By Ashley Calingo Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.—The Marine Corps’ top modernization priority is fulfilling the requirement for a ground-based anti-ship missile capability. The operational requirement for this ship-killing capability is a relatively new development stemming from the Commandant’s Planning Guidance and the Corps’ Force Design 2030 efforts. “As…
On September 12, 2021, Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo delivered an address at the Vietnamese defense ministry during his visit to the country. He referred to China's new law, which authorizes its coast guard to use weapons. Kishi said Japan will never be able to accept the law, which he…
By Pierre Tran Paris - The temperature in the Indo Pacific region has risen for the Western allies in general and for France in particular. President Emmanuel Macron clearly sees a pressing need for a switch to a new principal partner after Australia cancelled a planned order for the French…
By Robbin Laird The news this past few days has been filled with discussions, arguments, “fake news,” and other desiderata about the Australian decision to enter the nuclear attack club. But what can be missed is that the Australians have been driving innovations in the United States and the United…
By Robbin Laird The distributed laydown which started in 2014 has now been re-calibrated to focus on Marines operating further forward in the Pacific and doing so with closer joint force integration while retaining the capabilities to contribute significantly to full spectrum crisis management with allies and partners. To do…
By Pierre Tran Paris - Australia has paid most of the €900 million (US$1 billion) due for work on the initial design studies for the Shortfin Barracuda attack submarine, with some payment still to be made, a French defense ministry official said Sept. 21. “There remains some to be paid,”…
By George Galdorisi At the highest levels of U.S. intelligence and military policy documents, there is universal agreement that the United States remains at war, even as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan conclude. As the cost of capital platforms—especially ships and aircraft—continues to rise, the Department of Defense is…
By Robbin Laird During my August 2021 visit to MARFORPAC, I had a chance to talk with the specialists in information operations within the command. In particular, I met with Mr. Justin Bogue, Information Maneuver Branch Deputy, Maj. Melissa Giannetto, MARFORPAC PsyOp Officer and Maj. Nick Mannweiler, COMMSTRAT Operations. Clearly,…
