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Sector Report

Electronic warfare developments worldwide View Defence IQ’s EW infographic to read about the global developments in the EW industry over the past year, as well as for a unique look at the Growler EA-18G’s vital role within the NATO intervention in Libya.

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Podcasts

• I Bring You Fire: UK Apaches in Afghanistan and Libya
  Defence IQ speaks to Lt Col Paul Tennant, commander at the UK’s Army Air Corps 3 Regiment, to discuss his recent experiences in Afghanistan, and his thoughts on the use of Apaches in the Libya campaign. Lt Col Tennant explores firepower, precision, and armour on a platform that can disperse most insurgents simply by appearing over the horizon. He will be opening the presentations on Day One of this year’s Air Power in Irregular Warfare event.
• Operating in an EW environment
  Defence IQ talks to Wing Commander Rick Adams, SO1 Air Platform Protection, RAF on current capabilities in operating in an EW environment and what some of the lessons are from operations in Afghanistan and Libya.
• Warfighting in an asymmetric environment: interview with Dr Bill Powers
  Defence IQ sits down with Dr Bill Powers ahead of Air Power in Irregular Warfare to discuss what has been learnt from recent operations in Afghanistan and Libya and how best to fight in upcoming asymmetric conflicts.
• Improving the links for air land integration
  Lt Col Marcel van Weerd from the Chief Plans and Policy Branch Fire Support Training Centre for the Royal Netherlands Army talks to Defence IQ at Close Air Support on improving the links in the air and on the ground to provide better communication when utilising air support.
• Senior NATO Allied Air Command leader on air superiority today
  Lt. Gen. Friedrich W. Ploeger, Deputy Commander of NATO’s Allied Air Command, joins Defence IQ for an exclusive look into the progress, lessons and challenges facing joint air power in Europe and afar. He covers a range of issues aside to the role of the Alliance, including the methods used by the Libyan Forces to attempt to subvert NATO’s operations, the rise of unmanned systems and the ongoing need for manned systems, real progress when it comes to reducing collateral, and the effectiveness of modern electronic warfare efforts.
• Non-Traditional ISR and Irregular Warfare must become fully focused on ISR rather than just SR
  Air Commodore Garry Porter talks to Defence IQ on the role that Non-Traditional ISR plays in the wider defence community and how intelligence needs to play a bigger part alongside surveillance and reconnaissance.
• Digital integration beyond CAS: Interview with Lt Col Christopher DeLong
  Defence IQ talks to Lt Col Christopher DeLong, PP&O Aviation, US Marine Corps about the current and future platforms being used by the US Marines and the vision of CAS within the USMC.
• Military Helicopter with Colonel Keith Robinson
  Colonel Keith Robinson, Project Manager for the US Army's Armed Scout Helicopter, talks to us about the development of the program, the forthcoming results of its analysis of alternatives and the status of the Kiwoa Warrior.

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Videos

• Afghan Air Force: Training the First Generation for Airborne COIN
  Last year at Airborne COIN, we sat down with USAF’s Brig. Gen. David Allvin, Commanding General of the NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan, and discussed the issues relating to the difficult task of educating a new Afghan Air Force. He explains the challenges, from relating accurate lessons to non-English speaking officers, screening new recruits as first-time pilots, and strategising for the platforms being used in this endeavour.
• Swedish airborne COIN efforts
  We ran an on-the-spot interview at last year’s event with Lt. Col. Anders Nygren, head instructor of the Swedish National Defence College’s Air Operations Division. He spoke of the current progress made by Swedish forces for air support and training, the argument for and against a dedicated airborne COIN platform, and how he would like to see the air power strategy take shape in Afghanistan as coalition forces begin to withdraw.
• 'Policy and Culture Are the Enemy': Why UAVs Are the Next Endangered Species
  Colonel Jeffrey Turcotte, USAF, Chief Air and Weapons Division, Air Force Research Laboratory, speaks on the implications of US Department of Defense budget cuts and where UAV research falls within the spectrum of scope and funding. He also discusses the growth of military interest in unmanned capabilites, the prospect of 'one pilot - multiple UAVs' employment, and the ways in which the Laboratory focuses spending on multi role and mult service outcomes.
  View the full video.
• Rethinking Information Activities, Counterinsurgency and Strategy in Afghanistan
  Lieutenant Colonel Bruno Vanasse, Deputy Directory Psyops, Canadian Forces, discusses how we can rethink information activities in Afghanistan. The classical counterinsurgency tenets include addressing the root causes of insurgency, such as a vulnerable population and lack of leadership and effective governance; decreasing sources of internal and external support; and securing the population. In this presentation, Vanasse explains alternative strategies.
• Do We Need Top-End Air Superiority Capability? By Rick Peacock Edward
  There hasn’t been a serious air threat. So is there a need for top-end air superiority capability? Rick Peacock Edwards certainly believes so. Cost should not be the driver for getting top-end air superiority capability. Edwards says that this is our insurance policy. It takes many years to procure a new fighter, so if we get rid of ours now we will be vulnerable to threats. Watch this video to learn more.

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Webinar

UAVs for Counter Insurgency: "Shine the Light!"

Ed Herlick, Market Intel Group's lead analyst for aviation, speaks on what he sees as the US Air Force's growing irrelevance and the overriding value of persistent UAVs, those that will remain overhead for a year or longer. Watch this two-part webinar for his fascinating and detailed perspective.

• Part One
• Part Two

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Articles

• NATO vs Gaddafi: Air Power Lessons from Libya
  Read the full transcript of our interview with Lieutenant General Friedrich Wilhelm Ploeger, Deputy Commander of NATO’s Allied Air Command Ramstein, who joined us during the heat of the Libya Operation to discuss the use of air power to take on Libyan ground forces, and how Gaddafi’s troops attempted to use insurgent tactics sourced from Afghanistan to try to undermine the intervention.
• South Korea – assuming superiority in the air?
  The Republic of Korea has this year been shaking up its approach to national defence, internal structure, and procurement. This article offers a full overview of the ROK’s air capabilities today, including insight into new contracts pertaining to UAVs, helicopters, the F-X, and more. Gordon Arthur reports for Defence Review Asia. Read the latest digital issue here.
• Air Power and COIN: Building on a Proper Foundation
  Writing for Airpower Journal, former British RAF pilot Paul Smyth investigates how the attributes of Air Power provides an invaluable basis to counterinsurgency operations, but also limits its contribution to the fight. Taking recent UK efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq as a blanket case study, this article provides some provoking points for airborne COIN operators that many may have yet fully considered.
• Right-Sizing Airpower Command and Control for the Afghanistan Counterinsurgency
  MG Charles Lyon and LTC Andrew Stone of the US Air Force provide a senior leader technical perspective on structuring the chain of command to respond to COIN challenges. Based on one-on-one discussions with LTG Mike Hostage, this article summarises how they shaped the role of the airman – and why. For the full issue, visit www.airpower.au.af.mil.
• Airborne Electronic Warfare: The challenge for EW operators in Libya
  Defence IQ’s own Editor-in-Chief, Robert Densmore, reflects on his experience as a US naval officer in the EA-6B, and considers the likely use and evaluation of the EA-18G in Libya, as the new generation of electronic fighters takes up its first combat outing…
• General Petraeus outlines COIN strategy
  General David Petraeus has provided NATO ISAF troops with his overview of how he expects counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts to play out in the face of ongoing challenges in Afghanistan.

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We want to hear from you

If you have any relevant articles or reports on Air Power in Irregular Warfare that you would like to share with us, please email samantha.tanner@iqpc.co.uk.

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