An Update on South Africa and the A400M

06/21/2013
2013-06-21 Third Denel A400M work package re-negotiated after acquisition cancellation The loss of a multi-million Rand contract as a result of South Africa’s withdrawal from the A400M program has been successfully re-negotiated thanks to the ability of a Denel Group company to deliver on time and within budget in the…

NATO-Russia Relations: The Beginning

06/20/2013
2013-06-20 by Richard Weitz The end of the Cold War confrontation between Moscow and the West simultaneously created an environment favorable for improved Russian-Western relations and established conditions that made conflict likely. On the one hand, the July 1991 dissolution of the integrated Warsaw Pact, held together by the Soviet…

Osprey Mates with Japanese Ship

06/19/2013
2013-06-19 By Sgt. James Mecure AT SEA - The U.S. Marines made their first landing with an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor helicopter aboard a Japanese Ship, June 14, 2013. The landing is significant because it provides another avenue of approach during any future humanitarian and disaster relief operations in the region.…

The F-35, Tanking and the Fleet

06/18/2013
06/18/2013:  By Robbin Laird In these photos provided by the 33rd Fighter Wing, F-35As are being tanked by a KC-135.  The photos were shot from the tanker during the tanking operation. Earlier this year, I wrote a piece in the Canadian journal Front Line Defence on the F-35 and tanking,…

“Turbo” Tomassetti Reflects on the Future of the F-35: And Looks Back at the Past Thirty Years

06/18/2013
2013-06-18 Colonel “Turbo” Tomassetti is retiring after a distinguished 30-year career as a USMC aviator. To both honor and to learn from “Turbo,” Second Line of Defense travelled to the 33rd Fighter Wing, where “Turbo” retired as Vice Commander. We are going to publish three articles based on the interview…