2013-9-29 By Robbin Laird 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 nor Europe have really crossed that line since then. With the…
2013-09-28 By DefenceWeb US private maritime security company AdvanFort has revealed that Benin’s government has given it permission to conduct anti-piracy operations off that country’s coast, protecting both domestic and foreign vessels. In a press release issued on Tuesday, AdvanFort President and COO William H Watson stated that, “It is…
2013-09-26 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During the visit of Secretary Wynne to the 33rd Fighter Wing, we accompanied him on the visit and added some meetings of our own. Among the most notable of those additional meetings was an opportunity to sit down with two USMC leaders in the…
2013-09-26 by Kim Helfrich Editor’s Note: In another way to understand the 1,000 Ship Navy, this article discusses the role of a Nigerian ship globally which comes from the transfer of a former USCG cutter. NNS Thunder, Africa’s only representative in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) international fleet review, has ported…
2013-09-26 By Robbin Laird The United States is no longer a superpower. It is clearly a significant global power. The period where the Soviet Union collapsed and left the US in a lopsided leadership position was a clear anomaly. This period is in the rear view mirror. Some asserted during…
2013-09-26 Although the F-35B is a new aircraft, and new skills are being learned, the USMC is clearly harvesting experience where relevant to shaping the combat approach of the new aircraft. In a discussion with a combat-hardened Marine who is a weapons loader for the Harrier, the shaping of the approach…
2013-09-25 One of the issues Secretary Wynne was briefed on and given a hands on look was Maintenance of Low Observable characteristics approach being shaped at the 33rd FW. USAF maintainers showed the Secretary how they were addressing the effort and rolling out the LO maintenance capability. The LO maintainers…
2013-09-23 By Ed Timperlake John Boyd in his lecture (which I sat through twice) had a sine qua non building block for his work: the F-86 versus Mig-15 exchange rate kills by his beloved F-86 in "MIG Ally. " The exchange rate was approximately 10 to 1. Lessons learned at…
