Featured Article

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 will belong not to those with the most aircraft, but to those who make the smartest investments in their human capital. The recent insights from Tom Webster of Textron Aviation Defense illuminate this reality with striking clarity -- the future belongs to forces that can…
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RAAF Builds Out New Facilities to Support F-35 Force

11/04/2020RAAF Base Williamtown is home to the tactical fighter element of the Air Combat Group and the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) element of Surveillance and Response… Read more »

The Next Phase of the F-35 Global Enterprise: USS America Works Integration with Japanese F-35s

11/01/2020The F-35 fleet emerging in the Pacific is the 21st century version of the US Navy’s World War II “big blue blanket.” With the Japanese expanding their F-35… Read more »

Building Blocks on the USS Ford: Reshaping the Flight Deck and Ops Tempo

10/23/2020By Robbin Laird In the last article on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), I looked at one key building block which enhances both the ops tempo… Read more »

The UK Defence Strategy: “Integrated Operating Concept”

10/21/2020The UK is clearly in a period of significant strategic change. The twin impacts of COVID-19 and BREXIT are enough to assure that. With the significant impact of… Read more »

USMC Deployment Onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth: The Partnership Which Almost Did Not Happen

10/18/2020By Robbin Laird In this September 23, 2020 story published by 3rd Marie Aircraft Wing, the historic deployment of USMC F-35Bs onboard the UK’s largest warship ever built… Read more »

The Integratable Air Wing and Re-imaging the Large Deck Carrier: The Coming of the USS Ford

10/15/2020By Robbin Laird On Friday, October 9, 2020, I had a chance to visit the USS Ford and to get an update on the progress of this formidable… Read more »

Ready Spartan Prove 2020

10/08/2020The Royal Australian Air Force deployed C-27J Spartan aircraft and personnel from RAAF Base Amberley to participate in Exercise Ready Spartan Prove (RSP) in Townsville Queensland from 10… Read more »

The F-35 in the Way Ahead for USMC-US Navy Integration

09/29/2020By Robbin Laird During my visit to MAWTS-1 and to NAWDC, one clear instrument of their enhanced integration in the contested battlespace was rather obvious: The F-35 and… Read more »

Shaping Combat Architecture for Blue Water Expeditionary Operations

09/27/2020By Robbin Laird As the USMC focuses on how it can best help the US Navy in the maritime fight, two key questions can be posed: “How is… Read more »