Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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A Boeing-Northrop Team May Be The Only Way To Fix The Air Force’s Flawed ICBM Competition (From Forbes)
August 6, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Boeing has informed the Air Force it will not bid on a contract to develop the nation’s next ICBM, leaving only Northrop Grumman in the running. That won’t do: most of the nation’s relevant expertise resides within Boeing, and the [Read More...] -
Aerojet Rocketdyne Cuts Costs, Builds Infrastructure To Compete For Engines On Future ICBM (From Forbes)
August 1, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Aerojet Rocketdyne is one of only two companies left in the U.S. that can build large solid rocket motors. Whether it is able to remain a high-rate producer depends on winning a berth as supplier for the Air Force’s Ground [Read More...] -
Defense Against Hypersonic Attack Is Becoming The Biggest Military Challenge Of The Trump Era (From Forbes)
July 30, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Russia and China are testing weapons that can fly several times faster than the speed of sound — in other words, over a mile per second. In addition to their extreme velocity, these “hypersonic” weapons fly below sensor horizons, are [Read More...] -
Eight Reasons NASA Needs To Stick With Its Plan If It Wants To Get Back To The Moon — Or Beyond (From Forbes)
July 25, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D There’s a great deal of political pressure on NASA’s program for returning astronauts to the Moon. Some players want a rethink, which could be fatal to the whole effort. Artemis, as it is now called, may be NASA’s last chance [Read More...] -
Using Commercial Satellites To Control Nuclear Weapons Is A Bad Idea — But It’s Being Discussed (From Forbes)
July 23, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said at a June meeting that his service might consider using commercial satellites to assure connectivity with strategic nuclear forces. The basic idea is to have as many pathways for controlling the [Read More...] -
Five Problems That Could Torpedo America’s Naval Shipbuilding Capability (From Forbes)
July 19, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Navy’s shipbuilders are currently awash in business thanks to a sizable increase in the Pentagon budget under President Trump. However, defense buildups typically don’t last long, whereas some of the the naval shipbuilding sector’s problems have been chronic [Read More...] -
Congress Should Fully Fund The Air Force’s Long-Overdue Competition For A Safer Ejection Seat (From Forbes)
July 15, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Air Force determined in 2010 that its combat pilots needed better ejection seats for coping with on-board emergencies. Heavier headgear was increasing the neck and head stress associated with ejections, while an increasingly diverse population of cockpit occupants didn’t [Read More...] -
Five Basic Facts About Boeing Missing From Coverage Of The 737 MAX Story (From Forbes)
July 11, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Loss of two 737 MAX jetliners has unleashed a media assault against Boeing, maker of the planes. Some of the issues raised in the reporting are important, but much of it is herd-instinct overkill. The most important angle that is [Read More...] -
Five Money-Pit Projects The U.S. Air Force Can Do Without (From Forbes)
July 8, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Air Force is struggling to overcome two decades of depressed investment in new technology by simultaneously purchasing new bombers, new tankers, new fighters, and new trainers. It also needs to re-architect satellite constellations that are too vulnerable to [Read More...] -
Five Principles That Will Power President Trump’s Reelection (From Forbes)
July 2, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The entire field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination seems to be trending leftward in the run-up to primary season. If history is any guide, that will enable President Trump to win a second term despite his manifest [Read More...]