20 years ago, NATO goes to war for the first time, and so does America's B-2 stealth bomber.  It's March 24, 1999.  Two B-2 bombers snap off their running lights high over the Mediterranean Sea and climb to combat alititude to begin their target run over Yugoslavia.  Cruise missiles expode below them.  Enemy MiG-29s are airborne. It is night one of NATO's Operation Allied  Force.  Read more about  the 78-day air campaign that followed.

It’s becoming a familiar story.  Monday, November 12, 2018, an F/A-18F Superhornet fighter-attack jet flying from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan crashed while on deployment in the Western Pacific.  An MH-60R Seahawk helicopter also from USS Ronald Reagan’s Carrier Air Wing 5 crashed on October 19. 

The Navy is still investigating both crashes, and fortunately all crew members survived.  But the fact is naval aviation is in a readiness crisis. 

Less than half the Navy’s Superhornets are ready to fight, according to VADM Dewolfe Miller, Commander, Naval Air Forces, known as the “Air Boss.” 

The ...

When President Trump and President Moon talk in New York, they should take a moment to reflect on the improved situation with North Korea.  No missile tests for 10 months.  And very intense negotiations on denuclearization.  It’s excellent progress.  So why aren’t the press and analysts cheering?

The lingering worry from a military perspective is, what is Kim Jong Un hiding?  North Korea has put long-range artillery in caves for decades.  What if Kim is hiding missiles and nuclear weapons in the caves?  Can the world ever be sure?  It might take an army of IAEA inspectors to ...

After Helskini, here's a little historical perspective.  

Russia has very evil tools, and they are after far bigger prizes than the DNC.  Their 2016 campaign sought to gain influence, pick up dirt by hacking, and sow discord, which is the classic pattern they carry out in many other countries.  

Actual intrusions to US voter mechanisms were not effective.   Here is the August 2016 CNN piece on Russian hacking attempt on Arizona voter registration.  

All this was summed up in a rare Joint Analysis Report on the Russian cyber attacks on prominent individuals codenamed Grizzly Steppe, emailed to me and ...

Kim Jong Un may or may not have watched news coverage of the strike on Syria by the US, Britain and France.  If he did, he and the North Korean elite saw four things that should make them want to talk even more.  Same goes for the mullahs of Iran. 

First, precision strikes have reached a new level.  In addition to the TLAMS, the Pentagon said nineteen regular Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missiles hit the Barzeh chemical weapons research facility.  These new cruise missiles carried by the US Air Force’s B-1 bomber combined precision with heavy blast effects ...

Synthetic opioid trafficking is a huge new revenue target for ISIS affiliates -- think Al Capone and the liquor gangsters.  Read about the UN's concerns on opiod trafficking in this piece by CNN.

Data fusion at the tactical edge is a top need for the US military's new concept for Multi-Domain Operations.  US forces came to rely on combat data networks developed in battles in Afghanistna, Iraq and Syria.  But Russia and China's electronic warfare and cyber systems threaten US combat networks.  Fortunately, the technology is ready to test smart data fusion hubs: a new type of network "box" that fits on current airplanes, ships and other platforms to process, sort and refine data in real time, at the tactical edge, while operations are underway.   Over time, the connections and processing ...

New engines can boost the range and payload of the US Army's Blackhawk and Apache helicopters.  GE and ATEC, a Pratt&Whitney and Honeywell team, are developing improved turbine engines to remove and replace on Arny helicopters.  This viatla competition will power up Army missions, making it possible to carry more soldiers, equipment and to omit hazardous forward area refuelings.  Under any budget IREP is a vital Army program -- and one that makes sense for America's global missions and counterterrorism fight.

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US military options in the Pacific depend on airpower.  This paper examines how stealth and legacy fighters like the F-35, F-22 and F/A-18 among others may be deployed to counteract Chinese activity and give US commanders maximum options. 

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Strike sorties over Iraq and Syria now total 32,828 for the 3-year war that began in late 2014.  That's close to the number for Operation Desert Storm.  On Janaury 17, 1991, the US-led Coalition began a fight to eject Iraqi forces from Kuwait.  The six-week war dominated by airpower and finished up with 4 days of ground fighting redefined American military power.  The impact on Iraqi ground forces day after day led Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill A. McPeak to conclude, "My private conviction is that this is the first time in history that a field ...

Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, USN, Ret. and Dr. Rebecca Grant discuss the Navy's requirement for versatile, bluewater fighting capability in its surface combatant fleet.  

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