Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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Time Is Already Running Out On The U.S. Army’s Long-Delayed Modernization Surge (From Forbes)
May 2, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Army is missing the opportunity that President Trump’s election has provided to thoroughly modernize its combat systems. Rather than moving out quickly to accelerate the procurement of new weapons already in the pipeline, it is frittering away time [Read More...] -
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg Has A Strategy That Will Work In Good Times And Bad (From Forbes)
April 26, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Boeing’s impressive earnings beat in the first quarter of 2018 reflects a company that is operating at the top of its game. However, there is a lot more to the Boeing story than what is happening right now. CEO Dennis [Read More...] -
As Space War Looms, Air Force’s Biggest Weakness May Be How It Buys Satellites (From Forbes)
April 23, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Air Force leaders are expressing grave concern about recent Russian and Chinese initiatives aimed at negating America’s national-security space capabilities. The satellite constellations on which the U.S. currently depends for communications, recon and warning of attack are not equipped to [Read More...] -
Trump Drone Decree Signals Arms Exports Are Now A Key Feature Of U.S. Economic Policy (From Forbes)
April 20, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D On April 19, the White House gave the defense industry long-sought relief from regulations limiting the export of drones. A presidential memorandum loosened restrictions and committed the federal government to playing a more active role in promoting U.S. arms exports. [Read More...] -
Mega-Base: What Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Means For The Economy of Ohio (From Forbes)
April 18, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio is the largest single-site employer in the Buckeye State and the center of Air Force innovation. It is also a driver of regional growth, accounting for 14% of economic activity in the Dayton [Read More...] -
How Boeing’s KC-46 Next-Gen Tanker Will Set The Global Standard For Aerial Refueling (From Forbes)
April 13, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Boeing is developing a versatile aerial refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force that will be a game-changer for the joint force and overseas allies. The tanker is critical to future military operations because many key destinations in Europe and [Read More...] -
Biowar: A Guide To The Coming Plague Years (From Forbes)
April 9, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Threats to national security aren’t as predictable now as they were during the Cold War. The one thing many recent threats have in common is that they are “asymmetric” — they aim to attack America where it is least ready [Read More...] -
Why Trillion-Dollar Estimates To Keep The F-35 Fighter Flying Are Really Misleading (From Forbes)
April 5, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The tri-service F-35 fighter is wrapping up a very successful development program. All key performance requirements have been met, the cost of each variant is coming down, and the fighter wins every overseas sales competition in which it is entered. [Read More...] -
5 Reasons Congress Surprised The Satellite Industry By Adding Military Satcoms In The 2018 Budget (From Forbes)
April 2, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Congressional appropriators surprised the satellite industry by adding two more Boeing Wideband Global Satcom satellites to their omnibus spending measure last month. Commercial satellite operators aren’t happy, because the move will make it more difficult for them to increase their [Read More...] -
Slow Ride: U.S. Army Won’t Begin Replacing Cold War Helicopters Until After 2030 (From Forbes)
March 29, 2018- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Army is talking a lot these days about speeding up the way it buys weapons, but you’d never know that to look at its plan for modernizing combat helicopters. All three of the core rotorcraft operated by Army [Read More...]