All Activity

Germany and the Netherlands have taken delivery of their first Caracal air assault vehicles, light 4x4s built on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class for paratroopers and helicopter-borne infantry, under a joint program covering more than 1,500 vehicles, the Dutch Defense Ministry said on Oct. 30. The vehicles were handed over on Oct. 29 at Rheinmetall Defence Nederland’s […]View the full article

Russia’s military aviation has lost about a dozen aircraft in roughly five weeks, including at least seven Su-34 fighter-bombers destroyed on the ground by Ukrainian missiles and drones, a Tu-95MS strategic bomber and two Su-30SM fighters in crashes, and a Su-57 stealth fighter that reportedly burned out during an engine start. The Ukrainian open-source project […]View the full article

Nearly 3,000 Senator armored vehicles built by Canadian manufacturer Roshel have now gone to Ukraine, the company said on social media as it placed one of its first-generation Senator MRAPs on permanent display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The figure makes the Senator one of the most numerous Western-supplied armored vehicles in Ukrainian […]View the full article

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the 500 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors the United States cleared for sale to Ukraine on Oct. 30 will not help this winter, because deliveries may not begin for several years. He asked Washington to send interceptors from existing U.S. and allied stocks now and replace them later from the new production […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has ordered $114.7 million in structural and electrical upgrade hardware for the U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Viper attack and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters, exercising an option on Bell Textron’s contract for the third phase of the program. The order buys 15 A-kits, four mission kits, nine aircraft installations, long-lead components, materials, labor […]View the full article

Norwegian company UGV Defence has run its FLEX L12 heavy unmanned ground vehicle fully autonomously through a 1.7 km (1.1-mile) off-road course while carrying 5 metric tons (11,000 pounds) of cargo, in a demonstration for Nordic military officers at Camp Rødsmoen in Norway, Chief Executive Carl Ivarsson said on social media. The tracked vehicle climbed […]View the full article

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale of 500 PAC-3 MSE interceptors to Ukraine for its Patriot air defense systems, a package worth an estimated $2.1 billion that will be paid for entirely by Ukraine’s allies and partners. The department notified Congress of the decision on Oct. 30. Canada, Germany and Norway are […]View the full article

Hanwha Defense USA will build a Medium Landing Ship for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps at its Philadelphia shipyard under a $269 million subcontract from TOTE Services, the company announced, giving the South Korean-owned group its first contract to build a ship for the U.S. Navy. The award covers one vessel at Hanwha […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Third Assault Brigade destroyed a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter in the Luhansk region with two Hornet one-way attack drones after waiting for it to land, the brigade said on social media on Oct. 30. A drone crew from the SKYFOM strike-wing platoon of the brigade’s unmanned systems battalion spotted the helicopter during a raid […]View the full article

Satellite imagery shows the wreckage of two Su-34 fighter-bombers destroyed at Russia’s Marinovka air base in the Volgograd region, confirming Ukraine’s claim that its Neptune cruise missiles knocked out the jets on Oct. 29, open-source analysts said. The open-source monitoring group CyberBoroshno said the post-strike image shows the effects of hits in two parking spaces […]View the full article

The nuclear-powered battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, one of the best-known symbols of the Russian Navy and the flagship of its Northern Fleet, is too worn out to repair, a Russian commission has preliminarily decided, the head of a Russian naval support organization told state news agency TASS on Oct. 30. Vladimir Maltsev, who leads the All-Russian […]View the full article

A French Navy Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft spotted three Russian uncrewed surface vessels heading for a civilian container ship in the Black Sea on Oct. 28 and raised the alarm, helping Bulgarian naval forces rescue all 18 crew members after the drones struck, the French military said in a post. The Liberian-flagged container ship […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy plans to ask industry for artificial intelligence tools to help lay out the interior of its next-generation attack submarine, SSN(X), and on Oct. 30 told companies to register their interest by Nov. 6. The submarine program office said a formal call for proposals could open as early as next week. The notice […]View the full article

There are some heroes from the American Revolutionary War that seem to get lost in the shuffle. They really deserve a mini-series or at least a warship named after them, but they don’t. When you read outlines of their lives, they almost seem like characters in fiction…but they’re not.. I am going to steal liberally from the American Battlefield Trust, but I don’t think they’ll mind. Every American schoolchild should know the arc of a giant of a man…General Daniel Morgan. Daniel Morgan…As a young man, he settled in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley outside Winchester. Morgan worked as a teamster, hauling freight to the eastern part of the colony. His teamster career drew him into the French and Indian War, during which he helped to supply the British Army. … He accompanied General Edward Braddock on his ill-fated campaign against the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne. During the expedition, Morgan annoyed a superior officer who struck him with the flat of his sword. Morgan knocked the man down. For his impertinence, Morgan was punished with 500 lashes—typically fatal number. He survived the ordeal, carrying his scars and his disdain for the rest of his life. Afterward, when Morgan retold the story, he commonly boasted that the British had miscounted, only giving him 499. That right there is fullbore enough…and captures the best of America. That campaign was in 1754. Morgan was born in 1736. He was 19 years old when he took those lashes. Morgan eventually joined a company of rangers in the Shenandoah Valley. Outside Fort Edward, Morgan and his companion were ambushed by Indians allied with the French. Morgan took a musket ball through the back of his neck that crushed his left jaw and exited his cheek, taking all his teeth on that side of his mouth. He miraculously survived the encounter but carried the scars with him for the rest of his life. Of note, he did not put in for 100% disability. No, he was not done serving. At the age of 39, service called him again. After the outbreak of the American Revolution, Morgan led a force of riflemen to reinforce the patriots laying siege to Boston in 1775. His company, known as “Morgan’s riflemen” marched from Virginia to Boston in 21 days. These Southerners and frontiersmen quickly gained a reputation for their hard fighting ways and the incredible accuracy of their rifles. They also distinguished themselves through their dress. Morgan and his men wore hunting shirts, a distinctly American garment that soon struck fear in the British Army because of the known accuracy of the American riflemen, and soon became a common uniform item in the Continental Army. Later in 1775, Morgan participated American expedition to invade Canada organized by General Benedict Arnold. During the Battle of Quebec, Arnold suffered a wound to his leg, forcing command of the American forces on Morgan. The combat, however, resulted in his capture along with 400 other Americans. His release several months later was followed by his promotion to colonel of the 11th Virginia Regiment. A POW too. Add that to the list. One of Morgan’s most valuable qualities as a commander was his ability to think beyond the confines of the accepted standards of warfare. Not long after becoming colonel, he was placed in charge of a corps of light infantry made up of Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and Marylanders and he began to employ tactics designed to disturb the disciplined Royal troops. He and his men wore Indian disguises and used hit-and-run maneuvers against the British in New York and New Jersey throughout 1777. Later in 1777, Morgan was assigned to General Horatio Gates’ army and participated in the pivotal Battle of Saratoga. During one of the engagements near Saratoga, one of Morgan’s riflemen killed British General Simon Fraser and helped turn the tide of the battle. Morgan was indispensable to the Continental Army during the Saratoga campaign, but he grew irritated when he repeatedly failed to receive promotions. The commander-in-chief appointed Morgan colonel of the 7th Virginia Regiment, but he was continually passed over for promotion, forcing him to resign. I have a feeling he was not all that good at office politics. However, when at war, gravity pulls the best back in. By 1780, Patriot forces in the South were desperate for Morgan’s services. Morgan initially refused to rejoin the army, but after Horatio Gates’ disaster at the Battle of Camden, Morgan returned to service as a brigadier general. Once Nathanael Greene assumed command of the Southern Department, he gave Morgan command of a “flying army” and assigned him to the South Carolina backcountry. Rather than the invented character in The Patriot, I would have preferred the real story…but that is just me. Morgan’s main adversary was British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. Tarleton and Morgan’s forces faced each other at Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781. Morgan emerged victorious and secured his reputation as a skilled military tactician. Utilizing knowledge of his enemy’s aggressive and impulsive behavior, Morgan lured Tarleton into a trap with a fake retreat. Tarleton charged, only to be surprised when Morgan’s infantry turned to fire and a hidden cavalry force joined the conflict. The victory was complete and was a turning point in the war in the South. . In 1790, Congress granted Morgan a gold medal for his victory at Cowpens. Morgan continued to serve in the militia, leading a force against the Whiskey Rebellion agitators in 1794. He also went on to serve one term in the House of Representatives as a Federalist. Daniel Morgan died on July 6, 1802 at Winchester, Virginia where he was buried. Fullbore. Share Leave a comment This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems’ Jacksonville ship repair business a $66.5 million contract to dry-dock and overhaul the littoral combat ship USS St. Louis (LCS 19) in Mayport, Florida, with work due to finish by December 2027. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded the firm-fixed-price contract on Oct. 28, and options could raise its […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has ordered a $56 million retrofit for a single MQ-4C Triton, paying Northrop Grumman to install the B7 retrofit material kit on one of its high-altitude maritime surveillance drones. Naval Air Systems Command awarded the firm-fixed-price modification on Oct. 28, and the work is scheduled to run until May 2030. The full […]View the full article

MBDA is expanding its main German site at Schrobenhausen in Bavaria to about 100 hectares (247 acres) as it turns the plant into what it calls Germany’s “missile hub” for air defense and long-range strike weapons, MBDA Deutschland said in a post after a visit by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Oct. 29. The company […]View the full article

An upgraded version of China’s Yitian-L short-range air defense system has been spotted on the move with two six-round missile packs, apparently tripling its ready-to-fire load to 12 missiles from the four carried by the production model, images shared on social media show. The vehicle was photographed while being transported, and the images show a […]View the full article

Finland will set up a military Space Operations Center on Jan. 1, 2027, to run the country’s space defense and take over the three radar imaging satellites the Finnish Defence Forces bought from ICEYE, the Finnish Air Force announced on Oct. 30. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen approved the new center, which will sit within Air […]View the full article

North Korea has released new images of its Saetbyol-9 attack drone, a near copy of the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper, firing an air-launched tactical cruise missile during a live-fire demonstration Kim Jong Un watched, state news agency KCNA showed on Oct. 30. A KCNA photo taken from the drone’s own wing shows a black cruise missile […]View the full article

North Korea has released images of a loitering munition diving onto and destroying a mock-up of a U.S. Army M1 Abrams tank, part of a firepower demonstration Kim Jong Un watched on Oct. 29, and the drone in the photos closely resembles the Hero-400 built by Israeli company UVision. The photos, published by state news […]View the full article

North Korea has shown off what appears to be a new large flying-wing stealth drone, along with first-person-view attack quadcopters and loitering munitions, at an exhibition on Oct. 29 where leader Kim Jong Un called for the country to seize “absolute superiority” in drone technology, state news agency KCNA reported on Oct. 30. The exhibition, […]View the full article

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Oct. 29 that Russia is “ready” for a war with Europe but does not want one, and warned that a conflict between them would leave no winners, responding to European warnings that Moscow could be able to attack NATO by the end of the decade. Putin made the remarks […]View the full article

Rheinmetall has booked an order worth a medium three-digit million-euro sum for its share of 69 more Schakal wheeled infantry fighting vehicles for Germany and the Netherlands, the company announced, after the European procurement agency OCCAR exercised the first option under the program’s 2025 contract. OCCAR placed the order with ARTEC, the Rheinmetall and KNDS […]View the full article

The Finnish Defence Forces have teamed up with Helsinki-based headset maker Varjo to test and develop mixed reality training that prepares soldiers to spot and counter small attack drones, the military’s Innovation Unit and the company announced on Oct. 29. Varjo is working with a brigade-level unit of the Finnish Defence Forces on the pilot, […]View the full article