The Zumwalt Leaves its Dry Dock

10/31/2013
10/30/2013: The Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer DDG 1000 is floated out of dry dock at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard. The ship, the first of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces and operate as part of joint and combined expeditionary forces.…

The Impact of Advanced Fusion in 5th Generation Fighters on Combat Capability

10/30/2013
2013-10-30 by Michael Skaff, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company When Col John Boyd documented the concept of the Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop as it pertains to tactical aviation and the energy maneuverability egg it was in an era when fighter physical performance was the dominant factor. Although there were simple fire control radars…

An Update from Cameri on the Cameri F-35 Campus: October 2013

10/30/2013
2013-10-30 By Robbin Laird During a visit with Ed Timperlake at Yuma USMC Air Station and then at the Lockheed Martin Fort Worth F-35 facility, Ed and I had a chance to discuss the Cameri F-35 effort with two young Lockheed Martin Aero officials involved in that effort. We sat down…

Shaping an Africom Approach to Africa

10/29/2013
2013-10-29 By Guy Martin DefenceWeb The US military’s Africa Command (Africom) has cautioned that a military approach by itself will not solve Africa’s challenges as economic, social and political development is also needed. “The solution to terrorism in the region is a long-term, broad, whole-of-government approach by all our partners…

Islam and Iran’s Northern Front: Refocusing US Attention on Key Regional Interests

10/26/2013
2013-10-26 by Richard Weitz Any genuine reconciliation between Iran and the United States would be welcome, but the recent focus on the nuclear issue obscures other sources of tension between the two governments, including the South Caucasus. Iran and the United States have been competing for influence in the region with…

Using C-295s in Kazakhstan

10/26/2013
2013-10-26 Kazakhstan is the first member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to buy the Airbus Military C-295s. CIS fleets are stocked with Ukrainian and Russian airlifters, so this is unusual. Recently, Kazakhstan announced that they would buy additional C-295s, which was already envisioned in the original agreement signed…

Cameri and the F-35: Building Out a New Manufacturing Facility

10/25/2013
10/25/2013: Located on an Italian Air Force base used for logistics, the Italian government under the management of Alenia Aermacchi (AAeM) has built a 22 building facility to support the F-35 program.  The support comes in three parts. First, there is a Final Check Out and Assembly facility, for assembling Italy’s…