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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

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. 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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