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Ukraine’s Robot Army: The Rise of Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Modern Warfare

10/10/2025 The battlefields of Ukraine are witnessing a technological revolution that is reshaping the nature of ground combat. While aerial drones have dominated headlines throughout the conflict, a new category of unmanned systems is quietly transforming military operations: unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). From experimental prototypes to mass deployment, Ukraine's ambitious push to field 15,000 ground robots by the end of 2025… Read more »

Renewable Energy Economics: The Challenges that Need to Be Met

10/10/2025 On April 28, 2025, at precisely 12:33 CEST, the lights went out across the Iberian Peninsula. What began as a voltage surge at a solar installation in Spain cascaded into a massive blackout affecting nearly 60 million people across Spain and Portugal, lasting approximately 10 hours in most areas. The event would prove to be more than just a technical… Read more »

Fight Tonight: The Major Answers to Readiness at the Speed of Relevance

10/09/2025 By Robbin Laird The Sir Richard Williams Foundation's September 18, 2025 seminar posed a fundamental question that cuts to the heart of modern defense planning: How does a nation achieve "readiness at the speed of relevance" when the luxury of time may no longer exist? The presentations provided sobering but actionable answers that collectively paint a picture of how 21st-century… Read more »

The Hidden Cost of Flying Yesterday’s Trainers

10/08/2025 By Robbin Laird When the first T-7A Red Hawk trainer arrives at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph this December, it will mark more than just the introduction of a new aircraft. It represents the U.S. Air Force's acknowledgment of a decades-long training crisis that has quietly undermined pilot development: the service has been teaching aviators habits they'll later need to unlearn,… Read more »

Australia’s Air Power Strategy: Chief of Air Force Outlines Vision for Deterrence and Defence

10/07/2025 By Robbin Laird In a discussion at the Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar on September 18, 2025, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, Chief of Air Force, provided comprehensive insights into the Royal Australian Air Force's strategic direction and operational philosophy. Speaking to Air Marshal (Retired) Brown and an audience of defence professionals, Chappell outlined a vision that balances immediate readiness with… Read more »

Charting a Course for A Way Ahead for the U.S. Navy: Key Recommendations from the 2025 Notes to the New CNO Series

10/06/2025 In August 2025, Admiral Daryl Caudle assumed the role of the 34th Chief of Naval Operations, inheriting a U.S. Navy facing extraordinary pressures. From shipyard backlogs and workforce challenges to evolving threats in the Indo-Pacific, the service confronts demands that will test every aspect of its institutional capacity. To mark this transition, the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) convened… Read more »

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The LVC Dynamic: A Key Force for Change in Combat Pilot Training

09/29/2025 The landscape of military aviation training stands at a critical juncture. As combat aircraft have evolved into increasingly sophisticated platforms bristling with advanced sensors, networked communications, and complex mission systems, the challenge of preparing pilots to operate these systems effectively has grown exponentially. The emergence of fifth-generation fighters has fundamentally altered the calculus of pilot… Download PDF Now »

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The CMV-22B and Carrier Operations Across Two Oceans

10/02/2025 By Robbin Laird When the CMV-22B Osprey touched down on the deck of USS Carl Vinson in August 2021, it marked more than just another aircraft delivery. It represented a… Read more »

Beyond Geography: Why the “Global South” Isn’t About Location Anymore

09/30/2025 When Russia, a nation whose territory extends into the Arctic Circle, positions itself as part of the “Global South,” it reveals something fundamental about how international relations have evolved beyond… Read more »

Investing in War Winners: Transforming Naval Aviation Training for Future Dominance

09/29/2025 By Robbin Laird Modern warfare has reached an inflection point. As technology accelerates and battlespaces become increasingly complex, military aviation faces a fundamental truth: the next generation of military superiority… Read more »

A Strategic Investment in Marine Corps Heavy-Lift Capabilities

09/28/2025 By Robbin Laird On September 26, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, signed one of the largest helicopter procurement contracts in military history. The… Read more »

The Contraband Economy That Built Brazil’s Independence

09/26/2025 By Robbin Laird In the shadowy world of 18th-century colonial Brazil, monks conducted business through holes in convent walls, French diplomats openly discussed bribing governors, and British ships feigned distress… Read more »

UK Strategic Defence Review 2025: Transforming Air Power for a New Era of Threats

09/25/2025 By Robbin Laird Air Commodore Alun Roberts, Head Air to Air Missiles Royal Air Force, outlined in a virtual presentation to the seminar, Britain’s ambitious defence transformation in response to evolving… Read more »

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Osan DFT

09/26/2025 U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lighting II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 214, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing conduct flight operations during a deployment for training… Read more »

Atlantic Trident 25

09/24/2025 A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England, conducts aerial refueling operations with F-35A Lightning IIs from the 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath,… Read more »

Bamboo Eagle 25-1

09/22/2025 U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 354th Fighter Wing paticipate in Bamboo Eagle 25-1 at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. The 354th participated in Bamboo Eagle to improve the… Read more »

The King Stallion Works with the Joint Force

09/10/2025 U.S. Marines with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) and 2nd Distribution Support Battalion (DSB) perform external lifts at U.S. Coast Guard base Sector Key West, Florida, July 28, 2025. Marines… Read more »

The King Stallion Works Interagency Tasks

09/08/2025 U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Fred Miller, from Nevada and a CH-53K King Stallion crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461, looks out of a CH-53K near Naval… Read more »

HMH-461 Aviation Expo

09/05/2025 U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, showcase a CH-53K King Stallion as part of Fleet Week New York 2025, at… Read more »

SLTE 1-25

09/03/2025 U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 conduct simulated troop insertion operations with 2nd Battalion 23rd Marines at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, Feb.… Read more »

SLD BOOKSHOP

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The Second Line of Defense team provides high quality publications with regard to key global strategic developments. You can purchase these on a number of booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

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The LVC Revolution

This video previews our forthcoming report entitled: THE LVC DYNAMIC A KEY FORCE FOR CHANGE IN COMBAT PILOT TRAINING which has been generated as a guide to our upcoming visit… Read more »

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