Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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Trump’s Korea Nuclear Deal Could Change the Focus of U.S. Missile Defense (From Forbes)
June 12, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D North Korea probably will not give up its nuclear arsenal, but in the aftermath of the Singapore summit, it is worth considering what such an outcome might mean for the U.S. missile defense program. If the North Korean nuclear threat [Read More...] -
White House Preparing Bio-defense Strategy As Germ Warfare Fears Rise (From Forbes)
June 7, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Time was, the phrase “weapons of mass destruction” was almost synonymous with nuclear weapons. Not in this White House, though. The Trump Administration is so concerned about biological threats and global pandemics that the National Security Council staff is preparing [Read More...] -
Trump Industrial Policy Likely To Target U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding & Merchant Fleet For Revival (From Forbes)
June 5, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Two-way trade between the U.S. and other countries totaled over $5 trillion last year. Most of it was transported by sea, but very little moved on American-built, American-operated or American-crewed vessels. The U.S. shipbuilding and seaborne shipping industries have largely [Read More...] -
Lockheed Martin F-35 Fighter Poised To Become One Of America’s Biggest Exports (From Forbes)
May 29, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The tri-service F-35 fighter has completed development and begun deploying overseas. At least 11 foreign countries will buy it, and if it turns out anything like the F-16 it is replacing, the number of foreign buyers could eventually be twice [Read More...] -
Boeing Makes Its Case For Building The Air Force’s Hotly Contested T-X Trainer (From Forbes)
May 24, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Air Force desperately needs a replacement for its 50-year-old T-38 training jets, which no longer are capable of adequately preparing pilots to fly frontline fighters. The service is running a competition called T-X to find that replacement, and one [Read More...] -
United Technologies To Hire 35,000 In U.S., Stressing Commitment To American Workforce (From Forbes)
May 23, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Industrial conglomerate United Technologies today disclosed that it will hire 35,000 workers in the U.S. over the next five years, and spend $15 billion on capital expenditures and research here during the same period. The announcements appear aimed at countering [Read More...] -
Critical U.S. Military Sites Can’t Cope With A Prolonged Power Outage (From Forbes)
May 18, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In 2008, the Defense Science Board warned that vital U.S. military installations were too dependent on a fragile commercial power grid, and that backup plans in the event of a prolonged outage were inadequate. Today, ten years later, nothing much [Read More...] -
Boeing’s Big Day: WTO Clears Way For Massive Penalties In Long-running Aircraft Subsidies Case (From Forbes)
May 15, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D On May 15, the World Trade Organization issued its final and definitive ruling on a case brought by the U.S. Trade Representative against European aircraft subsidies in 2006. The ruling is a huge win for Boeing, America’s biggest exporter, opening [Read More...] -
What Does It Take To Be A Top Operative For The Defense Industry In Washington? (From Forbes)
May 14, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The defense industry depends on the federal government for all of its sales, so contractors are very careful about picking who will run their Washington offices. A look at the top operatives at Boeing, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin suggests [Read More...] -
Rocket Motors On Nuclear Missiles Become A Test Case For Trump Industrial Policy (From Forbes)
May 8, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The White House will soon release a comprehensive study of the defense industrial base that warns against letting domestic sources of vital military items shrink to a “single point of failure.” However, that is precisely where the industrial base for [Read More...]