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Luxembourg-based satellite company Hydrosat is developing a high-resolution heat-sensing satellite capability called Nyktòs that governments can task to photograph specific targets day or night, the company announced on Nov. 2, aiming the service at NATO members and other allies that want their own space-based intelligence. Nyktòs will use mid-wave infrared sensors, which detect heat rather […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has taken delivery of the 1,000th Evolved SeaSparrow Missile Block 2, the ship-defense interceptor built for a 12-nation NATO consortium, after doubling the number delivered in just over a year. The Navy’s NATO SEASPARROW program office, known as PMX-312, said the program reached its 500th Block 2 delivery in June 2025. It […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has flown a mid-sized drone powered by a 3D-printed rotary engine that runs on jet fuel, the Army Research Laboratory announced, wrapping up a multiyear research program aimed at giving future unmanned aircraft more range, power and endurance. The engine drives a generator in a series-hybrid system, meaning it produces electricity for […]View the full article

Leonardo DRS will supply the power, cooling and vehicle integration hardware for the U.S. Army’s first production laser weapon, after AeroVironment picked the company as a subcontractor on the Enduring-High Energy Laser program, DRS announced on Nov. 2. The work supports AeroVironment’s production of its LOCUST X3, a 30-kilowatt laser designed to shoot down small […]View the full article

A grinding war can devolve into almost a tidal environment. Lines move forward and then back. Cycle. Then you have to wait for a moment. Two months is not a breakthrough, but given Russia’s efforts over the summer, Ukraine’s wee gains should cause one to pay closer attention. While most Americans after Labor Day have been focused on the election, the Iran War and the “issues” from Paris to Warsaw, as the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022 approaches its 5th Anniversary next winter, ISW’s latest Campaign Assessment has some hard facts for Team Russia to ponder. Russian forces lost ground on the battlefield in October 2026 for the second month in a row. ISW has observed evidence to assess that Russian forces consolidated positions or seized 139.85 kilometers but lost 167.14 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine in October 2026 for a net loss of 27.29 square kilometers. That is an average pace of -0.88 square kilometers per day. Russian forces only made gains in Sumy and Zaporizhia oblasts, while losing territory in all other sectors of the frontline, including their priority objective of Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces also lost ground in October when accounting for Russian infiltrations into areas over which Russian forces have not gained control, with Russian forces suffering a net loss of 76.38 square kilometers in such areas for an average pace of -2.46 square kilometers per day. Russian forces seized 10 settlements totaling 5.86 square kilometers, but Ukrainian forces liberated or cleared Russian infiltrators from 11 settlements with an area of 3.24 square kilometers. This has been an almost static front for a very long time. Russia—on paper at least—should have won this war long ago, and that’s the problem. She entered the war with approximately 3.3 times Ukraine's population base and nine times its nominal economic resources. There are some things in war you cannot quantify…so you need to be very careful before starting one. On paper, Vietnam and Afghanistan should not have been a problem for the U.S.A., but we got our a55 handed to us each time. As we’ve discussed from the beginning of the conflict, Russia started with war with a bad plan that came through a series of optimism filters. From missile cruisers to the SU-57 to their newest tanks, none of their high-profile weapons have been able to close the deal. Plucky Ukraine continues to deliver the undeliverable. Russian forces suffered their highest monthly losses of the war thus far in October 2026, paying a growing price for their territorial losses. I continue to remind myself that I cannot fully understand the Russian—or Ukrainian—mindset from my comfortable seat in North America, and that I should not make predictions. I won’t, but I will comment on what we are all seeing on the ground. How does Russia continue to sell this to their people? The only thing that is going for them is that Ukraine’s supporters in NATO Europe seem to be distracted by their own burning cities and tottering welfare states to do much more to help. In North America, there is no desire to support Ukraine more than the Europeans want to support them, if that. After all, it is their back yard and Uncle Sam has more pressing concerns in the Pacific. So, the Pontic Steppe is about to enter another winter of war, more than it saw in WWII, with little progress on either side, just more death. More and more, I think this is becoming a rather strange war of will. All wars are about ‘will’, really, but in this one, both sides are holding their lines +/- as if they are waiting for some tangentially related political crisis to cause one side or the other’s military to just, well, walk away. Who quits first before some damn foolish thing happens that pulls more nations into the fight? Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

North Defence Group has shown new images of its unmanned ground vehicle, a compact electric or hybrid robot built to haul more than 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds) of gear for frontline troops, follow soldiers on its own and carry counter-drone weapons, as the British-Luxembourg company prepares it for NATO trials in Switzerland. The company said […]View the full article

Russia has banned exports of benzene, toluene, xylenes and phenol for three months, saying it needs to keep its own factories supplied with the industrial chemicals, the government announced on Nov. 2. The ban, signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, covers coal-derived and petroleum benzene, toluene, ortho-xylene, para-xylene and phenol shipped outside the Eurasian Economic […]View the full article

Russia expects to reach a deal to sell Pantsir-S1 air defense systems to Azerbaijan, the head of Russia’s arms export regulator said, in a sign that military trade between Moscow and Baku is picking up again after a year-long diplomatic rupture. Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, said on Russian state […]View the full article

Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed a 15-year contract with Elbit Systems worth about 600 million shekels, or roughly $192 million, to build and run a training and simulation center for the Israel Defense Forces Artillery Corps as it brings the new Roem self-propelled howitzer and Lahav rocket launcher into service. The ministry’s Directorate of Defense […]View the full article

Japan tracked four Chinese navy ships moving through the Miyako Strait between Okinawa and Miyako Island over two days, with one destroyer pair heading back into the East China Sea and another heading out into the Pacific, the Joint Staff of Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a post on Nov. 2. On Nov. 1, a […]View the full article

A photo of Russia’s new Filin cruise missile sitting on a ground launcher with a solid-fuel booster strapped under its fuselage has surfaced for the first time, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi reported, showing how Russia gets the low-cost missile into the air. The booster fires first to accelerate the missile off the launcher and into […]View the full article

I've not yet time to test it, but sembles interesting. Fighter Pilot, an apparent free game inspired in Avalon Hill's Fighter Pilot, doesn't need download (I think up to 3 groups of 2 planes by side, with up ot 4 different types present, apparently also only jet fighters): https://games.forkpotato.com/fighterpilot/

When one of the world’s most advanced, high-technology militaries, that, even with a relatively low level of spending, still has one of the most capable forces on the planet, decides that it will double its spending…it gets attention. When that power is one of America’s best friends, it generates smiles. That may be too broad a description, but for those in the national security arena looking beyond the Russo-Ukrainian War and events in Southwest Asia, this is one of the most important developments of the last few years. Where is Japan going? Returning to the Midrats Podcast this Sunday from 5–6 p.m. LIVE to discuss this will be Jack McCain. You can join us LIVE at this link with access to the show chat. Jack McCain is a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and the CEO of McCain Advisory, a Japan-based firm helping companies navigate Japanese politics, business, and government relations. Now based in Japan, his work focuses on strengthening U.S.–Japan ties through business partnerships, defense cooperation, and emerging technology. He brings both a security perspective and a personal commitment to understanding the country he now calls home. He is also a member of the McCain Institute Board. Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

An RAF Protector RG1 remotely piloted aircraft has flown its first operational missions in UK airspace, giving the Royal Navy more than 10 hours of surveillance over the English Channel while warships tracked the Russian frigate Neustrashimy, the UK Ministry of Defence said. The unarmed Protector flew alongside military and civilian air traffic while the […]View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps’ H-1 program office is using flight test data from the first two upgraded AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters to lock down the SPINE configuration, with modification of the first fleet aircraft set to begin in fiscal 2027. Naval Air Systems Command’s Light/Attack Helicopter Program Office, PMA-276, said test points flown […]View the full article

The U.S. Army’s first HADES prototype, a Bombardier Global 6500 business jet modified by Sierra Nevada Corporation for long-range signals intelligence and deep sensing, made its first flight on Sept. 11, the service announced on Oct. 30, seven weeks after the event. The flight followed a flight readiness review and moves the High Accuracy Detection […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy is inviting companies to bring cargo drones to Huntsville, Alabama, from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5, 2027, to compete for the U.S. Marine Corps’ second-generation Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System, or TRUAS Increment II, which must carry 100 pounds (45 kg) to a point 40 nautical miles (74 km) away and fly […]View the full article

Naval Group handed over HS Nearchos, the second of Greece’s new French-built defense and intervention frigates, to the Hellenic Navy at its shipyard in Lorient, France, on Oct. 30, ten months after Greece received the first ship of the class. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias and French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin attended the ceremony. […]View the full article

NATO linked a Maven targeting system to a national military system in a matter of hours using agentic artificial intelligence and ran a cross-border counter-drone engagement during a two-week experiment in Latvia, the alliance’s top transformation commander said on Oct. 30. Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, described the results at Ādaži Military […]View the full article

North Korea tested a cluster-bomb warhead for its tactical ballistic missiles on Oct. 31 and said it will let its military units choose from four types of cluster warheads by the end of the year, state news agency KCNA reported on Nov. 1. The Missile Administration, which runs North Korea’s missile development, said the test […]View the full article

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