A key element of the evolving Asian situation is the relationships among the Asians themselves which has little to do with the United States. Unfortunately, Inside the Beltway usually debates the US approach to China as if it is the only or even key definer of reality in the Pacific. …
The Nike perspective – Just Do It – is the appropriate perspective to re-building the US military after Afghanistan. Make no bones about it, a major cultural shift and re-orientation is required. One can take the approach of debating at 50,000 feet whilst doing nothing practical to rebuild the force,…
by Robbin Laird Recently, the USN-USMC team completed the largest “amphibious” exercise in more than a decade along with core allies. But what did people see? What did they recognize in the exercise and focus upon? Because it is called an amphibious exercise, outsiders who attended the exercise tended to…
4/11/12 by Richard Weitz The Strategic Warning from Astana, Kazakhstan. The logistics trail to Afghanistan is long and costly. The role of Pakistan and Kazakhstan is crucial in providing the “highway” to support Afghan operations. But both nodes are in trouble. The problems dividing the United States from Afghanistan and…
by Ed Timperlake Current realities show the pressure of global dynamics, not wishful thinking, upon defense policies. As the North Koreans prepare to launch yet another missile, the U.S. and the Japanese are deploying forces to monitor and to defend if necessary. For what is the difference between a test…
The A400M is entering its final phases of testing before entering service, initially for the French military. Most recently, the A400M came to the air show in Chile and was highlighted by Airbus military while at that show. Now it is about to start and Asian tour. [caption id="attachment_37277" align="alignleft"…
By Ed Timperlake The F-35 is often simply referred to as a tactical aircraft, and a replacement for 4th generation or legacy aircraft. It is really something quite different. It represents a dramatic shift from the past. For the first time in history, individual F-35 pilots –A, B or C…
Yesterday, the new British A330 tanker began its RAF service life. The British program is built around a unique leasing approach. The leasing approach allows for amortization of operational costs by sharing life as a commercial freighter with its tanker duties with the RAF. [caption id="attachment_37195" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="First flight…
