Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion Helicopter On Track To Become Heaviest Lifter In Joint Force (From Forbes)
February 28, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The heavy-lift helicopter that Sikorsky is developing for the U.S. Marine Corps has overcome early challenges and is on schedule for initial operational deployments in 2023. Called the King Stallion, the CH-53K is far more capable than the “E” variant [Read More...] -
Five Reasons The U.S. Army Deserves To Be First In Line For More Modernization Funding (From Forbes)
February 25, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Trump defense increases are over, and competition for scarce budget dollars among the military services therefore is likely to grow more intense. They all are facing a shortfall in modernization funding, but the Army arguably has the most compelling [Read More...] -
Army Risks Election Fallout As It Slashes “Lower Priority” Weapons Programs (From Forbes)
February 21, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Army is struggling to modernize its warfighting systems despite inadequate funding. One solution is to use lower-priority programs as bill-payers for the most critical modernization initiatives. But that puts the Army crosswise with President Trump’s reelection campaign, because [Read More...] -
Why Pratt & Whitney’s F135 Fighter Engine Will Be The Most Important Military Franchise Raytheon Technologies Owns (From Forbes)
February 18, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D When United Technologies and Raytheon combine later this year, the latter company will contribute most of the future military revenues. However, it is the Pratt & Whitney unit of United Technologies that will provide the enterprise’s most valuable military franchise. [Read More...] -
Why Boeing’s T-7 Red Hawk Trainer Is Shaping Up To Be A Breakthrough Success For The U.S. Air Force (From Forbes)
February 13, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D When Boeing won the competition to develop the Air Force’s future training system in 2018, many observers were amazed at how low the price was. It turns out that low price is just the beginning of what makes the program, [Read More...] -
Secrecy Shrouds Much Of The Air Force’s Latest Budget (from Forbes)
February 10, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Air Force on Monday unveiled a proposed 2021 budget seeking $63 billion for investment in new warfighting technology, including for the recently created Space Force. It appears to be a very well thought-through approach to preparing the two [Read More...] -
How Pentagon Weapons Spending Can Help (Or Hurt) President Trump’s Reelection Prospects (From Forbes)
February 7, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Pentagon is one of the biggest consumers of manufactured products in the world, which makes weapons spending a potent political tool. In fact, in swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, it is conceivable that Pentagon weapons outlays [Read More...] -
Space Sensor Layer Is The Pentagon’s Next Tech Mega-Project (From Forbes)
February 4, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D If you haven’t heard about the Space Sensor Layer, you will. The Pentagon wants to put hundreds of small satellites in low earth orbit so that they can track hypersonic glide weapons. Russia and China are both developing such weapons [Read More...] -
Three Huge Defense Threats For Which Washington Is Woefully Under-Prepared (From Forbes)
January 31, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. spends more money on defense than any other country, and as a result has the best trained, best equipped military in the world. However, that doesn’t mean Washington is adequately prepared to cope with all dangers to national [Read More...] -
Qualcomm Antitrust Case Raises Far-Reaching National Security Concerns (From Forbes)
January 28, 2020- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D On February 13th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments concerning whether chip maker Qualcomm should be forced to license its hard-won patents to competitors such as Huawei. A lower court ruled that the [Read More...]