Raw Intel

As Lockheed Martin faces growing scrutiny over its role in U.S. next-generation air dominance efforts, a defense industry source has issued a sharp rebuke of the company’s rumored strategy to develop a twin-engine derivative of the F-35, also known as F-55. The criticism comes amid fresh financial pressure on Lockheed, whose second-quarter 2025 earnings revealed […] The post Industry insider slams Lockheed’s F-55 as “repackaged failure” first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

South Korea is launching a sweeping initiative to ensure that every soldier in uniform learns to operate drones, with the Ministry of National Defense unveiling its “500,000 Drone Warriors” program on September 4. The effort is designed to integrate unmanned systems into all Army units, making drone flight skills a standard part of military training. […] The post South Korea to train every soldier as drone operator first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russia has introduced a new tactic in its drone campaign against Ukraine, using modified Shahed kamikaze drones equipped with cameras to attack a moving train. According to footage released by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, several Shahed drones were launched at a train in motion. The first struck the locomotive, immobilizing the entire convoy, after which […] The post Shahed drones with cameras target moving train in Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian engineers have developed a remotely operated assault bridge system called Impulse-M, presented as one of the first robotic bridge-laying platforms intended to speed river and ravine crossings without exposing engineers to frontline risk. The vehicle, built on the NRTK “Impulse” chassis, is designed to emplace a six-metre bridge and has a reported full mass […]View the full article

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Türkiye has completed a flight test that demonstrated autonomous formation flying by two unmanned combat aircraft, according to information released by Baykar. During the test, the third prototype of the Bayraktar KIZILELMA, designated PT3, and the fifth prototype, PT5, took off consecutively and conducted a coordinated flight using intelligent swarm autonomy algorithms developed by Baykar […]View the full article

Spanish Air Force EF-18M fighter jets intercepted Russian combat aircraft flying near NATO airspace over the Baltic region in late January, as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, according to Spain’s Defense Staff. The interception was carried out by F-18M aircraft from Spain’s Wing 15, currently deployed to Šiauliai Air Base in northern Lithuania […]View the full article

The New Zealand Defence Force has signed a contract with UK–New Zealand company SYOS for a package of autonomous uncrewed land, sea, and air systems, the company announced, marking a step in the country’s effort to expand experimentation and operational development of unmanned technologies. The agreement includes delivery of multiple autonomous platforms alongside technical services, […]View the full article

The United States Army on March 20 awarded a production contract to AV for its P550 Long Range Reconnaissance unmanned aircraft systems. The systems were procured through the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Marketplace Basic Ordering Agreement, a contracting mechanism designed to speed up acquisition timelines. Officials said the program is intended to provide commanders with organic […]View the full article

King Felipe VI of Spain visited the Spanish Army’s Third Tactical Experimentation Campaign — known as TEC 3 — at Base Álvarez de Sotomayor in Viator, Almería this week, where aerospace company Destinus conducted a live container-launched interception demonstration with its Hornet B1 counter-drone system and displayed its Ruta platform on static exhibit. The King, […]View the full article

Austria scrambled Eurofighter jets twice in two consecutive days after U.S. military aircraft entered Austrian airspace without proper clearance, the Austrian Ministry of Defence confirmed. Austrian Ministry of Defence spokesperson Michael Bauer confirmed both incidents publicly, posting on X that the first interception involved a Priority A alert and the deployment of two Eurofighters after […]View the full article

With millions of soccer fans heading to the Seattle area for the FIFA World Cup this summer, the Washington National Guard gathered federal agents, police officers, and military units at a desert training range in June to rehearse a threat that barely registered on public safety radar a year ago: drones. Representatives from federal, state, […]View the full article

A Norwegian defense giant just bet on Ukraine’s homegrown robot army, with KONGSBERG, one of Europe’s largest defense manufacturers, and Ukrainian robotics company DevDroid signing a Memorandum of Understanding on June 30, 2026, in Kyiv that lays groundwork for large-scale, long-term cooperation to produce existing systems and develop new remotely operated combat robots together. The […]View the full article

To start off with—usual caveats apply. Yes, this is Axios, but Barak Ravid is a serious reporter that I have no evidence that he has a history of making stuff up. I also know that the Trump administration is pretty good at message control and minimizing leaks…especially on national security issues. I also know that is DC, which is leaky for both official and unofficial reasons. As such, I’ll put forward an opening bet that this is 51% close to right. If I had to place the odds: 10% this is fake news; 20% chance this is an unofficial leak; 70% it is an official leak. Ambient noise and transmission loss of about 30%…so we’re seeing something—good chance—but not quite what h…

Spain’s first two S-80 Plus class submarines put to sea together for the first time this week, the Spanish Navy said. The Isaac Peral (S-81) and the Narciso Monturiol (S-82) represent what the Navy described as another step in Spain’s strategic autonomy and its submarine force’s deterrent capability. Isaac Peral, the lead boat of the […]View the full article

GM Defense won a $697.7 million modification to its Infantry Squad Vehicle contract with the U.S. Army, funding engineering changes to the vehicle’s five-seat cargo variant, the Department of War announced Sept. 21. The modification, designated P00053, brings the total value of the underlying contract to $915.6 million. The Warren, Michigan-based company was the only […]View the full article

It is on rare occasion that we do a guest post here, but friend to the blog, Midrats Podcast alumnus, and co-host the CavasShips podcast, Chris Servello put together an inspired review of the moment we are at, this decision point, our nation has as a naval power. A must read. Chris, over to you. Standing in Greenwich, on the outskirts of London, surrounded by museum ships, artifacts and reminders of centuries of British seapower, I found myself thinking less about the past than about America’s maritime future. That may sound like an odd conclusion to draw in a museum. But every gallery seemed to make the same point: naval power is not inherited forever. It depends on dec…

The Salamander underground comes through. The report to Congress on Fire Scout referenced earlier this week can be found here. You have to skip the first 11 pages of letters to Congressmen and Senators to get to the meat. Head to the link above, give it a read and then come back. Let's discuss. Here are my Top-3. 1. Since Milestone C, the program has conducted extensive flight testing collecting 1,500 MQ-8B flight hours between March 2007 and March 2011 . Contractor developmental test pilots executing developmental test plans flew 1,250 of those hours. These developmental tests were not operationally realistic, and yielded little insight into the oper…

Politics can be pretty disgusting on a good day, but this is a new low. My good friend, combat veteran and legitimate American hero David Bellavia is running for Congress in NY's 27th District. He would be an Allen West-ian breath of fresh air in the House and God-willing and the creek don't rise we will see him there. He is running against a rich guy (and kicking his ass) who is willing to throw money and now disgraceful allegations at David and a charity that we both helped found, the Warrior Legacy Foundation (WLF). There have been claims made by proxies and political tools of David's opponent Chris Collins that WLF is a scam designed to line David's pockets and defrau…

Americas Raytheon and Pratt and Whitney Military Engines won a $642 million deal, which provides for the procurement of performance-based logistics activities including maintenance of support equipment, common program activities, unique and common base recurring sustainment, repair of repairables, field service representatives, common replenishment spares, conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant F135 unique maintenance services and short take-off and landing F135 unique services in support of the F-35 Lightning II F135 propulsion system for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. Pratt &…