Raw Intel

Russia launched its Oreshnik Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) against Ukraine late on January 8, hitting an area near Lviv close to the European Union and NATO border. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the nationwide alert began at 11:30 p.m. after they detected ballistic launches from Russia’s Kapustin Yar range. According […]View the full article

Just look at that big, beautiful girl! We just finished a pre-record Midrats Podcast with Mike Gallagher, Head of Defense at Palantir and Matt Babin, Head of Shipbuiding and Naval Programs at Palantir that will be published this upcoming Sunday evening. (BTW, if you do not already subscribe to the Midrats Podcast, now is the time to do so to make sure you don’t miss this great interview). Towards the second half of the show, Matt mentioned, I cannot drive past the Washington Monument without thinking like that is smaller than a Columbia class sub. Like if you took one out of the water and you stood it on its end, it is taller than that monument. First thing that came to …

SummaryIn this episode, the host discusses the recent military operations related to Venezuela, focusing on the successful takedown of sanctioned tankers and the implications for U.S. naval strategy. The conversation also shifts to the defense budget under the Trump administration, exploring the need for increased military spending in light of national … Read more View the full article

United States forces used Navy EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft during the January 3 strike on Venezuela, employing high-power jamming to disable multiple layers of the country’s air-defense network. The action was first acknowledged through statements from Venezuelan military personnel who reported that radar systems “were blinded” minutes before precision weapons struck their sites. According […]View the full article

A United States Navy MQ-4C Triton long-range intelligence aircraft conducted an extended surveillance mission over the Caribbean Sea on 8 January after departing Naval Station Mayport, according to publicly available flight-tracking data. The aircraft, identified as MQ-4C Triton number 169659 and flying under the callsign BLKCAT6, operated for roughly ten hours in international airspace north […]View the full article

United States President Donald Trump announced that he has directed the federal government to raise the 2027 military budget target from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, framing the increase as necessary “for the Good of our Country” during what he described as a period of “very troubled and dangerous times.” Trump made the statement in […]View the full article

United States forces conducted a strike in Venezuela on January 3 using the AGM-154C-1 Joint Stand-Off Weapon, after local authorities released images showing debris from the precision-guided glide munition at one of the impact sites. According to photographs published by Venezuelan officials, identifiable fragments of an AGM-154C-1 were found after the January 3 attack. The […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Defense Forces have received a Latvian-made FOG unmanned surface vessel after the system was purchased and sent to Ukraine by the Latvian charity foundation Ziedot.lv. According to reporting by Militarnyi, the foundation funded the acquisition through donations from Latvian citizens and private companies. As noted by Ziedot.lv, the FOG platform was fully designed and […]View the full article

Like I said in Monday’s post, Having a wide variety of inefficient and underutilized bases and facilities scattered around is a feature, not a bug. The future is unknown and an impatient lover. Do not test, taunt, or take her for granted. Reactivate more bases. Smart people in hard jobs with limited resources are doing their best to improve the odds in the place we have neglected almost as much as the Caribbean, the Pacific. Via Carter Johnson in a superb article in Newsweek: Across sleepy and remote islands in the Pacific, U.S. military engineers are working around the clock to revive strategically important airstrips that American troops first built under fire over 70 y…

U.S. European Command has confirmed that U.S. agencies, supported by the U.S. Department of War, seized the Russia-flagged crude-oil tanker Marinera — formerly Bella 1 — in the North Atlantic following a federal warrant issued for violations of U.S. sanctions. According to a statement from U.S. European Command, the operation was carried out by the […]View the full article

The U.S. Army unveiled the early prototype of its new M1E3 main battle tank on January 6 during preparations for the Detroit Auto Show, releasing the first official imagery and confirming that testing will begin in early 2026. According to a statement posted by U.S. Army – Speed to Delivery, the prototype was developed “with […]View the full article

The United States Air Force moved multiple special operations support aircraft north along the coast of the United Kingdom today, as three U-28A Draco intelligence and reconnaissance aircraft were tracked heading toward the North Sea amid rising tensions over the Russian-flagged crude oil tanker Marinera. Aircraft spotters observed U-28A aircraft using the callsigns AGREE32, AGREE34, […]View the full article

Video footage published on Facebook shows United States Air Force CV-22B Osprey aircraft from the 7th Special Operations Squadron conducting fast-rope and rescue training at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. The aircraft, stationed at RAF Mildenhall, carried out the drills using standard special-operations procedures. According to OSINTdefender, the training activity involved fast-rope insertion teams […]View the full article

Russia has revealed a new set of battlefield tactics for its tank units, describing coordinated maneuvers that pair armored vehicles with unmanned aerial systems in ongoing combat operations, according to statements released by the Russian Ministry of Defense and the state corporation Rostec. The Ministry said frontline units now employ a two-tank method in which […]View the full article

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s research and technology arm, released a new program solicitation on January 6, 2026, for the Frosty effort to develop technology that enables new radar-based sensing modes in the Arctic environment. The notice invites industry to submit proposals by January 30, 2026, for solutions that improve detection […]View the full article

The United States Navy has issued a new Sources Sought Notice seeking industry input for low-cost Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems intended for the United States Marine Corps, publishing the request on January 6, 2026, through Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The announcement invites companies to submit detailed information on commercially available sUAS platforms with First […]View the full article

The United States Army has issued updated solicitation materials for a new second-source supplier to manufacture 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 caliber ammunition, releasing revised documentation. The updated announcement was published on January 6, 2026, extending the proposal deadline and issuing new guidance on production requirements. According to the notice, Amendment 0001 moves the proposal submission […]View the full article

The United States Navy has awarded Raytheon a $29 million contract modification to expand production tooling and test equipment for the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) program. According to contract details released by Naval Sea Systems Command, the award covers new supplier special tooling and special test equipment needed to increase output of the SM-6 All Up […]View the full article

It would be an understatement to say that I am not all that pleased with where we are in January 2026 with the Greenland question. This would not have been the productive path I would have recommended because, in the end, this is a very serious issue. Sure, in the first few months of 2025, the meme-ish nature of it all was fun and funny…but only to a point. In 2026, Denmark is not going to sell or otherwise transfer Greenland to the USA like they did with the now-U.S. Virgin Islands a bit more than a century ago. However, before we go further, if you have a knee-jerk reaction to support or oppose anything or any topic because DJT is involved, please repress that feeling u…

India publicly showcased its new Suryastra multiple launch rocket system during rehearsals for the Army Day parade in Jaipur, marking the first public appearance of the indigenous long-range rocket artillery platform. The system was displayed on a wheeled launcher carrying two 370mm Predator Hawk missiles and four 306mm extended-range rockets, highlighting its ability to fire […]View the full article