Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
-
Five Reasons The Navy’s D5 Missile Is The Most Important Weapon In The U.S. Arsenal (From Forbes)
February 4, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Navy’s Trident II D5 missile isn’t just a vital part of the nation’s nuclear triad, it is arguably the most important part. Enemies can target our bomber bases and missile silos in a surprise attack, but they can’t find [Read More...] -
Leading Aviation Service Provider AAR Corp Launches Campaign To Reverse Erosion Of Sector Workforce (From Forbes)
January 30, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The nation’s leading independent provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services has launched a major initiative to attract more talent to the sector. Called the Eagle Pathways program, the initiative is aimed at facilitating access to technical careers in [Read More...] -
Why Raytheon May Be The Biggest Winner In The Pentagon’s New Missile Defense Plan (From Forbes)
January 24, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Trump Administration’s plan to expand U.S. missile defenses is complicated, but one common thread that runs through it is the pervasive role played by Raytheon. The Massachusetts-based military contractor seems to be involved in every facet of the missile [Read More...] -
Trump’s Strategic Vision Is More Coherent Than His Critics Imagine (From Forbes)
January 22, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D News coverage of President Trump is so reflexively negative that many observers think he has no ideological core. In fact, he not only has a a firm foundation of convictions concerning America’s place in the world, but those convictions are [Read More...] -
Why The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Plan Leaves The U.S. Unprotected From Russian Missile Attack (From Forbes)
January 17, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D President Trump today unveiled a new Pentagon missile-defense plan that is more robust than what he inherited from the Obama Administration. However, in one key respect it is unchanged: the United States will not attempt to defend its homeland against [Read More...] -
The F-35 Fighter Is A Success. So How Do We Keep It Ready & Reliable For The Next 50 Years? (From Forbes)
January 15, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The F-35 fighter program has successfully completed developmental testing, and begun entering the military fleets of three U.S. services and a dozen allies. It is a highly survivable, versatile warfighting system that will preserve U.S. air superiority through mid-century, but [Read More...] -
Five Reasons The Air Force Has Begun Taking Delivery Of Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus Tanker (From Forbes)
January 11, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Eight years after it awarded Boeing the contract to develop a next-generation aerial refueling tanker, the U.S. Air Force has begun formally accepting the KC-46A Pegasus. This is, as the Air Force stated Thursday, a major milestone for the program. [Read More...] -
U.S. Army’s Latest Aviation Plan Prioritizes Replacement Of Cold War Scout & Assault Helicopters (From Forbes)
January 10, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D After considerable reflection and multiple false starts, the Army has settled on a roadmap for modernizing its fleet of combat helicopters. It will develop a new scout helicopter, a successor to the Black Hawk utility helicopter, and an unmanned aerial [Read More...] -
White House, Congress Transform Security Clearance System As Massive Backlog Begins To Shrink (From Forbes)
January 7, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The federal system for awarding security clearances was in disarray when President Trump was inaugurated. An Obama-era decision to terminate the contract of the company conducting most of the government’s background checks led to long delays in completing investigations. Within [Read More...] -
Army’s Decision On Huge Helicopter Engine Program Will Impact GE, Honeywell, United Technologies (From Forbes)
January 2, 2019- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D After a dozen years of research and reflection, the U.S. Army is ready to select a design to replace the engines in its Black Hawk and Apache helicopters. Whether it picks the GE or the Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney offering, it [Read More...]