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ARX Robotics is expanding its deployed fleet in Ukraine to five times its initial size, the European unmanned ground vehicle maker announced in May 2026, securing a new contract to supply several hundred additional GEREON uncrewed ground vehicles to Ukraine’s Defense Forces and cementing its position as the largest supplier of Western UGVs to Ukraine. […]View the full article

Russia announced missile tests at the Kura test range in Kamchatka scheduled from May 6 to 10, a window that brackets its Victory Day parade in Moscow and which analysts at Militarny are reading as a deliberate nuclear signaling move timed to deter any Ukrainian strike on Red Square. The announcement came from the Emergency […]View the full article

A Virginia-based counter-UAS training company has launched a program focused on the phase of a drone incident that most training programs ignore entirely: what to do after the drone is already on the ground. 38 Sierra announced Drone Incident Response Training, known as DIRT, on May 5, 2026, from Barboursville, Virginia, positioning it as a […]View the full article

Russia ignored Ukraine’s ceasefire initiative and launched a sustained overnight attack with drones and glide bombs within minutes of a silence regime taking effect, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha declared on May 6, calling Moscow’s parallel proposal for a May 9 ceasefire a political performance with no connection to genuine diplomacy. Sybiha posted the statement […]View the full article

Dawned on me as I was about to send the scenario that I was running on my modified database, which has a number of updates that include the units and weapons involved. I'm in the middle of updating several countries (Japan, DPRK, ROK) in my database to represent post ~2000 and omit previous years. Will shift gears later this week and remodel the scenario with the current game version database. If I have the same problem, will advise and send. 👍

Turkey’s ASELSAN unveiled two new unmanned naval systems at SAHA 2026 in Istanbul on May 5, expanding the country’s autonomous warfare portfolio into both underwater strike and surface vessel domains with platforms designed for swarm operations, covert missions, and asymmetric combat at sea. The company introduced the KILIÇ family of autonomous underwater strike systems and […]View the full article

Let’s pick up the topic we spent some time on back in March. After the invention of gunpowder, every time a navy faces conflict after a long time at peace, one of the first things they realize they have to do is to get more guns, and larger caliber guns, on their ships as soon as possible. This reality today also applies to a side-branch, missiles, as well, but today let’s focus on the gun proof. In peace, the accountants and those who are willing to shift their personal career risk onto combat risk worn by other people will happily divest platforms of money and people hungry weapons to buy cheaper, smaller, none—or if they are feeling a little guilty, will “fit for but not with”. After a real war at sea happens, and the Naval War Gods of the Copybook Headings remind you of the folly of the peacetime accountants, you start to see weapons appearing on any surface that can support them. Make no mistake, in the next Great Pacific War we will be required to do with modern weapons to counter everything from ballistic missiles to low-and-slow drones what the USS Alaska (CB 1) had to do in 1945 against the threats of her day. That’s just the air threat. As the Ukrainians have reminded everyone at the Russians’ expense, you also need to be ready for the small and sometimes sneaky and slow threat on the surface. In the March post, we covered a few options of weapons we can buy to bolster the weapons options for our warships and auxiliaries that are already in production. We left one out. First, as pointed out by Trent Telenko, there is a pedigree here. First of all, let’s remember the M15 halftrack and its 37mm/.50 caliber combination mount ashore from WWII and Korea. As Virtual Bayonet pointed out, look at what we’re buying to take to sea. That pic is from USS Mustin (DDG 89) equipped with the new Mark 38 Mod 4. Where the Mod 0 through Mod 3 had a stand-alone 25mm gun, the Mod 4 has not just been up-gunned to a 30mm gun (with expanded ammo options including the Programmable Airburst Rounds that is perfect for counter-UAS and small boats), it threw in Ma-Deuce for fun and profit. The 30mm accepts standard NATO 30mm x 173mm NATO ammunition, including the whole constellation of of high-explosive (HE) and armor-piercing (AP) rounds available—just in case you have more interesting targets needing your attention. Just a superb evolutionary development. More. Faster. Also, up those numbers. 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

U.S. Army soldiers from 2d Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment, launched the Hornet one-way strike drone at Pabradė Training Area in Lithuania on May 3, 2026, as the system continues to expand its footprint across American military exercises in Europe. The same week, Hornet drones were also deployed at Bemowo Piskie Training Area in Poland during […]View the full article

U.S. Army soldiers in Lithuania are training with an unmanned ground vehicle to evacuate casualties from the battlefield, as part of a live exercise that is simultaneously testing counter-drone systems, AI-enabled command networks, and robotic ground platforms across a month-long series of linked drills. Soldiers assigned to 2d Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment, practiced medical evacuation […]View the full article

During the U.S.-Philippines “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” exercise, allied forces used a simulated target ship near Bataan Island featuring a Chinese ZBD-05 amphibious assault vehicle as a dummy target for live-fire shooting. The exercise brought together approximately 800 personnel from the United States, the Philippines, and Japan for combined amphibious denial training on the coast of Laoag in […]View the full article

France has restarted production of its naval cruise missile after a production halt that began in 2021, according to reporting by Le Parisien. The missile in question is the MdCN, also known as the SCALP Naval, a cruise missile developed by MBDA from 2006 and operational since 2017. Production stopped after the completion of earlier […]View the full article

Turkey’s ROKETSAN unveiled the TAYFUN Block 4 ballistic missile at SAHA 2026 in Istanbul, displaying it publicly for the first time mounted on its 8×8 wheeled launcher. According to Clash Report’s coverage of the SAHA 2026 exhibition, the missile measures approximately 10 meters in length, weighs approximately 7.2 tons, and achieves speeds exceeding Mach 5, […]View the full article

Russia’s Rostec state defense corporation has announced a new vehicle-mounted counter-FPV drone jammer of its SERP anti-drone system family, specifically designed to protect mobile assets against FPV drone attacks. The new system, designated SERP-FPV, was developed by the Rosel holding company, a Rostec subsidiary focused on electronic warfare and radio electronics, according to the company’s […]View the full article

Peraton has landed a U.S. Navy contract worth up to $90.7 million to keep the MK 18 family of explosive ordnance disposal underwater drones operational across fleet commands at home and at key overseas locations, with work running from San Diego to Spain, Bahrain, and Okinawa. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific awarded the cost-reimbursement contract […]View the full article

The B-52 bomber is getting new engines, and the program just cleared the last major technical hurdle before physical modification work begins on the first aircraft. The B-52J Commercial Engine Replacement Program held its Critical Design Review at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, a milestone that clears the path for Boeing to begin modifying the […]View the full article

Turkey’s Pasifik Technology has signed a framework contract with an undisclosed country for a package of 101,035 unmanned systems, headlined by 100,000 FPV kamikaze drones, in what represents one of the largest single drone export agreements publicly announced by a Turkish defense company. The contract covers five distinct unmanned platforms across air and ground domains. […]View the full article

Vietnam has developed a new 8×8 amphibious armored personnel carrier prototype, the XTC-03, built by the Vietnam Defense Industry as a domestically designed replacement superior to the Russian BTR-80 series. The XTC-03 represents a significant step in Vietnam’s effort to reduce dependence on Soviet and Russian legacy equipment while building indigenous armored vehicle design capability. […]View the full article

A U.S. advanced propellant company with a 15-year operational relationship with the Department of War has officially launched as a dedicated defense entity, bringing three drop-in fuel replacements designed to extend the range, endurance, and strike capacity of American aircraft, missiles, and rockets without requiring changes to existing propulsion systems. CycloKinetics, Inc. announced its formal […]View the full article

Ukraine struck deep into Russian territory overnight, hitting a strategically significant electronics plant in Cheboksary, the capital of the Chuvash Republic, approximately 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, according to analysis by Exilenova+. The initial strike was carried out by what Exilenova+ analysts identified as an FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile targeting the VNIIR Progress facility. […]View the full article

I can certainly envision this happening and I don't expect that the game has any code to prevent it from happening. Definitely post up the scenario and saved game.

China is reportedly developing a new stealth cruise missile sized to fit inside the internal weapons bays of its J-20 and J-35 stealth fighters, according to technical design documents released in Weibo. The missile’s design specifications set its length at under 4 meters and diameter under 0.85 meters — dimensions that are almost certainly driven […]View the full article

China’s state news agency Xinhua published footage showing the Type 100 main battle tank, the People’s Liberation Army’s next-generation armored platform, conducting field training exercises, marking the first time the tank has been shown in an operational training environment and offering the first brief glimpse of its interior. The footage shows the Type 100 maneuvering […]View the full article

AeroVironment (AV) landed a U.S. Army prototype agreement on May 4 for its Switchblade 400 loitering munition under the Low-Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance program. The LASSO award establishes Switchblade 400 as a key component of the Army’s loitering munition architecture, covering rapid development, delivery, and testing. “This award reflects the Army’s confidence not only […]View the full article

Lithuania’s first HIMARS rocket artillery systems are coming off the production line, the Lithuanian Armed Forces announced, releasing the first images of the vehicles and confirming delivery is expected within the coming years. “The first Lithuanian HIMARS are rolling off the production line — this is what they will look like,” the Lithuanian Armed Forces […]View the full article

Indian drone manufacturer Hoverit has completed vehicle-mounted launch trials of its Divyastra Mk-2, a long-range one-way attack drone in the same class as Iran’s Shahed series. The ground trial milestone follows an earlier high-speed taxi trial, with the company confirming in its announcement that vehicle-based launch has now been completed. “After successful High Speed Taxi […]View the full article