Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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U.S. Overseas Bases Are Much More Vulnerable Than Aircraft Carriers (From National Interest)
September 7, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D There’s been a lot of talk recently about the threat posed to U.S. aircraft carriers by the anti-access/area-denial strategies of countries like China. If you understand how resilient and well-defended U.S. aircraft carriers are, then you probably already know these [Read More...] -
Pilots Say F-35 Fighter Is A Winner. So Where’s The Media Coverage? (from Forbes)
September 6, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D In the 15 years since the development contract for the tri-service F-35 fighter was first awarded, the program has been subjected to frequent negative reporting from national media. A raft of real or imagined problems was dissected, sometimes in great [Read More...] -
Second SpaceX Launch Disaster In 14 Months Hands Air Force, NASA A Big Headache (From Forbes)
September 2, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The September 1 explosion of a Falcon 9 launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral will undoubtedly raise concern among customers about how reliable SpaceX’s main product offering is. This is the second time in 14 months Falcon 9 has suffered a [Read More...] -
America First: What A Trump Defense Strategy Would Look Like (From Forbes)
August 30, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Donald Trump is within hailing distance of a majority in the electoral college, so it is time to start taking seriously his policy pronouncements on subjects besides immigration and trade. On defense, it is not hard to see what a [Read More...] -
How A Looming Fiscal Crisis Could Doom America’s Military Edge (From National Interest)
August 26, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Congressional Budget Office has issued a bleak assessment of fiscal trends indicating that federal deficits will return to a trillion dollars annually midway through the next decade. Since ballooning deficits were the reason the Budget Control Act capping defense [Read More...] -
U.S. Army Fears Major War Likely Within Five Years — But Lacks The Money To Prepare (From Forbes)
August 24, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D U.S. Army leaders believe their service could be engaged in major conventional conflict with Russia, Iran or North Korea sometime in the next five years. It isn’t ready. Having fought terrorists and insurgents since 9-11, many of the skills associated [Read More...] -
Five Reasons Boeing’s Big Bet On Air Force Tankers Will Pay Off Handsomely (From Forbes)
August 19, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Air Force announced on August 18 that it had awarded the Boeing Company a $2.8 billion contract for the first two production lots of the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker. With development issues now behind it, Boeing will begin delivering [Read More...] -
Leidos Deal Closes, Spawning Vast Solutions Enterprise (From Forbes)
August 17, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D On Tuesday of this week, Leidos Holdings completed its acquisition of Lockheed Martin’s information systems and services unit, doubling in size to become a dominant player in the federal technology solutions business. With $10 billion in sales and a diversified [Read More...] -
The Outdated Arguments Against National Missile Defense That Could Get Us All Killed
August 15, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The United States currently spends less than 1% of its military budget on defense of the American homeland against a nuclear missile attack. Instead, it depends on the threat of retaliation-in-kind to deter nuclear aggression. However, arguments first formulated during [Read More...] -
Five Reasons U.S. Aircraft Carriers Are Nearly Impossible To Sink (From National Interest)
August 11, 2016- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The United States is the only country with a sizable fleet of large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Nobody really doubts their value as combat systems, and the cost to build and operate them is only a fraction of one-percent of the [Read More...]