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Retired Rear Adm. John Meier, the first commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), has joined mining investor Appian Capital Advisory as a senior advisor on defense supply chains. Appian announced the hire on Oct. 13 together with two other appointments. Brian Greeley, who was chief banking officer at the […]View the full article

Northrop Grumman has teamed up with Barrett Firearms to build the launcher for its Precision Grenadier System, a shoulder-fired 25 mm grenade launcher meant to let infantry squads hit enemies hiding behind cover and shoot down small drones, the companies announced on Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington. […]View the full article

Norway’s Kongsberg will build a factory in northern Poland to manufacture and maintain counter-drone systems for the Polish SAN program, investing more than 200 million zlotys (about €45 million, or $51 million) in a plant that will create over 100 permanent jobs once it reaches full capacity, the company announced on Oct. 13 at the […]View the full article

A former Italian Navy mine warfare officer has launched Sentiq Defence, a company based in Bordighera on Italy’s Ligurian coast that will supply navies, coast guards and port and energy operators with uncrewed boats, underwater surveillance sonars, remotely operated submersibles and aerial drones, the company announced on Oct. 13. Sentiq starts out as an integrator, […]View the full article

MARTAC, the Florida maker of high-speed unmanned surface vessels used by the U.S. Navy, has selected SEA.AI’s maritime machine vision system for its drone boat fleet, adding cameras that spot and classify other vessels on their own without a human watching a video feed. SEA.AI announced the integration on Oct. 13, saying MARTAC has made […]View the full article

Radar maker Echodyne and Allen Control Systems have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to pair Echodyne’s EchoShield counter-drone radar with ACS’s Bullfrog autonomous weapon station, combining long-range radar tracking with an AI-guided gun that fires standard ammunition at drones on land and at sea. The companies announced the agreement on Oct. 13, saying they have […]View the full article

The last 12 months have been good for our Navy. Regardless of what you think of this year’s operations against Iran and her proxies: Our surface forces built off their years of success in the Red Sea over the last year and have a level of experience in actual warfighting not seen since…well…WWII really. We saw a little bit of a threat in Korea, Vietnam, and a spot of bother now and then…but a sustained threat like this? Not seen in generations. Everything from low-speed drones to anti-ship cruise missiles to anti-ship ballistic missiles was thrown at our Aegis destroyers and our remaining cruisers…and nothing got through to them or the carriers and auxiliaries they supported. They sent a lot of ordnance downrange to top it all off. Speaking of auxiliaries, our merchant mariners started this conflict short of mariners and ships, but they supported sustained combat operations at sea with limited access to good and safe ports in a way that, again, we only have a whisper of understanding of. We have a lot of lessons here, and I hope to see action on them soon. In line with the above, we only know the wafer-thin details of the strikes Navy and Marine Corps aviation conducted. Everything from strafing runs to anti-mine work to sinking submarines. Our submarines managed to sink an enemy destroyer… in case you forgot… and I’m sure they did all sorts of fun things we’ll read about in 2040. Ditto our Marines and Naval Special Warfare bubbas. We saw hints of what you were doing if we knew where to look…but we don’t need the details. Tip of the hat. Long deployments, extended combat operations, few safe and friendly ports to support them…and still…they excelled in everything that was asked of them. Excellence was expected and provided. It was clear that we practiced until we were perfect, and then practiced perfection...or as close as we humans can get to it. Oh, did you forget we took down the Marxist dictatorship in Venezuela and sent the Cubans, Chinese, and Russians packing? Yes, a joint operation…but…from the sea. We are starting to see movement on the industrial front in shipbuilding, shipyards, and new programs. The Primes are being challenged by nimble, and quick-moving new players. The competition will be good for everyone…and a net positive for the tools our Sailors will take with them the next time their nation asks them to go in harm’s way. There are 364 other days of the year when we can look at areas that need improvement or discuss some sub-optimal people or activities…but today is as good a day as any to say what is clear to see: Navy had a good year. May the next year be even better. Speaking of birthday presents…if you have not already pulled the trigger to be an underwriter of the CDR Salamander Substack, well, maybe today is your day! In celebration of our Navy’s birthday, we’re offering a 20% discount on monthly and annual paid subscriptions today only. Your subscription will provide you with… My undying gratitude and thanks for supporting what we do here. Extra attention to your comments…as I know you are invested in the creative friction we try to promote here. Access to the paid-subscriber-only UNCLAS Read Board Podcast. You have until midnight Eastern Time to claim your discount. Click 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

Turkish state defense company MKE has destroyed a drone at a distance of 760 meters (about 2,500 feet) with a new 20-kilowatt fiber laser weapon developed for its TOLGA close-in air defense system, scoring a direct hit during the Ateş Serbest-2026 live-fire event at Polatlı, west of Ankara. MKE announced the result on X on […]View the full article

Oshkosh Defense has started building the first prototype of the Dutch Expeditionary Patrol Vehicle, a version of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle known in the Netherlands as the Kaaiman, for the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, the company said on Oct. 13. The Netherlands Ministry of Defence ordered 150 of the vehicles in June 2025 at […]View the full article

Footage said to be from Libya shows dozens of Turkish-made BMC AMAZON 4×4 armored vehicles in service with Libyan elite units, fitted with remote-controlled weapon stations and jamming systems, according to Turkish defense analyst Ahmet Alemdar, who shared the images on X. Alemdar described the vehicles as being operated by “elite units” but did not […]View the full article

Czech air defense troops have test-fired a remotely operated twin machine gun mounted on SVOS’s Mars 4×4 armored vehicle against small drones, as Czech industry offers the vehicle as a cheaper counter-drone option alongside the missile-armed version the Army of the Czech Republic has already ordered. Soldiers from the 25th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment in Strakonice […]View the full article

Denver-based AZAK has been added as a seventh company to the U.S. Army’s Infantry Last Tactical Mile program, a competition for uncrewed ground vehicles that would carry supplies to front-line infantry, evacuate wounded soldiers and extend radio networks near the forward line of troops, the company said. AZAK announced the news in a LinkedIn post […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has given its new wheeled howitzer an official name, the XM1776 Mobile Tactical Cannon, and has raised its prototype order from Hanwha Defense USA to nine systems, with an option for nine more. The Army and Hanwha unveiled the designation at a naming ceremony at the company’s booth at the Association of […]View the full article

Japan’s Ministry of Defense is considering leaving the Type 10 main battle tank out of its fiscal 2027 budget request, after a shell exploded inside one of the tanks in April and killed three soldiers, according to Japanese defense newspaper Asagumo. Gen. Masayoshi Arai, chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, disclosed the […]View the full article

L3Harris Technologies has won a $250 million contract from Lockheed Martin to build solid rocket motors for standard-range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets, the largest quantity ordered in the program’s history, the company said Oct. 12. The motors will be built at L3Harris’ new 60,000-square-foot (5,600-square-meter) plant in Camden, Arkansas, which the company says […]View the full article

An uncrewed hybrid truck built by California’s Harbinger is powering a 30-kilowatt AeroVironment counter-drone laser at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington this week, shown at American Rheinmetall’s booth. Harbinger CEO John Henry Harris said in a LinkedIn post on Oct. 12 that the company’s Praesidia vehicle is supplying power to […]View the full article

AEVEX is showing a full-size model of Specter, its new jet-powered one-way attack drone, at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington this week, along with a maritime drone line built from its recent purchase of BlackSea Technologies. The California-based company announced Specter on Sept. 23 as a high-speed, turbojet-powered autonomous strike […]View the full article

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not strike any energy facilities inside Russia overnight into Oct. 12, after President Donald Trump announced an immediate halt to attacks on energy targets, but that Russia kept hitting Ukraine’s gas and power infrastructure. Zelenskyy made the comments in a live interview with Fox News on Monday. Trump […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin has unveiled PAC-3 Edge, a new Patriot interceptor designed to reach higher, fly farther and maneuver harder than the PAC-3 MSE now in service. It is the company’s entry in the U.S. Army’s Future Interceptor competition. The company debuted the missile on Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting […]View the full article

General Dynamics Land Systems has brought its Wolf XM30 infantry fighting vehicle to the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington, but only as a one-eighth-scale model, leaving the full-size vehicle out of public view while it undergoes U.S. Army testing. The company is offering the Wolf as a replacement for the M2 […]View the full article

Way back even before the X-47B took off and landed on a carrier—and then was killed by the Fighter-Attack-Guy Mafia™—people would ask me what I wanted in a tactical drone. My feelings have not changed that much since—I want something designed to be stacked up like so many Pringles—or for you science fiction fans, how the Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica reboot kept their Raiders on their Basestars—ready for use in number. Sailor-proof and combat-ready. You hear the subject of “Drone Carriers” come up on a regular basis. You have to have the right drones to make it worthwhile, and if I were in charge of ship designations, they would be classified as CVQ. I’m willing to consider such, as I mentioned when I got a bit excited last April with the Portuguese Navy’s latest toy. We’ve “appreciated the problem” and delayed action for too long, so what do we do if we want to do something now as opposed to do nothing but produce PPT and bad military fiction novels for the next decade? My Cylon Raider CONOPS was based on integration with the existing carrier air wing and stealing hangar bay space, but what if we had a tactical drone that didn’t need that level of support and could operate independently of the CVN/CVW construct? As now is better than later, what would we use to carry them? Our existing carrier air wings may be maxed out, and we don’t have enough shipyard time to modify the hangar bays. We already have too few large-deck amphibs and LPDs to do the missions they already have assigned. I have no desire to wait a decade and a half for an over-budget, over-engineered dedicated drone carrier. (In its present construct, we would not be able to get what Portugal is getting through NAVSEA intact.) We’d need something we already have that could, with a few modifications, fit the bill…not unlike how we made Jeep Carriers in WWII. Perfect? No. Good enough? Absolutely. We should be moving faster more than slower. Experiment. Be prepared to fail, iterate, succeed, or, at worst, realize a lot more is needed before the concept is ready for the big show. I have an idea. Actually, other people have already found my solution, and I’m going to adopt it. First, let’s look at what drone might fit the bill. Shield AI, a specialist vying to provide the autonomy software for the Air Force’s autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has won government backing for its X-BAT drone—but not from USAF. The $50 million cash infusion comes from the Navy and the Defense Innovation Unit, which see intriguing possibilities for a jet designed to take off and land vertically from a trailer. The aircraft is powered by the same F-110 General Electric engine that powers an F-16. With an airframe smaller and lighter than the Viper, the engine can generate enough thrust for vertical takeoff and to land in a manner similar to SpaceX’s reusable rockets. First things first. Take CCA and put it at the end of the line for some option down the road. It will just slow things down. THAT software is not ready, but other software is. Let’s use what we have, and then work on what we want. For the Navy, the potential benefit of X-BAT is clear, Holmes and Penney agreed: X-BAT could launch and return to surface combatants of all kinds, not just aircraft carriers. It would give the Navy more ways to deploy airpower. Navy destroyers and amphibious ships already carry munitions and fuel, so they don’t have the logistical problems the Air Force would have in its ACE concept of operations. … Shield boasts that its Hivemind autonomy software is “the world’s best AI pilot” and has delivered “real battlefield outcomes.” But Penney noted that mission autonomy—the ability for software to execute complex air missions—is “a lot harder” than most people realize and something the Air Force is still ironing out through the CCA program. On top of that, X-BAT’s signature ability to take off and land vertically is a technically complex, though not unheard of, undertaking. Shield AI has shown it can do VTOL with its smaller V-BAT aircraft that has a propeller, but the X-BAT is as large as a fighter jet. It will need to generate large amounts of thrust to take off and be extremely responsive and stable to land. Let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Let’s not start off with a “complex air mission” with MOD-0. Sure, we’ll get there…but lets start off with something simple…a TLAM that comes back. A cruise missile delivery-to-launch-point and return. Heck, I’ll take simple ISR/ELINT etc for MOD-0. Yeah, and the concerns about the operating envelopes for landing (sea state, wind across deck, etc) will need to be worked out…I’d like to see those curves…but let’s assume it is acceptable…limited but acceptable. Where could we launch them from…where? I know you recognize the hull shape below. We have them in production. They’re the multi-tool of naval power. The Puller Class ESB. How many X-BAT can you carry? Can you store more below? They are actually a bit larger than a WWII Casablanca CVE. Together with the announcement, Shield AI has released a new rendering showing X-BAT aircraft deployed on an Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) vessel. In August, the Navy’s PAE Aviation office said that, “to maintain maritime superiority, agility in acquisition is just as critical as the technology itself.” Preparations towards first test flightShield AI also announced on Sept. 30 the selection of Newton, Kansas, and Des Moines, Washington, as sites for the X-BAT’s production, flight testing and sustainment. … Shield AI’s signature Hivemind autonomous flight software is planned to fly the drone in environments without Satellite Navigation (SATNAV) and communication links. The F110-GE-129 has so far been tested with an Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN), while scale models of the X-BAT have undergone wind tunnel tests, wing structural stress trials and radar-cross section testing. Other videos released by the company have also shown its unique Launch and Recovery Vehicle for Tethered Flight (LRVTF) docking mechanism, developed for runway independent operation. It would be great if we could adopt a SpaceX approach to this capability instead of the NASA approach. We don’t need perfect now. Better will show up, but only after you get good with the basics. Be prepared to lose a few and celebrate the opportunity to learn when you do. Don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Assume you will need changes. Be happy with the MOD-0 or ‘A’ model, then quickly upgrade to the ‘B’ model, and so on. The future is here. All we need to do is accept it as it is. Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. 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Anduril Industries has unveiled Steelfin, a family of surface-to-air interceptor missiles designed to shoot down cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles at a fraction of the cost of today’s interceptors, with flight tests set to begin next year. The company announced Steelfin on Oct. 12, the first day of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual […]View the full article

Six Turkish military drones flew into Greek-claimed airspace over the Aegean Sea on Oct. 10, Greece’s Hellenic National Defense General Staff said, the latest in a run of near-daily incidents this month. The Greek military recorded eight infringements of air traffic rules inside the Athens Flight Information Region and five violations of Greek national airspace […]View the full article

Rental cars used by Norway’s Home Guard during a large exercise in September recorded video of soldiers, their routes and the codes they typed into military gates, according to a soldier who took part, Norwegian business daily Dagens Næringsliv reported. The cars were rented by the Norwegian Armed Forces from Hertz in Norway, which belongs […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has received its first Mobile Tactical Cannon, a wheeled 155 mm howitzer built by Hanwha Defense USA that the service is testing as a replacement for the towed M777, less than a year after it first asked industry for proposals. Brig. Gen. Robert “RJ” Mikesh Jr., the Army’s portfolio management executive for […]View the full article