Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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Five Reasons U.S. Maritime Supremacy In The Western Pacific May Be Doomed (From Forbes)
April 12, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D China is seeking to displace America as the dominant military power in the Western Pacific, and that puts U.S. maritime capabilities in Beijing’s cross hairs. Although the U.S. Navy has launched an ambitious program of innovation and investment to foil [Read More...] -
Trump Sanctions Against European Aircraft Subsidies Are Long Overdue, Fully Supported By WTO Rules (From Forbes)
April 9, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Trump Administration disclosed on Monday that it has commenced the process of levying tariffs against European countries for illegally subsidizing Airbus. This move is long overdue, and is the end result of 14 years of legal wrangling before the [Read More...] -
FAA’s System For Certifying The Boeing 737 Max Wasn’t Flawed And Doesn’t Need To Be Fixed (From Forbes)
April 8, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In the aftermath of two Boeing 737 Max accidents, some observers are speculating that the company and its air-safety regulator are too close for comfort. It is hard to reconcile that suspicion with the fact that the Max took five [Read More...] -
Hypersonic Weapons Are Coming. The Pentagon Needs To Spend More On Defending Against Them. (From Forbes)
April 5, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Ever since Russian president Vladimir Putin announced last year that his country had successfully tested a hypersonic weapon, the Pentagon has been growing its investment in such technology. Hypersonic munitions are being developed for the Air Force, the Army and [Read More...] -
Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems Rewrites The Rules For Defense Technology (From Forbes)
April 1, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Raytheon is one of the biggest military contractors in the world, but it didn’t get there by bending metal. Instead, it mined core competencies in sensors, networks, smart munitions and electronic warfare to fashion an enterprise continuously on the cutting [Read More...] -
Why The Pentagon Must Have The B-21 Bomber Soon, And Shouldn’t Let Other Programs Slow Its Pace (from Forbes)
March 29, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Development of the Air Force’s super-secret B-21 bomber appears to be making steady progress, which is a good thing because none of the bombers in the current fleet will be able to address all of the necessary targets in the [Read More...] -
Pence Gives Boeing’s Super Rocket Thumbs Up, Directs NASA To Accelerate Moon Work (From Forbes)
March 27, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Vice President Pence, chairman of the National Space Council, this week directed an acceleration of work to return U.S. astronauts to the Moon. In the process, he confirmed that a super-rocket Boeing is developing will remain the centerpiece of NASA’s [Read More...] -
Army Budget Cuts Hit Pennsylvania Hard As Trump Reelection Bid Gears Up (From Forbes)
March 21, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The same week that workers at the Army’s Ohio tank plant learned their programs were getting more money, workers at a helicopter plant in Pennsylvania learned that their Army program was being canceled. It’s a big deal at the Boeing [Read More...] -
President Trump Visits The Last Tank Plant In America, Which He Helped Save (From Forbes)
March 19, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Joint Systems Manufacturing Center at Lima, Ohio is the last factory in the United States capable of building main battle tanks. President Trump is visiting there this week to highlight his military plans and efforts to revitalize American manufacturing. [Read More...] -
Plan To Retire USS Truman Early Makes No Sense–Which Is Why The Navy Doesn’t Really Want To Do It (From Forbes)
March 15, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Congress is pushing back on the wrongheaded proposal to retire one of the Navy’s large-deck aircraft carriers prematurely. That probably won’t upset the sea service, which was pressured by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to reduce the carrier [Read More...]