The Department of Defence and the Australian Space Agency are supporting the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys (JAXAs) Hayabusa2 mission to return the first ever sub-surface asteroid samples to Earth from the asteroid Ryugu. The Hayabusa2 sample return capsule landed in the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) on 6 December 2020. Hayabusa2…
By Richard Weitz One of the major issues confronting the next U.S. administration is to fortify Taiwan’s defense and deterrent capabilities against the growing threat from the People’s Republic of China. The last few years have seen increasing PRC pressure on Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China. There…
By Robbin Laird Marine Corps Air Station, New River. Yesterday, during my visit to New River, I experienced flying in the cockpit of the Marine Corps's latest key air capability, the CH-53K. I was in the cockpit with LtCol Luke "Amber" Frank, the VMX-1 Detachment OIC. He is a very…
By Robbin Laird During 2020, with the pandemic descending upon the world, my usual year of global travel obviously was not to be. But except for April and May 2020, I travelled at least once a month within the United States from June to December and globally from January to…
By Pierre Tran Paris. The European arms procurement agency signed Nov. 16 a contract worth some €300 million ($358 million) with Thales to build an unmanned surface and underwater minehunter system for the British and French navies, a source close to the deal said Nov. 27. A production deal for…
By Robbin Laird I am in the throes of finishing up my book on the evolution of Australian defence strategy over the past several years, from 2014 until now. With the announcement of the new government defence strategy by Prime Minister Morrison on July 1, 2020, it seemed a good…
By Robbin Laird On November 17, 2020, a small number of journalists, most from the local Norfolk based media, flew from Norfolk Air Station to the USS Gerald R. Ford at sea, less than 100 miles off of the Virginia cost. We flew on the venerable C-2 Greyhound, but this…
By MC1 Jeff Troutman Off the Coast of Virginia, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and its embarked Carrier Air Wing 8 are conducting the first-ever fully integrated carrier strike group operations for a Ford-class carrier, under the leadership and operational control of Carrier Strike Group 12. The operation also…
