By Robbin Laird During my visit to MCAS Yuma in early May 2018, I had a chance to talk with several components of MAWTS-1. We recently published the interview with the MAWTS-1 Commanding Officer prior for his departure to his next assignment. Colonel Wellons highlighted the importance of readiness for…
Marines from the ordnance section of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, load inert explosives into an F-35B Lightning II as part of a regularly scheduled aircraft training relocation at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 15, 2018. [maxgallery id="117647"] ATR's are designed to…
Sea Shield is an annual multinational exercise taking place in the Black Sea and based on a notional crisis response scenario. The exercise is designed to test, conduct, analyze and evaluate Anti-Submarine Warfare activities through the employment of Anti-Submarine Underwater Warfare, Anti-Air Warfare and Maritime Counter Mining. This is to…
U.S. and French navy aircraft perform flight operations during Operation Chesapeake 2018 over the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). Bush is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier air wing exercises with the French navy to strengthen partnerships and deepen interoperability between the two nations' naval forces…
RAAF personnel at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, reach a flying milestone as the Australian F-35As complete their first 1000 sorties. The RAAF F-35A team are working together with the 56th Fighter Wing USAF and Lockheed Martin to develop Australia’s initial F-35A capability. Royal Australian Air Force pilots and maintenance…
By Robbin Laird The strategic shift is a crucial one for the liberal democracies. That strategic shift is from a primary focus on counter insurgency and stability operations to operating in a contested environment with high tempo and high intensity combat systems as a primary tool set. It is about managing conflict…
Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 work on completing an expeditionary airfield maintenance exercise on Stoval Airfield during Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course 2-18 (WTI) at Dateland, Ariz., on March 15, 2018. WTI is a seven-week training even hosted by MAWTS-1 cadre, which emphasizes operational integration of the six…
The importance of the arrival of the F-35s within the overall context of UK defense transformation was highlighted by a UK Ministry of Defence article published on the day of the arrival of the jets at RAF Marham, The first of Britain’s next-generation fighter jets have arrived home two months…
