In the event of a strike against the United States, our nation is unprepared and under-equipped. Fortunately, this critical capabilities gap can be mitigated using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, at the fraction of the price, while being available to the warfighter against any ballistic or theater-based missile across the globe.
With the increase of Russian aggression in Ukraine in 2014 and the lessons learned that have stemmed from that conflict, the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders have become more concerned about a Russian incursion into the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia and the antiaccess/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities that Russia could bring to that conflict.
This Air University Advanced Research paper focuses on the changing mission roles of the tanker fleet in the approaching era of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) and some of the risks that may be present for aircrews. With the sensors and enhanced communications systems that the KC-46 provides and continued upgrades to the KC-135, ABMS will upend the old notion of a tanker being only a flying gas station.
The front lines were no longer solely about countering weapons of mass destruction, but rather, weapons of mass disruption. While America was fully engaged in counterterrorism, its adversaries were also expanding their capabilities in information warfare (IW) while staying below the threshold of armed conflict.
On 20 January 2021, the Trump administration, in one of its last decisions, signed the agreement to sell the F-35 joint strike fighter to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Biden administration suspended this deal in late January 2021, but on 13 April, President Biden approved it. However, Congress can still try to block it, which might depend on if and how problematic this deal is—including to Israel.
Some of the issues that make the major powers reluctant to get more involved in peacekeeping missions could be improved with the use of technology. I will discuss several technologies that should be consciously used to improve peacekeeping, including technologies that provide basic needs, mobility, communications, security, command & control, and robotic assistance. These varied technologies will improve peacekeeping operations by making troops more secure, providing force multipliers that enable them to more effectively keep the peace, and supporting the needs of the populations they serve with cutting-edge kind-of-cool tactics.
Putin’s Russia breathed new life in the NATO alliance and encouraged introspection on the part of NATO’s members. This paper investigates the organizational structure of the alliance and whether it advances or hinders its ability to compete and defeat Russia in conflict.
Wild Blue Yonder Home