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Russia’s new Shturm uncrewed tank failed in its first major outing, losing its control link again and again during the Tsentr-2026 strategic exercise and finally getting stuck in mud, even with a human driver at the controls. The remotely operated vehicle, built on a T-72 tank chassis, repeatedly dropped the radio link that connects it […]View the full article

The first photo of Leonardo’s Hystrix 40 ADS, a land-based counter-drone gun built around the Italian company’s Marlin 40 naval turret, has appeared online, showing the system during testing. The image was posted on X by the account A-129 Mangusta, which said it was sent by a follower and showed the system recently undergoing tests. […]View the full article

Epirus has plugged its Leonidas high-power microwave drone killer into a wider U.S. Army command-and-control network during Operation Jailbreak Falcon Fury, an Army effort to make counter-drone sensors, weapons and software from different makers work together. The California company said on X that it joined the event to show how Leonidas can link sensors and […]View the full article

A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone ended up stuck at the end of a runway beside the St. Johns River at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, a photo released by open-source account TheIntelFrog shows. The image, posted on X, shows the large unmanned aircraft off the end of Runway 5, the strip that runs toward […]View the full article

U.S. Southern Command has deployed unmanned systems to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the first step toward a training and mission-support site there for its new Autonomous Warfare Command. Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the SOUTHCOM commander, saw the systems during a visit to the base, the command said in a post on X. […]View the full article

A Russian T-90M tank used its Arena-M active protection system to shoot down attacking drones during the Tsentr-2026 strategic exercise, in a staged attack on a tank column at the Chebarkul training range in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. In the demonstration, several types of drones, including fixed-wing models and standard first-person-view (FPV) quadcopter drones, simulated a […]View the full article

Russia has used uncrewed tanks from its Shturm heavy robotic assault system in combat drills for the first time, sending remotely controlled T-72-based vehicles to support assault troops during its Tsentr-2026 strategic exercise. Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown the vehicles at the Chebarkul training range in the Chelyabinsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said […]View the full article

Russia has fired a guided missile from its attack helicopters off a truck, using a new ground launcher called Izdeliye 347, or “Product 347,” against mock artillery positions during its Tsentr-2026 exercise. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Oct. 2 that the system carries a modified version of the LMUR light multipurpose guided missile and […]View the full article

Russia has shown an upgraded Pantsir-S1M air defense system mounted on a Belarus-built MZKT-7930-312 chassis during its Tsentr-2026 strategic exercise, the first official confirmation that the gun-and-missile system now rides on the heavy Minsk-built chassis. Until now, the configuration was known only from a leaked supply contract and from a single vehicle that Ukrainian drone […]View the full article

You go to war with the weapons your government gives you, not the weapons you wish you had. The key as a leader is how you employ what you have against the enemy. I give you the Imperial Austrian triple-decker wooden battleship, Kaiser. Yes the AUSTRIAN Navy, again. Why her for Fullbore? Well, the year was 1866 and this wooden warship held her own in the first major naval battle in Europe between ships of iron and steam and the Italian Navy at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence. Sure, she was outdated and Fleet Admiral Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff was only 39, but the battle was a glorious effort for a navy that had only a little more than half a century left. Encountering the Italian fleet early on the morning of 19 July 1866, Tegetthoff sailed straight for the center of the Italian fleet, hoping to ram the ships to make up for his own fleet’s lack of firepower. The smoke from the Italian ships made visibility very poor, however, and the Austrians missed the Italian fleet completely. Swinging around, Tegetthoff again charged, this time setting two Italian armored ships on fire and damaging several more. After Tegetthoff’s flagship, the Erzherzog Ferdinand Max, rammed and sank the armored Italian frigate Re d’Italia, the Italian fleet retreated the next day. Tegetthoff returned in triumph to his base at Pola (Pula). Nevertheless, his victory did not materially affect the outcome of the war, as Italy emerged victorious. ... Seeing things going badly, Persano found the courage to throw himself into battle, deciding to ram the unarmoured screw battleship Kaiser rather than one of the armoured ships engaged with the Italian 2nd Division much nearer him. However, Kaiser managed to dodge Affondatore. Taking heart from his admiral, the captain of Re di Portogallo decided to hurl his ship at Kaiser, maintaining a heavy fire with her rifled guns as he did so. At the last moment, von Petz turned the tables on her and turned into the ram, in effect conducting a counter ram. The impact tore off Kaiser’s stem and bowsprit, leaving her figurehead embedded in Re di Portogallo. The Italian used the opportunity to rake Kaiser with fire, putting her mainmast and smokestack into the sea. The smoke was so great that as they backed off for another ram they lost sight of each other and ended the duel. It’s all here. Using 2,000-year-old tactics to win. Making the best of the fleet you have. Aggressive action. Leaders who lead and win without waiting for specific direction to do so. More on the Kaiser, she survived the battle, here. 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

About half of Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets have spent long stretches in Europe for repairs and maintenance, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, and some have taken so long to come back that Ukraine lost time when it needed them most to defend its skies. Zelensky made the comments in an interview with the Financial Times published […]View the full article

AM General is building a next-generation Humvee around a new 250-horsepower diesel engine, giving the four-decade-old military truck more power and better fuel economy. The Indiana-based company said on LinkedIn that the new vehicle uses a 6.5-liter engine with common rail direct injection, an electronically controlled fuel system that delivers more precise injection than older […]View the full article

Naval Group has started building the first of four new frigates for Sweden, cutting steel for the future HSwMS Luleå at its shipyard in Lorient, France, on Oct. 1, just one month after Stockholm signed the contract. The first ship is due for delivery in 2030, the French shipbuilder said. Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration, known […]View the full article

Polish state-owned radar maker PIT-RADWAR has signed a contract to start rebuilding its plant in Czernica, near Wrocław, the first step in a nearly 90 million zloty (about $23 million) investment that the company links to Poland’s new counter-drone program. The first stage is worth nearly 21 million zlotys (about $5.5 million) before tax, and […]View the full article

BAE Systems will upgrade the GPS inside the U.S. Navy’s carrier landing system to the military’s encrypted, jam-resistant M-code signal under a $16 million contract from Collins Aerospace. The company will design and develop the M-code GPS solution for the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System, known as JPALS, BAE Systems said on Oct. 1. […]View the full article

Poland’s military and Border Guard are now using an artificial intelligence system to watch the country’s border with Belarus, pulling feeds from cameras, drones and other sensors into one picture and flagging activity that needs a human’s attention. Poland’s Operational Command said the system, called Inteligentna Granica, or Intelligent Border, is now working as part […]View the full article

British company SatVu has launched HotSat-3, a satellite that maps heat on the ground from orbit, giving it a second working spacecraft and the ability to photograph any spot on Earth in thermal infrared once every 24 hours, day or night. The satellite lifted off on Oct. 1 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg […]View the full article

Russian forces shot down one of their own Mi-8 military helicopters over the Voronezh region on Oct. 1, killing all three crew members, after a ground-based air defense crew mistook it for an enemy drone. The helicopter came down in a field in the Anninsky district, about 80 km (50 miles) from the city of […]View the full article

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon’s research arm that funds high-risk military technology, has hired Systems Planning and Analysis to help manage its biotechnology programs, and it wants artificial intelligence built into how that work is done. The Alexandria, Virginia-based company received a $10.9 million task order for operational and program support services, […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has awarded Oceaneering International a contract worth up to $154.1 million to keep its Dry Deck Shelters working, the hangar-like chambers that let U.S. Navy SEALs leave and return to a submarine while it stays submerged. Oceaneering’s Marine Services Division in Chesapeake, Virginia, received a $24.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-type contract on […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has awarded WindBorne Systems, a California startup that flies a fleet of self-steering weather balloons, a contract worth up to $48.7 million to supply atmospheric data for military weather forecasting and mission planning. The contract, awarded on Sept. 29, covers continuous, global and targeted vertical profiles of the atmosphere, from the […]View the full article

Taiwan’s Coast Guard used a water cannon on a Chinese fishing boat that refused to leave waters near Dongsha Island in the South China Sea, then warned its crew they would be arrested and their boat seized before finally towing it out of the area. The Coast Guard Administration said its Dongsha-Nansha Branch spotted an […]View the full article

The U.S. military will deploy its NMESIS anti-ship missile launcher to Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island and about 107 km (66 miles) from Taiwan, during a major U.S.-Japanese exercise this month, Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Oct. 2, citing the Yonaguni town government. The launcher will take part in Keen Sword, a large joint exercise […]View the full article

Taiwan’s Air Force has received the first two of 66 new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets bought from the United States, after the aircraft landed at Chihhang Air Base in the eastern county of Taitung around noon on Oct. 2. The arrival comes about a month later than expected and roughly three years behind the […]View the full article

South Korea put its Cheongwang laser weapons on public display for its 78th Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1, showing two new prototypes for the first time, but a live demonstration of the system already in service ran into trouble before the laser burned two target drones out of the sky. The new hardware included […]View the full article