Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
-
Navy Has Few Options If Littoral Combat Ship Falters (From Forbes)
March 7, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s proposed 2015 budget raises the possibility of terminating production of the Littoral Combat Ship at 32 vessels rather than fully executing the 52-ship program of record. Hagel is concerned that LCS could not cope effectively with [Read More...] -
New Pentagon Strategy A Good Fit For Ukraine Crisis (From Forbes)
March 6, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Some of President Obama’s critics on Capitol Hill seem to think his administration has no strategy for dealing with the crisis in Ukraine. That charge is completely wrong — the Pentagon and other government agencies responsible for national security have [Read More...] -
Why Budget Cuts Could Cripple The Army For Many Years To Come (From Forbes)
March 4, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D As the Pentagon unveils its proposed budget for fiscal 2015 this week, two of its military departments are facing tough times, and the third is facing a genuine crisis. The organization in really deep trouble is the Department of the [Read More...] -
Airbus Takes Small Step Toward Becoming A Fair Trader
February 27, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The Wall Street Journal reports today that European jetliner manufacturer Airbus has walked away from an $856 million “loan” that the German government was offering to help launch the A350 competitor to Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Normally it wouldn’t be news [Read More...] -
Defense Secretary Declares War On Budget Control Act As Hollow Force Looms (From Forbes)
February 26, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D On Tuesday of this week I joined a group of analysts and journalists at the Pentagon to discuss the Obama Administration’s proposed fiscal 2015 military budget with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. One thing that quickly became apparent in that [Read More...] -
Weapons Cuts In 2015 Budget Leave Soldiers, Marines At Risk (From Forbes)
February 24, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D When the Obama Administration sends its proposed 2015 budget to Congress next week, two armored vehicle programs will be missing in action from the defense portion of the request — the Army Ground Combat Vehicle and the Marine Amphibious Combat [Read More...] -
Five Reasons BAE Systems Will Do Fine In The U.S. Defense Market (From Forbes)
February 21, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D BAE Systems shares sold off on Thursday in response to cautious guidance from management about the outlook for 2014 — especially in the U.S. defense market. However, there are multiple reasons to suspect that investor doubts are overdone, because BAE [Read More...] -
U-2 Vs. Global Hawk: Why Drones Aren’t The Answer To Every Military Need (From Forbes)
February 20, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Although the fashionable consensus in Washington is that drones will replace manned aircraft in future conflicts, that isn’t necessarily the way warfighters see it. When the Air Force had to make a choice between its vintage U-2S Dragon Lady spy [Read More...] -
Cyberwars: Lessons For Limiting Government Data Losses (From Forbes)
February 17, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The relative ease with which malicious insiders have managed to steal vast amounts of sensitive information from the U.S. intelligence community indicates that more attention to data-loss prevention is needed. In the years since a lowly Army private named Bradley [Read More...] -
“No More Benghazis:” Marines Leverage MV-22B Osprey For Rapid Crisis Response (From Forbes)
February 11, 2014- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D When Libyan extremists attacked two U.S. sites in Benghazi in 2012, friendly forces in the region were unable to respond quickly. Now, the Marines — America’s first responders to overseas crises — have found a way of dealing effectively with [Read More...]