Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
Apocalypse Soon: Another Rationale for Human Space Flight Issue BriefI know how the world ends, and it isn’t with a whimper. You can see humanity’s epitaph etched in advance by simply gazing up at the Moon on any evening, and observing the vast craters created by ancient [Read More...]
Tanker Competition: Buying Both Planes Would Waste Billions Issue BriefThe oldest fleet of jets in the world isn’t operated by Uzbekistan Airways. It is operated by the U.S. Air Force, which decided in the early 1950s to buy hundreds of Boeing 707s as the backbone of its [Read More...]
Troop Surge Fails To Yield Political Progress — In America Issue BriefIraq isn’t the only place where a recent change in military strategy has failed to produce political reconciliation. In Washington, Republicans are singing the praises of General Petraeus while some Democrats call him “General Betray-Us,” providing the latest [Read More...]
Army Plans For Reconnaissance Drones Misuse A Vital Asset Issue BriefThe only upside to the heavy burden that America’s Army is carrying in Iraq is an abundance of money. Congress may not know how to deal with IEDs or save the marriage of a soldier deploying for his [Read More...]
Joint Fighter: The Case For Buying Competing Engines Is Weak Issue BriefThe biggest program in the Pentagon’s weapons budget is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which will cost $338 billion — a third of a trillion dollars — to develop, manufacture and maintain. Current plans call for building 2,443 [Read More...]
TSAT: Essential to Security Research StudyThe Transformational Satellite Communications program, or TSAT, is a planned constellation of five communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit linked to thousands of portable terminals distributed across the joint force. It will use internet-style technology to connect war-fighters all [Read More...]
Joint Radio: Vision Of A Transformed Force Slipping Away Issue BriefWhen President Bush took office nearly seven years ago, his vision of how the military needed to change could be summed up in one word: transformation. Bush shared with many other observers a belief that the defense establishment [Read More...]
Air Force Plan For Radar Planes Is Missing In Action Issue BriefIf there is one lesson U.S. defense planners should have learned from the frustrating campaign to take down Al Qaeda since 9-11, it is the need for better intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The military groups all such awareness-enhancing [Read More...]
Why Do Navy Dept. Alumni Get The Pentagon’s Plum Jobs? Issue BriefThere was a time when the assignment of top jobs in the joint force resembled the workings of the congressional seniority system more than a merit-based selection process. Representatives from each of the three military departments were awarded [Read More...]
IRAQ: The Consequences Of Retreat Issue BriefSomething happens to countries when they become empires (real or metaphorical). Over time their ruling elites grow so affluent and insular that they lose discipline, and abandon the habits that made them great. They rationalize away evidence of [Read More...]