Combat-Proven Tiger

12/21/2010
A Conversation with Dominique Maudet 12/21/2010 - The Tiger helicopter has been used by the French military in their Afghan engagement.  The operational role has been to work with two other helo types in providing crucial air capabilities for the French Army.  The impact of operations has highlighted the significance…

Building a High Speed Helicopter

12/20/2010
An Interview with Jean-Michel Billig   12/21/2010 - In early October 2010, Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with Eurocopter about its new high-speed test helicopter, X Cubed. Jean-Michel Billig is Executive Vice President of Eurocopter for Research and Development. The slide show  and the accompanying video…

The Afghan Drug Challenge

12/19/2010
A Russian Perspective By Dr. Richard Weitz and Dmitri Titoff, October 21, 2010 12/21/2010 - Translation provided by Dr. Richard Weitz Q: What accounts for the fact that, since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the flow of narcotics from that country has increased significantly? Victor P. Ivanov:…

“It Takes Time”

12/19/2010
An Update on the Osprey From New River (VIII) [download PDF of full report] An Interview With Master Sgt. Jeremy Kirk 12/21/2010 - Master Sgt. Jeremy Kirk discussed his experience with maintaining the V-22. As an experience CH-46 maintainer he underscored that the Corps had decades of experience maintaining this…

The F-35 Pilot: An Interview with Test Pilot Squirt Kelly at Pax River

05/28/2010
SLD went to Pax River in April 2010 to interview several members of the Pax River test team. In this interview, Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird talked with test pilot “Squirt” Kelly about his thoughts on the F-35 experience. [slidepress gallery='the-f-35-pilot-an-interview-with-test-pilot-squirt-kelly-at-pax-river'] SLD: You’ve been testing the helmet and the plane.…

The USCG 8th District Faces the Future: Meeting the Challenges of Security in the Gulf

05/06/2010
In early April 2010, SLD discussed the challenges facing the USCG 8th district in managing, safety and security in the Gulf region.  As the slide show accompanying this interview shows, the scope and size of the territory facing the men and woman of the USCG serving in the 8th district…

The Expeditionary Airfield Capability: A Core USMC Competence for Global Operations

04/29/2010
The setting up of the expeditionary airfield at Dwyer to support USMC combat operations in Afghanistan has highlighted the expeditionary airfield capability of the USMC.  General Walsh, USMC, Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Forward deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and now back at Cherry Point, NC, underscored…

The F-35 Low Observability’s Lifelong Sustainability: A Revolutionary Asset for 21st Century Combat Aviation

03/22/2010
2010-05-22 Everyone knows that the F-35 is a stealth aircraft. This is one element of what makes it a fifth-generation aircraft.  But what is not widely known is that the stealth or low observable (LO) character of the aircraft is significantly different from other stealth aircraft like the F-22. The…