Adm. James Stavridis, US European Command boss and NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, told defense writers Monday in Washington, D.C., that NATO’s efforts to define a new strategic concept this year is “a big deal” since the alliance’s last roadmap dates back to 1999. He said the expectation is that the 28 member nations will agree to the new concept by November’s NATO summit in Lisbon. On Monday, NATO leaders took delivery of the analysis and recommendations for the new concept that were formulated by the 12-member group of experts led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Stavridis said, among the key points, the group wants NATO to pay more attention to cyber issues and leverage international, interagency, and private-public partnerships to address security problems. Also, NATO and the European Union need to achieve a level of complementary activity, not competition, he said. (NATO release)
After years of experiments and tests, senior Air Force leaders say they're on the verge of using C-17s and other cargo aircraft to launch cruise missiles via airdrop, touting the development as a way to bolster the combat fleet and a major shift in the service’s mindset.