The CNO on the Future of Warfighting: Reflections on the Future

07/26/2012
2012-07-26 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake There were only four men in U.S. History awarded the five star rank of Fleet Admiral: Chester Nimitz, “Bull” Halsey, William Leahy and Earnie King. From their days at Annapolis to commanding the greatest Naval Fleet in history, each man spent significant time at…

Air Mobility: A Proven Concept for the French Forces

07/24/2012
2012-07-23  In this piece translated from the French. General Patrick Tanguy one of the architects of modern Army aviation con-ops discusses the modern air mobility concept relied upon by the French forces, and highlighted in Libyan and Afghan operations. General Tanguy is on the editorial board of our partner publication…

Iraq’s Internal Security: Dangerous But Doable

07/23/2012
2012-07-23  by Richard Weitz June 2012 proved to be one of the most violent months in recent Iraqi history, with more than two hundred people killed in violent attacks.  These attacks, for which the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda affiliate, claimed responsibility, have continued in early July, with Shiite…

Iraqi Economic Challenges: Beyond Hydrocarbons

07/19/2012
2012-07-19  by Richard Weitz Iraq faces another danger in the country’s overwhelming economic dependence on oil: The constant threat of price instability. Price instability in international energy markets constantly threatens government revenue, deters private investment, and curtails government-funded projects. The implications of oil market fluctuations for the country’s budget were…

The Joint Strike Fighter and the Australian Defense Sector

07/17/2012
2012-07-18 By Kym Bergmann / Canberra This article has been provided by our new partner, Asia Pacific Defence Reporter and is published with their permission. The announcement that Australia would participate in the Joint Strike Fighter project was made almost exactly a decade ago on June 22, 2002.  In another…

The Parting: The Pentagon and Iraq

07/17/2012
2012-07-17  By Richard Weitz The U.S. military operated in since 2008 and until their departure in 2010 under a special Status of Forces Agreement The “Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of…

High Speed, High Value: The X 3 Visits America

07/16/2012
2012-07-16  By Robbin Laird The month long visit of the X3 – high-speed hybrid Eurocopter to America is half-way overview. It began at the Eurocopter facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas in June 2012. With the Lt Governor of Texas and other political dignitaries present, the senior leadership of Eurocopter introduced…

A Whole New Twist on “Buy America”

07/16/2012
2012-07-16 by Robbin Laird This past weekend in a fine piece in The New York Times, C.J. Chivers focused on  the airpower dimension in Afghan operations.  The title was tellingly: “Afghan Conflict Losing Air Power as U.S. pulls out.” In its way, this strike was a model of what air power can…