Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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PenFed, #2 Federal Credit Union, Opens Command Center Focused On Military Customer Experience (From Forbes)
November 16, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Pentagon Federal Credit Union has opened a new Availability Command Center to assure that the 100 million transactions it has with its members each month are secure and satisfying. PenFed CEO James Schenck says he is aiming for “five [Read More...] -
How A Decaying Surface Transport System Is Endangering U.S. Security And Economic Strength (From Forbes)
November 14, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D President Eisenhower sold Congress on the need for an interstate highway system in part by highlighting its value to national defense. Few people today, though, see the connection between a robust surface transport system and military preparedness. That’s too bad, [Read More...] -
North Korea Threat Likely To Spur Big Increase In Spending On Navy’s Aegis Missile Shield (From Forbes)
November 9, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Navy’s Aegis combat system is headed for a major budget increase, thanks to the growing nuclear threat posed by North Korea. The latest upgrade of Aegis is able to intercept 99% of the ballistic missiles in North Korea’s [Read More...] -
The Army Knows What Weapons It Wants — But Can It Explain Why? (From Forbes)
November 6, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Trump Administration’s emerging National Security Strategy seems more enthused about U.S. air and sea power than it is about land power. As usual, the Army is not getting rewards from the political system commensurate with its sacrifices. One reason [Read More...] -
Trump Pick To Lead Ex-Im Bank Looks Doomed As Free Market Ideologues Lose Ground In GOP (From Forbes)
November 2, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D President Trump’s nominee to chair the U.S. Export-Import Bank did not fare well in a confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate banking committee. While four other nominees to the bank’s board attracted few complaints, senators from both sides of the [Read More...] -
The Danger Of Buying The Air Force’s Next Ballistic Missile From The Lowest Bidder (From Forbes)
October 30, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Air Force is responsible for two of the three legs in the nuclear triad. In 2015 it awarded an engineering contract to develop the nation’s next long-range strategic bomber, and in August of this year it awarded two [Read More...] -
Boeing Thinks Airbus Is Making A Big Mistake With Bombardier Partnership (From Forbes)
October 24, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Early coverage of the proposed partnership between Airbus and Bombardier to build the latter company’s CSeries jetliners has made the deal sound like a setback for Boeing. That isn’t the way Boeing sees it. It could have gotten the same [Read More...] -
Air Force Plan To Abort Replacement Of J-Stars Radar Planes Is Full Of Flaws (From Forbes)
October 23, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Air Force’s tentative plan for abandoning replacement of J-Stars radar planes is beginning to come into focus. As I foreshadowed in a Forbes article last month, it hinges on drones — particularly the 11 “Block 40” Global Hawk drones [Read More...] -
Raytheon May Have A Quick Fix For Seoul’s Vulnerability To North Korean Attack (From Forbes)
October 19, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The proximity of South Korea’s capital to North Korea is a huge complication for U.S. military planners trying to figure out how to deal with the nuclear threat posed by the North. Because it is within 35 miles of the [Read More...] -
Maritime Security: Five Reasons The Jones Act Is A Bargain (From Forbes)
October 17, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Recent hurricanes have reawakened critics of the 1920 Merchant Marine Act, better known as the Jones Act, which reserves waterborne commerce within the U.S. for domestic carriers. No doubt about it, the law is a deviation from classic economic principles. [Read More...]