Eyeing China, Australia Busily Buys Up Frigates, Drones, and Sub-Hunting Planes

Eyeing China, Australia Busily Buys Up Frigates, Drones, and Sub-Hunting Planes
Eyeing China, Australia Busily Buys Up Frigates, Drones, and Sub-Hunting Planes

Australia looking to protect its home waters, while sending a signal to Washington that it is one of the allies that is trying to pull its weight in defending itself.

Will Trump’s Halt To US-South Korean Exercises Work? Remember The Vietnam Bombing Halt

Will Trump’s Halt To US-South Korean Exercises Work? Remember The Vietnam Bombing Halt
Will Trump’s Halt To US-South Korean Exercises Work? Remember The Vietnam Bombing Halt

President Trump announced that the United States would stop flying bombers over South Korea and suspend exercises there to facilitate diplomatic negotiations with North Korea. This echoes President Johnson’s March 1968 decision to halt the bombing of most of North Vietnam, also done to encourage negotiations. In 1968 the effort succeeded, at least in the short…

Trump Supporter Sen. Perdue ‘Very Troubled’ By Pledge To End Korea Exercises

Trump Supporter Sen. Perdue ‘Very Troubled’ By Pledge To End Korea Exercises
Trump Supporter Sen. Perdue ‘Very Troubled’ By Pledge To End Korea Exercises

“I’ve never agreed with 100% of what this president says off the cuff like that,” Perdue said. The pledge to end exercises — deemed critical to allied military readiness — was not mentioned in the official joint statement, he noted, and therefore isn’t a binding commitment, only an expression of presidential intent predicated on continued cooperation from Pyongyang.

Israel Deploying to Eastern Europe, Pacific for First Time Alongside U.S. Forces

Israel Deploying to Eastern Europe, Pacific for First Time Alongside U.S. Forces
Israel Deploying to Eastern Europe, Pacific for First Time Alongside U.S. Forces

The Trump Pentagon is undergoing a major shift to focus on great power competition. And it’s looking for allies to step up in places that might come as a surprise.

US Needs New Strategy To Combat Russian, Chinese ‘Political Warfare’: CSBA

US Needs New Strategy To Combat Russian, Chinese ‘Political Warfare’: CSBA
US Needs New Strategy To Combat Russian, Chinese ‘Political Warfare’: CSBA

If war is politics by other means, then politics is war by other means, Chinese and Russian leaders believe. And political warfare must be conducted with the same ruthless ingenuity as open war because the stakes are equally high: the survival or destruction of the regime.

Wittman: We Need An Atlantic Rebalance

Wittman: We Need An Atlantic Rebalance
Wittman: We Need An Atlantic Rebalance

The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) John Richardson made a major organizational announcement with major strategic implications when he announced the Navy would re-establish the Second Fleet, which covers the Atlantic. But that would, so far, only mean adding 250 people to the command. Without making larger strategic changes, that is not enough. To respond appropriately to Russian naval…

Army AMC Head Wants To Stop Buying Ships

Army AMC Head Wants To Stop Buying Ships
Army AMC Head Wants To Stop Buying Ships

Gen. Gus Perna, head of Army Materiel Command, is a brave man. He came to Pacific Command’s AOR and announced he wants the Army to stop building the transport ships and so-called watercraft that could be crucial to any conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

New Admiral In The Pacific, And He’s Got His Eye On China

New Admiral In The Pacific, And He’s Got His Eye On China
New Admiral In The Pacific, And He’s Got His Eye On China

The incoming commander of US Pacific Fleet issues a warning about growing Chinese ambitions while taking charge of the world’s largest fleet.

Rep. Gabbard Pushes For Heftier Hawaiian Missile Defenses

Rep. Gabbard Pushes For Heftier Hawaiian Missile Defenses
Rep. Gabbard Pushes For Heftier Hawaiian Missile Defenses

Pentagon planners aren’t only worried about North Korean ICBMs, but Chinese hypersonics and medium-range missiles. That means, according to analysts, that an array of distributed systems are needed to meet a wide range of potential threats.

Allies Must Develop Own Robots, Not Just ‘Copy’ US: Aussie War College Chief

Allies Must Develop Own Robots, Not Just ‘Copy’ US: Aussie War College Chief
Allies Must Develop Own Robots, Not Just ‘Copy’ US: Aussie War College Chief

“If at some point in future, you need to expand your capability, expand your military,” Maj. Gen. Ryan said, “Australia’s at the end of a very long line of industrial resupply, and we might want to have the capacity ourselves.”

The Way Ahead To Kim-Trump Summit

The Way Ahead To Kim-Trump Summit
The Way Ahead To Kim-Trump Summit

While a Trump-Kim summit is a victory for South Korean diplomacy and the policy of maximum pressure, it is also a tremendous victory for Kim Jong Un, and this must be recognized.

Navy’s New High Altitude Drones Ready for Pacific

Navy’s New High Altitude Drones Ready for Pacific
Navy’s New High Altitude Drones Ready for Pacific

The deployment comes as Beijing and Washington race to keep tabs on one another in the South China Sea.

Aussie Tankers Knit Coalition Forces Together

Aussie Tankers Knit Coalition Forces Together
Aussie Tankers Knit Coalition Forces Together

Afghanistan and operations in the Middle East against jihadist terror groups mark the rebirth of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as probably the most modern and innovative air force among US allies and partners.

The Aussies deployed a new force package during their most recent Middle East engagement, as C-17s, F/A-18As and F/A-18Fs operated with the E-7 Wedgetail Air Battle Management aircraft and the A330 MRTT tanker. 

Aussie F-35A Drives Historic Shift To USAF Focus From USN

Aussie F-35A Drives Historic Shift To USAF Focus From USN
Aussie F-35A Drives Historic Shift To USAF Focus From USN

RAAF BASE WILLIAMTOWN: The unique capabilities of the 72 F-35As Australia will buy are driving the close US ally to rethink and build new infrastructure to protect the aircraft’s highly classified stealth capabilities, as well as its data, Air Commodore Michael Kitcher said during a visit here. The Royal Australian Air Force Air Combat Group Commander is…