Raw Intel

Americas The US Air Force has awarded Raytheon a $39 million contract to develop a command and control software prototype for an air base air defense system. Raytheon will develop the Battle Management Command and Control (BC3) software tested on a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System in 2022. The prototype employs artificial intelligence and machine learning […]View the full article

France’s defense procurement agency, the Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), has spotlighted its multi-domain weapons testing site known as CALAMAR, located at Cazaux. The facility supports the evaluation of France’s most advanced combat systems, including the Rafale fighter, Mirage 2000, Tiger helicopter, guided munitions, anti-bunker bombs, and targeting technologies. In a statement released by the […] The post France showcases CALAMAR range for next-gen weapons testing first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

CH-53K concept (click to view full) The U.S. Marines have a problem. They rely on their CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships. But the helicopters are wearing out. Fast. The pace demanded by the Global War on Terror is relentless, and usage rates are 3 […]View the full article

A new family of armored vehicles, including a modular platform that serves as the basis for both a light tank and an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), was spotted in China. The images, published on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, show the modern vehicles loaded onto rail transport platforms ahead of what appears to be […] The post China develops new modular tank and fighting vehicle first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 has introduced its next-generation unmanned ground vehicle, the G-Sword, during the ADEX 2025 exhibition in Seoul. The tracked robotic platform is designed for multi-role battlefield operations and features a turret-mounted cannon and the indigenous Raybolt anti-tank missile system. According to company information presented at the event, the G-Sword was […] The post LIG Nex1 unveils armed G-Sword ground robot first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

December 7th is always a good moment to remember that sometimes the world pivots at its own time and place of choosing. View the full article

Americas Raytheon and Lockheed have received $267-million in contracts for a full-rate production of the Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LWCLU) for the US Army and foreign military sales programs with Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. The LWCLU is part of the man-portable Javelin anti-tank weapon system used to survey and scan targets on sight. The US Army has selected five companies to demonstrate their existing self-propelled howitzers, which could potentially fill the gap left by the discontinued Extended-Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program. BAE Systems, Hanwha Defense, Rheinmetall, Elbit Systems, and General Dynamics have received contracts totaling $4 milli…

The U.S. Air Force’s 500th F-35A Lightning II fighter jet arrived at the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville on July 9, 2025, marking a milestone in the service’s transition to fifth-generation airpower. The aircraft is one of the first three F-35As permanently assigned to the wing, known as “the Thunder,” and […] The post U.S. Air Force marks 500th F-35A delivery first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas Raytheon has tested its Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radar for the US Army in New Mexico. The trial was part of a $384-million deal signed in 2019 for six LTAMDS to replace older radars of the service’s Patriot surface-to-air missile systems.In July 2022, Raytheon received a $354-million contract to provide the army with […]View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $9 million modification to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive (firm-target), cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract. This modification increases the contract ceiling to procure the necessary hardware and associated technical engineering, management and logistics support for fabrication, assembly, test, and delivery of eight AN/APR-39 D(V)2 Radar Warning Receiver/Electronic Warfare Management Systems, and […]View the full article

(click to view full) In March 2008, the Bell Boeing Joint Project Office in Amarillo, TX received a $10.4 billion modification that converted the previous N00019-07-C-0001 advance acquisition contract to a fixed-price-incentive-fee, multi-year contract. The new contract rose to $10.92 billion, and was used to buy 143 MV-22 (for USMC) and 31 CV-22 (Air Force […]View the full article

The U.S. Department of War, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is launching an ambitious new program to design and develop a next-generation High Mach Gas Turbine (HMGT) engine aimed at powering future reusable hypersonic aircraft. According to a solicitation released on September 24, the initiative—developed in partnership with the Air Force Research […] The post U.S. unveils plan to design engine for future hypersonic aircraft first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas Tech giant DZYNE has inked a $49-million contract with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop low-cost, military-grade capabilities to boost the US unmanned fleet’s endurance and propulsion. The contract will support research and development for DZYNE’s long endurance program to create technology allowing the Air Force’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to perform […]View the full article

Poland has signed a new contract with South Korea for the supply and local assembly of K2 and K2PL main battle tanks. Under the agreement, the modernized K2PL variant will be produced at the Bumar-Łabędy plant in Gliwice, a facility operated by the state-owned Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ). Bumar-Łabędy last produced tanks in 2009, delivering […] The post Why Poland gave up on its own tank ambitions first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas The Naval Air Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin a $12.8 million modification, which adds scope to provide for the integration of the handheld imaging tool into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in support of establishing a baseline organic maintainer capability, as well as providing joint technical data, training and services required to allow for […]View the full article

A Romanian Air Force F-16 patrolling Baltic skies under NATO’s air policing mission shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia on May 19, marking the first time NATO fighters have actively intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Baltic states rather than simply scrambling to track one. The incident unfolded around midday, with […]View the full article

Some strong words towards China from the CNO at the end of last week that isn't quite getting the play it would in a normal years. Almost Salamandereaque: America's military must be ready to respond to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan that could come before the end of this year, the head of the US Navy has said. Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of US naval operations, was the latest senior US military official to indicate heightened alarm over Beijing's intentions towards the island. "So when we talk about the 2027 window in my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window. I can't rule that out. I don't mean at all to be alarmist by saying that. It'…

Except for those over a 85, no one alive has ever existed at a time when the US Navy was not the premier naval power - and no one alive at all has known a world where the US Navy was not the premier naval power in the Pacific. Though on paper it could be challenged in the first third of the 20th Century by the Royal Navy, and was challenged in a very real way by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific in the early mid-century, after the 1930s no industrial power could hope to compete with the United States in production and warships ready to fight at sea in a major conflict. During the Cold War, there were a couple of decades where the Soviet Union could put a fleet to …

Preparations are underway in Beijing for what is expected to be one of China’s most expansive military parades in years. While ground forces equipment has already impressed observers, analysts say the aviation segment may become the parade’s defining moment. Andreas Rupprecht, a leading expert on Chinese military aviation, told Defence Blog that the scale of […] The post Analyst: China’s air power display exceeds expectations first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $81.3 million modification to exercise options for Littoral Combat Ship class design support and integrated data and product model environment support. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia; Washington, DC; Marinette, Wisconsin; and Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by August 2024. The F-15EX Integrated Test […]View the full article