Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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The Four Biggest Hurdles To Rebuilding The Nuclear Bomber Force (From Forbes)
January 8, 2021- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The average age of heavy bombers in the Air Force fleet is now 45 years. The force has grown so decrepit that its ability to provide a credible deterrent as part of the nation’s nuclear triad is becoming doubtful. For [Read More...] -
Why Getting Rid Of U.S. ICBMs Could Make Nuclear War More Likely (From Forbes)
January 5, 2021- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Plans to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with a new “ground-based strategic deterrent” are likely to be carefully scrutinized by the Biden Pentagon. If the scrutiny is objective, here is what it will find: maintaining a resilient, [Read More...] -
Biden Defense Team Inherits Navy Robotic Warship Research Aimed At Deterring/Defeating China (From Forbes)
December 23, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Joe Biden is about to inherit a diverse portfolio of defense innovations funded by his predecessor. One of the most ambitious initiatives is the Navy’s effort to develop unmanned surface warships and submersibles capable of supporting the manned fleet in [Read More...] -
Lockheed Martin’s Purchase Of Aerojet Is A Modest Transaction With Major Benefits (From Forbes)
December 21, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Lockheed Martin disclosed on Sunday that it plans to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Unlike some other mergers in the aerospace sector, this deal is likely to bolster competition. There are only two domestic producers of the [Read More...] -
Biden Defense Team Needs To Speed Consolidation Of Pentagon’s Vulnerable Cloud Architecture (From Forbes)
December 18, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Two years after the Pentagon released a strategy directing that defense users migrate to an enterprise-wide cloud computing architecture, little progress has been made. The next-generation JEDI program remains mired in legal wrangling, while various defense components retain over 500 [Read More...] -
Love Him Or Hate Him, President Trump’s Defense Legacy Is Profound (From Forbes)
December 15, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The various controversies surrounding President Trump should not be allowed to obscure the important changes he made to the nation’s defense posture. Among other things, he kept us out of new wars, refocused national strategy on the China threat, forced [Read More...] -
Geospatial Intelligence–‘Geoint’–Becomes A Focus Of Military & Economic Competition (From Forbes)
December 11, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D After dominating the use of geospatial intelligence for decades, the United States is beginning to fall behind other nations, particularly in fostering a commercial ‘geoint’ industry. The science of using satellites to relate human activity to geography is equally useful [Read More...] -
Why Lloyd Austin Is A Superior Pick To Run The Defense Department (From Forbes)
December 8, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D President-elect Biden’s reported decision to nominate retired Army general Lloyd Austin to become Secretary of Defense is a wise move. Neither Biden nor the other announced members of his national security team have any intimate understanding of what modern war [Read More...] -
Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan Is Poised To Emerge From The Pandemic In Great Shape (From Forbes)
December 2, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Nobody at Pratt & Whitney, the engine business of Raytheon Technologies, is going to remember 2020 as a good year for the company. Commercial sales are way off. But the military side of the house is going gangbusters with engines [Read More...] -
Five Reasons Return Of Boeing’s 737 MAX To Service Is Important To National Security (From Forbes)
November 23, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Aerospace is one of the few technology areas where America still unquestionably leads the world. Maintaining that edge is vital to national security. However, many observers don’t grasp the connection between the return of Boeing’s 737 MAX to service and [Read More...]