Raw Intel

Last week was the story of the HMS JERVIS BAY and her crew during the Battle of Convoy HX84. When we finished last week, HMS JERVIS BAY was out of the fight and the convoy was scattered - but she did her job. By the time they realized that the Jervis Bay had been terribly alone, an hour had been lost. The convoy had been given time enough to break up and begin to flee. ...and so the pocket battleship ADMIRAL SCHEER, unopposed now, closed in. However, there was a Canadian ship, the SS BEAVERFORD, armed with one 4 inch & one 3 inch gun who turned towards the SHEER and her six 11 inch, eight 5.9 inch guns and eight 21 inch torpedo tubes. What was the BEAVERFORD? Beave…

Ukraine’s military intelligence confirmed the delivery of a newly developed armed patrol boat to the Main Directorate of Intelligence on January 1, describing it as a New Year’s transfer to support maritime operations. According to a statement released by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, the specialized vessel was purchased and handed over by […]View the full article

Ukraine’s military intelligence confirmed the delivery of a newly developed armed patrol boat to the Main Directorate of Intelligence on January 1, describing it as a New Year’s transfer to support maritime operations. According to a statement released by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, the specialized vessel was purchased and handed over by […]View the full article

Ukrainian forces confirmed on January 1, 2026, that operators from the Asgard Battalion of the 412th Nemesis Unmanned Systems Brigade struck a multifunction radar of Russia’s S-350 Vityaz air defense system and self-propelled launchers of the Tor and Buk systems on temporarily occupied territory in the Donetsk region. As reported by Militarnyi, the strike targeted […]View the full article

What is one of the fundamentals that we keep returning to here? If you want to know what will be important in and needed for the next large war, look closely at the most advanced small and medium sized wars happening now. There is no better judge, test, or simulation to help you see the utility of a weapon system than actually having it perform in sustained combat conditions against a non-cooperative target. As we approach the 4th anniversary of the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022, untold pages of text have been written about FPV and other drones. Yes, these are important and are a new tool for war—but they are not the answer to all. Gunpowder, machine guns, airplanes, subma…

As the final post of 2025, let’s look at the warships the U.S. Navy commissioned this year. Carriers: None. Next scheduled in 2027. Amphibious Ships: None. Next LHA expected in 2026. Destroyers: None. Two expected in 2026. Frigates or Other Small Surface Combatants: USS Pierre, LCS-38 Attack Submarines: USS Iowa, SSN-797 So, a LCS and a SSN. 2026 should be a bit better, but it is what it is. Two. As Sal pointed out, we have had a few auxiliaries as well, but this is about warships. Meanwhile, how is the largest Navy in the world, the navy of the People’s Republic of China doing? Via SomePLAOSINT - some great graphics. Using the same format as we did for the U.S. Navy, w…

The United States Missile Defense Agency has awarded Lockheed Martin Space a $142.6 million contract modification to provide continued maintenance and sustainment support for two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries operated by the United Arab Emirates, according to an official contract announcement. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Sunnyvale, California, received the noncompetitive contract modification, […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded Strategic Test Solutions LLC a $1.87 billion service contract to support operations and maintenance at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, according to an official contract award notice released this week. Strategic Test Solutions LLC, based in Huntsville, Alabama, received a contract valued at $1,868,902,857 for the Eglin […]View the full article

Thailand’s Army has confirmed a direct tank engagement with Cambodian armored forces during recent fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border, after videos circulated on social media showing a Thai M48A5 tank engaging multiple Cambodian T-55 tanks. The footage was first published by Thai sources on social media, showing a Thai Army M48A5 main battle tank firing […]View the full article

If you’ve been looking for a more substantial reason for the latest news coming from Japan, you’re thinking right. The last month or so since the new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, took office, you’re hearing a lot of superficial symptoms of a larger issue. Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was voted in by parliament as Japan’s first female prime minister on Tuesday, emulating her hero, Britain’s late leader Margaret Thatcher, after a whirlwind few weeks of political wrangling. … She is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead - including some executed war criminals - and is viewed by some Asian neighbours as a symbol of its past milita…

Turkey has moved a large convoy of armored vehicles into Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, according to overnight footage circulating online that shows dozens of military vehicles entering Syrian territory from Turkey. The footage, which emerged overnight, shows a sustained flow of armored vehicles crossing into northern Syria via Bab al-Hawa, one of […]View the full article

Saudi Arabia carried out an airstrike on Yemen’s Mukalla Port after determining that ships carrying armored vehicles and weapons for UAE-backed separatist forces were present at the facility, according to a report by Clash Report. The strike targeted vessels described as transporting military equipment from the United Arab Emirates intended for the Southern Transitional Council, […]View the full article

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team conducted a week of day and night live-fire gunnery at Yakima Training Center, Washington, using an experimental Stryker vehicle equipped with a 30mm autocannon, the U.S. Army confirmed. The training event, held in a full operational environment, focused on live-fire qualification with the Stryker-mounted 30mm […]View the full article

India on Dec. 29 conducted the first successful flight test of the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket, validating a maximum strike range of 120 kilometers during a trial at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, according to an official statement issued in New Delhi. The maiden test of the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket, designated […]View the full article

The United States on Dec. 29 approved a possible $1.8 billion Foreign Military Sale to Denmark for up to three P-8A multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and related systems, with Congress formally notified of the decision. According to the notification, the determination was made by the U.S. State Department, and the Defense Security Cooperation […]View the full article

The United States has awarded Boeing a ceiling $8.58 billion contract to design, produce, and deliver new F-15IA fighter aircraft for the Israeli Air Force, according to a newly issued contract award notice released on December 29. The hybrid contract covers the design, integration, instrumentation, testing, production, and delivery of 25 new F-15IA aircraft, with […]View the full article

Sometime, hundreds of thousands of years ago during the Early or Middle Paleolithic Era in a coastal area, lake, or river system, our primitive ancestors discovered the use of a dugout canoe to fish and transport what they could hunt or gather from the surrounding forest. At some point, they discovered that another band of humans were harvesting from their best fig tree and were fishing from their river. They were barely holding on as it was; they could not afford to let others come in and take one of their most reliable food sources. Two of the younger men found out where the outsiders were camped. It was half a day upriver, but impossible to get to by land. So, a wis…

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on Monday confirmed that its armed forces closely monitored Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels operating near the island, releasing imagery showing Taiwanese F-16V fighters tracking People’s Liberation Army aircraft during ongoing Chinese drills. In a briefing held at 4:45 p.m. local time, the Ministry of National Defense of the […]View the full article

Kazakhstan has revealed plans to launch domestic production of a light tank based on the Tulpar infantry fighting vehicle after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited defense manufacturing facilities in Astana, including the Besqaru plant. During the visit, Tokayev toured production workshops at Besqaru, a company engaged in the production and technical maintenance of wheeled and tracked […]View the full article

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on Monday reported detecting dozens of Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels operating around the island on the first day of abruptly announced Chinese military exercises. In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said the activity was observed as the People’s Liberation Army […]View the full article