2013-11-25 by Oscar Nkala The Tanzanian People's Defence Force (TPDF) has swapped 12 old Chinese-made J-7 fighter aircraft with 14 new J-7Gs, as the country forges ahead with the modernisation of its aerial defence capabilities. IHS Janes reports that the new fighter aircraft fleet includes 12 single-seat Chengdu J-7G jets (designated…
2013-11-22 by Robbin Laird The devastation from the Typhoon which directly struck the Philippines left in its wake a patch quilt of infrastructure from which to start a relief effort. The Marines on Okinawa, Japan because of their integrated force structure and forward location were able to go early and to…
2013-11-22 by Scott C. Truver Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer, the “father” of the Aegis Weapon System, often exclaimed, “There is nothing more complex than the design, engineering and construction of a warship!” That complexity is at its most extreme in the case of America’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). And…
2013-11-22 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Dateline Los Angeles: The AFA Pacific Forum A key challenge in any major relief effort is putting together an effective infrastructure from which to support a relief effort. A massive disaster like Katrina or Typhoon Haiyan by definition destroys everything in its path…
11/20/2013: The USS George Washington is delivering capabilities being used in the relief effort. It is also part of the hub and spoke system set up to support air operations as well. [slidepress gallery='the-uss-george-washington-in-the-philippines'] Credit: Navy Media Content Services:11/18/13 In the first, photo taken by Major A. “Papi” Guzman of…
2013-11-20 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Joseph K. Taussig, a distinguished US naval officer, on arriving in Ireland with the first American naval vessels to get to Europe after the US declaration of war in WWI stated: "We are ready now sir." The Marines based in Okinawa have demonstrated that…
11/19/2013: When doing disaster relief, professionals will tell you that time is your most precious commodity. The Osprey-KC-130J pairing bought time for the current HA/DR mission. By having the pairing, the USMC team was able to move in rapidly and prepare for the insertion of additional forces and aide teams.…
2013-11-18 by Murielle Delaporte It has been noted by some observers that the Foreign Legion and the USMC have more in common than many allied forces. This was demonstrated recently in an exercise in France where the Ospreys of the SP-MAGTF (from Spain) landed in France and exercised with the Foreign…
