Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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NASSCO: The Last Major Shipyard On The U.S. West Coast Shows What It Takes To Survive (From Forbes)
October 25, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, better known as NASSCO, is the last major shipbuilder on the West Coast. In addition to building auxiliary vessels for the Navy and expeditionary warfare vessels to support the Marine Corps, it also constructs oceangoing [Read More...] -
The Navy’s Tomahawk Cruise Missile Is Becoming More Lethal, More Versatile (From Forbes)
October 23, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Tomahawk cruise missile is the most ubiquitous munition in the U.S. Navy, deployed on 145 warships including both surface combatants and attack submarines. Designed to precisely destroy distant, well-defended targets without causing collateral damage, Tomahawk is now being evolved [Read More...] -
Why Sell Weapons To Taiwan? Because Washington’s China Strategy Won’t Work Without It. (From Forbes)
October 18, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Taiwan is about to secure its biggest arms sale from Washington in many years, including 66 F-16 fighters and over a hundred M1A2 tanks. Congressional support for arming Taiwan remains strong, and a key reason why is that if Beijing [Read More...] -
Why the Navy Needs To Speed Backfit Of Its SPY-6 Super Radar On Destroyers (From Forbes)
October 11, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Raytheon has developed a modular radar for the U.S. Navy that will greatly enhance defense against airborne and ballistic threats. Officially designated as SPY-6, the radar comes in multiple variants for different warship types, depending on how much power, cooling [Read More...] -
Inside The U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Secret Next Generation Interceptor (From Forbes)
October 8, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency has issued solicitations for a future interceptor capable of defeating long-range nuclear warheads. It would replace the current ground-based interceptor that is part of the only defensive system the U.S. has for protecting the American [Read More...] -
What USTR and Boeing Want From Europe To End The Tariffs (From Forbes)
October 4, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D There’s an easy way for European governments to avoid the tariffs that the U.S. Trade Representative is threatening to levy in response to illegal aircraft subsidies. All they have to do is kill the subsidies and bring their behavior into [Read More...] -
Pentagon’s Next-Gen Missile Defense Plan Could Leave U.S. Poorly Protected For Years (From Forbes)
October 3, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. military only has one program capable of intercepting long-range ballistic missiles aimed at America. It is called the Ground-based Midcourse Defense, or GMD, and it is not in good shape. Many years of under-investment have left GMD in [Read More...] -
In Brief: The Logic of Aircraft Carrier Strike Groups
September 27, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Read the full report as a PDF here. This assessment provided the read-ahead for a recent carrier strike group working forum hosted by the Lexington Institute. The United States is the only nation in history that has sustained a fleet [Read More...] -
Five Reasons The Air Force’s Digital Century Series Is Doomed To Failure (From Forbes)
September 24, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Air Force’s tech chief, Will Roper, is pushing a plan to develop future aircraft in small numbers on greatly compressed schedules. Using digital engineering and other innovations, he wants to acquire tactical aircraft in a few years that would [Read More...] -
What Weapons Will The Air Force Kill In Its 2021 Budget? (From Forbes)
September 19, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Air Force has reviewed all of its programs — over a thousand projects — with an eye to determining whether they fit with the Trump national defense strategy. The items that don’t fit will become bill-payers for new projects [Read More...]