Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
-
How A Traumatic Tanker Competition Will Shape The Air Force’s Selection Of Its Next Bomber (From Forbes)
January 23, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Sometime later this year, the U.S. Air Force will announce which of two industry teams headed by Boeing and Northrop Grumman has been selected to build its next bomber. If you want to understand how it will go about making [Read More...] -
V-22 Osprey: Navy Looks Poised To Hand Textron and Boeing A Big Victory (From Forbes)
January 15, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The respected web-site BreakingDefense.com reported on January 13 that the Navy has selected the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor as its future airframe for delivering time-sensitive cargo and personnel to aircraft carriers, beating out a modernized version of the venerable C-2A Greyhound. [Read More...] -
A Doomsday Plane Reminder: Nuclear Weapons Haven’t Gone Away (From Forbes)
January 13, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Insidedefense.com reports this week that the Pentagon is seeking congressional approval for communications upgrades on the Air Force’s fleet of four E-4B flying command posts — widely known as “doomsday planes.” These are the airborne nerve centers from which a [Read More...] -
Army Nearing Decision On Who Will Protect Helicopters Against Heat-Seeking Missiles (From Forbes)
January 9, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The biggest threat to U.S. military helicopters flying in combat zones today is heat-seeking missiles. The missiles have proliferated worldwide to a point where U.S. warfighters must assume enemies will have them, and newer versions are able to distinguish between [Read More...] -
Five Reasons Defense Lobbyists Are Facing Harder Times On Capitol Hill (From Forbes)
January 6, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D It’s turning out to be a tough decade for defense lobbyists. Military spending peaked just as the decade was beginning. Then a resurgent GOP forced passage of the Budget Control Act capping discretionary spending (including defense) through 2021, and banned [Read More...] -
Why Putin’s Russia Is The Biggest Threat To America In 2015 (From Forbes)
January 2, 2015- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Washington has a really poor track record in anticipating military crises, so don’t be surprised if economic sanctions the U.S. has led the West in imposing on Russia appear to have backfired a year from now. Truth is, economic sanctions [Read More...] -
Semper Fi: Five Features That Will Keep The U.S. Marine Corps Busy In 2015 And Beyond (From Forbes)
December 30, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The year 2014 will be remembered as a thoroughly awful year by U.S. military planners. From West Africa to Eastern Europe to the Middle East to the Western Pacific, the world was aflame with violence and suffering. The nicest thing [Read More...] -
Super Sub: Why The Navy’s Next “Boomer” Is The Most Important Program In The Pentagon Budget (From Forbes)
December 15, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Few Americans seem to give much thought anymore to the fact that Russia has over a thousand nuclear warheads aimed at America. If even ten percent of those warheads ever reached these shores, it might well spell the end of [Read More...] -
Robert S. Rangel To Succeed Gregory Dahlberg As Head Of Lockheed Martin’s Washington Office
December 10, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D A former chief of staff to two defense secretaries and staff director of the House Armed Services Committee under three chairmen has been named to succeed Gregory R. Dahlberg as head of Lockheed Martin’s Washington Office. Robert S. Rangel, 55, [Read More...] -
Next-Gen Jammer: Raytheon Leads A Revolution In Information Warfare (From Forbes)
December 8, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Raytheon scored a smashing success with the first airborne tests of its Next Generation Jammer in October. Flying against threats mimicking the performance of the latest Chinese and Russian radars, the jammer demonstrated flawless performance operating for the first time [Read More...]