Washington: Iran has ambitious plans for its future naval fleet, which could pose serious trouble for the United States and its region allies if Tehran can pull it off. Last week, a senior Iranian naval officer announced his country was moving forward with plans to build a new aircraft carrier, along with a number of… Keep reading →

The French operational experience in and off of Libya has neatly dovetailed with that of the U.S. Marines and suggests a way forward for American thinking about littoral operations. With the decision of the U.S. national command authority to “lead from behind,” the Marines were almost inadvertently given a leading role. What “lead from behind”… Keep reading →

CORRECTED Indianapolis: One day after the Marines successfully landed a Joint Strike Fighter on a ship for the first time, Rolls-Royce executives showed off a new factory built to produce the complex lift fan system that is key to the F-35B STOVL variant. The new plant, near the Indianapolis airport, is a large, antiseptically clean… Keep reading →

Washington: America’s shipyards are sinking fast, and the only way to keep them afloat is to kick the Navy’s shipbuilding plan into high gear, a recently released DoD report states. Pentagon officials noted that U.S. shipyards are falling behind their international peers, in both technology and productivity, according to the department’s annual assessment of the… Keep reading →

The big news today: the Marines F-35B made a vertical landing on the deck of the USS Wasp, a small Marine aircraft carrier. Ship trials will demonstrate how the stealth materials on the plane hold up to harsh conditions at sea, as well as show just how hot and noisy the aircraft is when making… Keep reading →

The Navy is testing the first unmanned aircraft designed to take off and land on aircraft carriers. In recent tests, Northrop Grumman’s X-47B was put through a rigorous set of tests in preparation for actual carrier landings and takeoffs, planned for 2013. Here’s a summary of the testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. During… Keep reading →

Arlington, Va: The Navy and Marine Corps have a plan in place to squeeze more flight time from their older F-18 Hornets, and could use funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to pay for it. Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, deputy assistant commandant for Marine Corps aviation, said today that the services plan to… Keep reading →

Quantico, Va: In a nondescript room on a secure floor here at Marine Corps headquarters, a cadre of civilian and military personnel are busy redefining how the service does amphibious operations. Amid various Power Points, diagrams and computerized templates, the members of the Amphibious Capabilities Working Group have been assigned a formidable task — take… Keep reading →

Robbin Laird, international defense consultant, has been in Paris interviewing French military officials about lessons learned in Libya. This is the first of two pieces he’ll do for Breaking Defense on what he’s learned. The Editor. A main point underscored by the French military was the impact of the political process on military planning. The… Keep reading →

National Harbor: A light-attack aircraft may yet find its way into the hands of U.S. aviators, but not with the service that some may have thought. Lockheed Martin and Hawker-Beechcraft are considering pitching its AT-6B light-attack counterinsurgency plane for the upcoming Navy-led Combat Dragon II program, according to sources familiar with the effort. The Navy… Keep reading →