11/08/2014: The initial carrier tests of the F-35 have begun aboard the USS Nimitz. It is clear from our visit to Fallon and our discussion with the head of Naval Warfare that the Navy leadership is getting ready to welcome the F-35 and to leverage the asset to work more…
2014-11-07 By Robbin Laird Land wars of the past decade have led the United States to a significant redirection of its military forces. The key roles played in ground operations and support by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the US Navy (USN) to the land forces have been evident and…
2014-11-11 Murielle Delaporte is visiting the French base in Djibouti. Djibouti is at the crossroads of Asia and Africa and a very important transit route. France has a long history in Djibouti. Djibouti was obtained as a colony by France in 1862 and officially controlled Djibouti until it received independence…
2014-11-09 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During our visit to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in October 2014, we had a chance to discuss the importance of training and the way ahead with CDR Charles "Chunks" Smith. Question; You are currently at Top Gun but what is…
2014-11-09 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During our visit to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, we had a chance to discuss the approach to strike integration being pursued in the training process at the Center with CDR Charles "Scotty" Brown, current STRIKE XO, previous TOPGUN Instructor. Brown…
2014-11-06 VMX-22 flew to USS AMERICA and worked with the crew in shaping an initial maintenance regime aboard the ship. The ship has a hanger bay below the flight deck where maintenance is performed, unlike legacy large deck amphibs. The AMERICA class ship has a much larger hangar bay that…
2014-11-08 When a country has joined the F-35 global enterprise, whatever variant they start with they can clearly mix and match going forward. The commonality of the combat systems and the cockpit makes flexibility an inherent capability. Australia has made a clear commitment to the F-35 and to reshaping its…
2014-11-07 By Robbin Laird Visiting the USS Arlington for someone who lived in Arlington on September 11, 2001 is a very poignant event. And it is especially so for someone like me who was in the Pentagon that day. I went into my meeting. Suddenly, I felt the building rock.…
