The Coming of the F-35 to Australia: Shaping a 21st Century Approach to Airpower

03/11/2014
2014-03-12 by Robbin Laird I attended a seminar held by The Williams Foundation yesterday in Canberra, Australia. The focus of the seminar was on Air Combat Operations: 2025 and Beyond. The core emphasis was on the impact of the F-35 on reshaping the Australian combat approach appropriate to the challenges,…

Visiting the 33rd Squadron, RAAF, Amberly Air Base, Australia

03/08/2014
03/04/2014: Second Line of Defense is visiting Australia and discussing with the Australian Air Force some of their modernizations in shaping new capabilities for Australian and Pacific defense. Clearly, one such new capability is the 5-ship squadron of A330MRTT tankers, or the KC-30A. The host for the visit to Amberly…

Visiting the Wedgetail Squadron at Williamtown RAAF Base, Australia

03/06/2014
03/06/2014: Second Line of Defense visited the Wedgetail squadron on March 6, 2014 and discussed the standup of the Wedgetail squadron and its initial roll out and path towards changes in the RAAF capabilities over time. A report on the discussion along with the key themes generated from that discussion…

Canada and the F-35: A Technological Reset Opportunity

03/05/2014
2014-03-06 Dr. Danny Lam and Dr. Brian Paul Cozzarin The Canadian F-35 procurement represents the largest peacetime acquisition of new aircraft for Canadian forces since the Korean War. Securing industrial benefits from military procurement is essential for advanced industrialized nations, and it has long been Canadian industrial policy to do…