2014-04-11 In our new special report, Second Line of Defense looks at Australian defense modernization, notably in the air systems areas. The report is informed by a number of interviews conducted in Australia in March 2014. It is informed as well by interviews with USN, USMC, and USAF staff and commanders.…
2014-04-04 Second Line of Defense recently visited Australia and talked with a number of Australian military and scientists about the evolving approach to shaping capabilities for the defense of Australia and the emergence of a new allied approach to Pacific defense. The new tanker and Wedgetail are certainly part of the…
2014-04-01 By Robbin Laird The classic fighter import program for a country the size of Australia is to build for the domestic customer, the program ends, you do a little bit of sustainment work and then move on. With the F-35 as a global program, a domestic supplier can position itself…
2014-03-31 By Robbin Laird While visiting Australia, and visiting various Australian defense facilities and participating in a future of airpower conference hosted by the Williams Foundation, I had a chance to talk with Thales as well as four suppliers for the F-35 program in Australia. This provided a good sense…
2014-03-30 During the visit of the Second Line of Defense team to New River on February 10, 2014, we had a chance to sit down with Lt. Col. Boniface to discuss his most recent experience as the ACE Commander of the 26th MEU, which has just returned from the Middle East.…
2014-03-30 By Robbin Laird In the mid-1980s when I worked at the Institute for Defense Analyses, I established a working group on Germany and we looked long and hard at the potential for German reunification to emerge from the dynamics of the 1980s. When the opportunity emerged in the late…
2014-03-30 By Robbin Laird Ferra engineering is an international company based in Australia, which engages in the design, manufacture and delivery of advanced aerospace/defense components and systems for a number of well-known manufacturers. The company is an Australian based supplier for the F-35 as a global program, and as such,…
2014-03-31 Michael W. Wynne, 21st Secretary, United States Air Force The Crimean crisis and the PRC pushing out in the Pacific are two reminders that the world is not of our own making. The defense of Europe and Pacific defense require capabilities to deter and prevail, where global reach and…
