 pilot. According to a story in the Daily News: The first female F-35 fighter jet pilot took to the skies Tuesday. Lt. Col. Christine…

A400M Crashes in Seville

05/13/2015
2015-05-13 The tragic crash of an A400M (MSN 23), a plane for the Turkish Air Force, at Seville on May 9th, 2015 near the final assembly plant, reminds us of how risky the introduction of new systems can be. The plane was due to be delivered to the Turkish Air…

Plan Jericho: John Blackburn Explains the RAAF Approach at the Copenhagen Airpower Symposium

05/11/2015
2015-04-29 John Blackburn retired as an Air Vice-Marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force in 2008 and has been involved in a number of strategic issues since then in Australia. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Sir Richard Williams Foundation, an Australian think tank focused on Air Power.…

Australian Minister of Defence Embraces Fifth Generation Warfare Concept

05/11/2015
2015-05-11  The Royal Australian Air Force has launched a transformation approach called Plan Jericho. The Chief of Staff has underscored that for this to work, the entire defense approach needs to embrace change under the influence of fifth generation warfare capabilities. Apparently, the Minister of Defence agrees with this approach.…