[caption id="attachment_17045" align="alignleft" width="157" caption="Ed Timperlake"][/caption] 03/26/2011 - Second Line of Defense is visiting the Ingalls Shipyards for the christening of LPD-24, the latest in the new LPD 17 series. As “Ozzie” Osborn, the former 15th MEU commander explained in a recent SLD interview, to be posted soon: We haven't…
USN-USMC "Ready Now" Capabilities By Ed Timperlake 03/23/2011 - An old saying comes to mind when looking at the UN action against Quaddafi and Libya—“Act in Haste, Repent at Leisure.” Regardless of the outcome, some very important 21st Century military lessons learned are already being seen. The USMC for over…
An Interview With Professor Lewis 03/22/2011 - In January 2011, Second Line of Defense sat down with Professor Lewis to discuss the current status and dynamics of hypersonics [1]. Mark J. Lewis is chairman of Clark School’s Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, and President…
New U.S. National Security Space Strategy Proposes New Partnerships By Dr. Richard Weitz 03/22/2011 - The new approach expounded in the National Security Space Strategy released by the Obama administration in early February could, if implemented, affect a number of SLD readers, including the military logistics community, industrial players, and…
By Jean-Marc Tanguy Memorial to the La Fayette Squadron (Credit: www.souvenir-francais-92.org) 03/22/2011 - The La Fayette Memorial in Marne-la-Coquette (Hauts de Seine) has come upon difficult times. It’s there, in the lush greenery, that some of the 68 pilots of the legendary American squadron that was created during World War…
03/22/2011 - The F-35 is the first combat aircraft that sees completely around itself, thanks to its Distributed Aperture System, a new sensor concept in air combat. All told, the F-35’s internal sensor suite can see hundreds of miles on a 360-degree basis. And, unlike legacy aircraft, which add systems…
By Dr. Richard Weitz 03/22/2011 - The famed Russian aircraft designer Mikhail Simonov died earlier this month, at the age of 81, after a long illness. His Sukhoi fighter jets represented the best of the Soviet defense industry and continue to dominate Russia’s arms sales to foreign countries. [caption id="attachment_16879"…
Lafayette Escadrille Memorial – The Monument to America’s First Combat Aviators By Robert C. Dooley, Col (ret), USAF 03/22/2011 - The monument to the first Americans to fly, fight, win, and for some, to die in combat resides at the edge of Paris, France. Forty-nine of America’s first combat aviators…