2013-11-04 By Robbin Laird The Italians were significant innovators at the beginning of the era of airpower. They continued throughout the history of airpower to innovate and with the launch of the F-35, they are proving to be innovators once again. Their facilities at Cameri provide support not only for…
2013-11-04 By Robbin Laird Some have argued that it is the end of the manned aircraft age and the birth of the unmanned one. But this seems to not have clicked with the global market, which will drive significant manned fighter acquisition in the next two decades. So-called unmanned systems, better…
2013-11-03 Ed Timperlake, the editor of the Second Line of Defense Forum, visited this weekend with a father of a friend who had the distinction of flying no less than 37 B-17 combat missions over Europe. Ed reports that when he discussed his experience visiting with World War II veteran,…
2013-11-03 By Robbin Laird During my visit to Cameri in October 2013, I had a chance to visit the Cameri facility with Fred Napurano, the Italian Program In-Country Operations Lead for Lockheed Martin. Napurano is the key person interacting with Alenia Aermacchi (AAeM) to assist in the standup of the facility. The…
2013-11-02 The Search and rescue exercise viewed in the video increases the collective interoperability between U.S. and Canada, ensuring better success in carrying out the challenging Arctic S and R mission. Units from Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska Army National Guard, U.S. Army Alaska to include multiple helicopters, multiple versions…
2013-11-02 As we have written elsewhere, the Russians are recovering their place in global affairs. Clearly, when one looks back on 2008, the actions against Georgia were the beginning of a more assertive Russian policy. A line in the sand was placed on NATO expansion, and neither the United States…
2013-11-01 By Robbin Laird During my trip to Italy in October 2013, I was able to spend two days at the Cameri F-35 facilities and to then discuss my visit with two senior Italian Air Force officials, intimately familiar with the program and the Cameri effort. I sat down with Lt.…
2013-11-01 By Robbin Laird During my October 2013 visit to Italy, I spent two days at the Cameri F-35 facility. While there, I had a chance to discuss the facility and the approach of the Italians with Debra Palmer, Lockheed Martin’s General Manager at the facility. Palmer comes from a military…
