Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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No To Trudeau: Why Trump (And Boeing) Can’t Compromise On Bombardier’s Predatory Pricing Of Planes (From Forbes)
October 9, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D When Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau visits Washington this week, Trump administration moves to slap heavy duties on imports of Bombardier C Series jetliners will be very much on his mind. He will doubtless complain to the president that the [Read More...] -
Future Vertical Lift: The Army Could Field Its Next-Gen Rotorcraft Much Faster (From Forbes)
October 4, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Army has a plan to develop next-generation combat rotorcraft called Future Vertical Lift (FVL). Managed in partnership with the Navy, the first new airframes it will develop are intended to replace the tank-killing Apache attack helicopter and the workhorse [Read More...] -
Five Reasons the Air Force’s J-Stars Rethink Is Dangerous (From RealClearDefense)
October 2, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D After spending years preparing to replace its Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-Stars) with a next-generation radar plane, the Air Force this summer abruptly disclosed that it wanted to rethink the whole effort. It says there are concerns about [Read More...] -
How Concurrency In Building The F-35 Fighter Has Proven To Be A Big Plus (From Forbes)
September 29, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D As the F-35 fighter program has gradually retired risk and proven its potential, critics have been forced to resort to increasingly arcane ideas to explain why the program supposedly was a bad idea. Concurrency — the overlapping of development and [Read More...] -
Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider Could Be A Revolutionary Light Helicopter (From Forbes)
September 27, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Army has an urgent need for a next-generation armed reconnaissance helicopter, and Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit appears to have the solution. It’s called the S-97 Raider, and it is so much more capable that the Army’s current fleet [Read More...] -
Air Force Rationale For Killing J-Stars Radar Plane Replacement Isn’t Credible (From Forbes)
September 25, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Sometime this week, the U.S. Air Force will unveil its official rationale for killing a long-planned replacement of the J-Stars radar plane. J-Stars is a unique warfighting asset that can track and image moving ground targets through clouds, dust or [Read More...] -
Why Washington Is Certain To Find Canada’s Bombardier Guilty Of Trade Abuses Next Week (From Forbes)
September 21, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Federal regulators are expected to issue a preliminary finding next week concerning Boeing’s petition to slap hefty duties on U.S. imports of Montreal-based Bombardier’s C Series jetliners. There isn’t much doubt how the government will rule, because this is an [Read More...] -
Why Foreign Military Sales Are Always Worth Less Than The Published Number (From Forbes)
September 19, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Arms sales to overseas partners are a major tool of U.S. foreign policy, but getting a clear picture of what deals are worth is not easy. The number that usually gets cited in media accounts is the congressional notification figure, [Read More...] -
Rocket Motors May Provide An Early Test Of Trump Industrial Policy — And Air Force Space Plans (From Forbes)
September 15, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In August, the Air Force awarded competing development contracts to Boeing and Northrop Grumman for the design of a successor to the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The program is crucial to maintaining America’s nuclear deterrent through mid-century, but the [Read More...] -
Pratt & Whitney Finds Fixes For India’s Geared Turbofans As Engine Production Ramps Up (From Forbes)
September 13, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Pratt & Whitney’s breakthrough geared turbofan engine has encountered some modest turbulence during its introduction into the Indian market, thanks to premature wear on two engine parts. Because the parts need to be replaced in repair shops and there aren’t [Read More...]