2012-09-22 by Richard Weitz At the 2012 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference, organized by the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS),Nikolai Spassky, Deputy Director-General of the State Corporation on Atomic Energy ‘Rosatom’, enlightened us attendees as to the civil nuclear energy plans of the Russian Federation. Although Spassy was perhaps too…
2012-09-20 By Richard Weitz Japan’s defense procurement policy maintains a desire for autonomy, corporate nurturing, and technology diffusion. Although it is somewhat more open to arms exports and collaborating with foreign companies than in the past, defense procurement still suffers from two grave defects. First, the high degree of protectionism…
2012-09-19 by Robbin Laird Instead of flying into buildings, Muslim extremists are killing American representatives abroad. In a vote of thanks for ending the Gaddafi repression, the American ambassador to Libya has been humiliated and killed. In an act reminiscent of the Nazis burning down the Reichstag and blaming various…
2012-09-18 by George Talbot For Mobile, Ala., the announcement on July 2, 2012 that the city would be the site of a $600 million, 1,000-worker assembly plant for Airbus aircraft seemed to prove the point that persistence pays off. The city in 2011 lost its bid to become the assembly…
2012-09-17 By Richard Weitz The Japanese government continues to allocate approximately one percent of the country’s GDP to the military, a fairly low level compared to most countries. But the enormous size of Japan’s economy means that even this formula generates one of the largest defense budgets in the world.…
2012-09-17 In a wide ranging discussion with Lt. Col. Christian Harshberger, Commanding Officer of VMM 365, the Blue Knights, shortly after his return from Afghanistan. He was a CH-46 operator prior to entering the V-22 world a couple of years ago. In January of 2009, Lieutenant Colonel Harshberger reported to…
2012-09-16 By Robbin Laird During my visit to Eglin AFB on August 24, 2012, I had a chance to continue my ongoing conversation with Deputy Commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, Col. Tomassetti. In previous visits, Tomassetti showed me the plan, then the buildings being constructed, the classrooms being formed,…
2012-09-14 by Secretary Wynne, 21st Secretary of the USAF It is great to hear the excitement in the voices of the testers and the latest operators of the fifth generation fighters. They reflect the hope for the future of air dominance that the requirements community and the design engineers intended…
