After the leaking of a report about the recent failure of an F-35 to win in a dogfight against an F-16D, debate has intensified about the future nature of air to air combat. In a …
Articles by: "Malcolm Davis"
The United States government should never be tempted to embrace a sole purpose declaration in regard to its nuclear weapons policy. As discussed recently by Rod Lyon, (here and here) and Crispin Rovere, such a …
In my last post, I considered the operational and technical challenges of Australia acquiring F-35B STOVL Joint Strike Fighters and operating them from the Canberra class LHDs. In an ideal budget environment, were the decision …
Defence watchers have been surprised by recent suggestions emerging from the Abbott Government that Australia could consider acquiring the Lockheed-Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter to complement the 72 F-35A JSFs already ordered. What might initially …
The sudden outbreak of tensions in Europe as a result of Russia’s military intervention into the Crimea has led to dramatic days for international security policy makers. One hundred years after the outbreak of the …
China’s recent test of a Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) on 9 January, potentially has very serious strategic and military technological implications for stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region as noted in recent posts by …
Peter Layton’s recent post promoting UAVs in response to my earlier comment makes some very good points, but it’s important to remain cautious of UAVs until they’ve proven themselves at all levels of military conflict. …
In a recently reprinted Strategist post, Peter Layton examines the challenges facing the USAF in sustaining adequate numbers of capable fighter aircraft in an era of financial austerity and indeterminate threat. His excellent analysis closes …
China’s recent declaration of a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea undermines its attempts to portray its rise as ‘peaceful development towards a harmonious world’. Instead it reinforces regional concerns …
Crispin Rovere and Kalman Robertson have responded to my earlier comments on their ‘low-yield nuclear weapon treaty’ proposal, but I’m not convinced by their argument. They claim that low-yield weapons ‘are a unique class of …
Crispin Rovere and Kalman A Robertson suggest eliminating low-yield non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNW) in ‘Non-strategic nuclear weapons: The next step in multilateral arms control’. I’m sceptical of their proposed solution—a Minimum Yield Threshold Treaty. Firstly, …