Raw Intel

Everyone should be familiar with what a “stress test” is, like your doctor gives you if he thinks you have a problem with your ticker. That or if you served, a “smoke check” with either a piece of equipment or a person. If you really want to find out where there is a weakness in a system is so you can make changes, reinforce, or simply know where the limits are—you need to stress the system to its design limit. The problems will reveal themselves. Even weak and suboptimal systems can get along just fine as long as they are not under stress. Do that too long, and you never really know if the system will function fully as designed when you need it at full performance. Heck,…

Chinese armored units have been observed operating Type 96A main battle tanks equipped with the active protection system, according to video footage circulating on Chinese social media. The footage shows several Type 96A tanks being transported while fitted with the APS equipment, suggesting the vehicles belong to an operational military unit rather than a factory […]View the full article

India’s Ministry of Defence signed a contract on March 3 with Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport to procure ship-based vertical launch surface-to-air missiles for the Indian Navy’s Shtil-1 air defense system, according to a report by the news agency UNI. The deal is valued at 2,182 crore rupees, or approximately $238 million, and will supply […]View the full article

The United States Air Force conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile late March 3 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to Air Force Global Strike Command. The missile, equipped with two test reentry vehicles, lifted off at 11:01 p.m. Pacific Time as part of a routine flight […]View the full article

The United States Army is converting the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team into a Mobile Brigade Combat Team, with the transition scheduled to take effect by March 31, 2026, according to an announcement from Joint Force Headquarters – Pennsylvania National Guard. The change will replace the brigade’s Stryker armored vehicle structure […]View the full article

The United States Marine Corps has awarded BlueHalo Labs, a subsidiary of AeroVironment, a $22,8 million contract modification for the procurement of additional Titan SV MPv3 counter-drone systems and spare parts kits to support the service’s Organic-Counter Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (O-CsUAS) program, according to a March 3, 2026 contract announcement. The award modifies a previously […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.9 billion contract for the C-130J Maintenance and Training System (JMATS) IV, according to a contract announcement. The agreement covers production, modernization, sustainment, and support of training systems used by crews and maintenance personnel operating the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The program addresses the continued […]View the full article

Ukrainian long-range drones struck a chemical plant in the city of Kirovo-Chepetsk in Russia’s Kirov region, according to local reports describing a nighttime attack on an industrial facility located more than 1,300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The strike reportedly targeted the Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Combine, a major industrial complex situated at the confluence of the […]View the full article

SRT Marine Systems announced it has signed a new $261 million contract with a sovereign government customer to deliver a national Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) system, the company said in a statement. The agreement represents a new addition to SRT’s Sovereign Partnership Programme and will provide the customer with an integrated platform for monitoring activity […]View the full article

Russian forces likely shot down one of their own military helicopters in the Rostov region during a Ukrainian drone attack late on March 3, according to reports cited by the Militarnyi. The incident reportedly occurred near the town of Millerovo, where Russian air defenses were responding to a large wave of unmanned aerial vehicles. Crew […]View the full article

It is D+3, and there is one part of Operation Epic Fury that keeps popping up to top-of-mind for me, the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS). First of all, like I said Sunday, BZ to the staff weenie(s) who came up with that acronym for the best blatant copy-job by the U.S. military since the Springfield 1903 looked at Mauser and said, “Nice gun you have there.” Let’s go back to this announcement from around Christmas time that I’m a little pouty did not come into my scan at the time. Centcom launched Task Force Scorpion Strike four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of the acquisition and fielding of affordable drone technology. …

The United States Army on March 2, 2026, issued a notice for follow-on Technical Assistance and Field Service Representative support for the PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, Defense System covering program years 2027 through 2029. The notice, published by Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, calls for industry capability statements by March 17, 2026. The […]View the full article

Daimler Truck AG announced on March 3, 2026, that its Mercedes-Benz Zetros defense vehicles successfully completed intensive winter testing in the Finnish Arctic Circle, where temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius and road conditions were largely icy and snow-covered. The testing campaign was conducted to verify that the Zetros defense vehicle series can maintain […]View the full article

The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency on March 2, 2026, published new details of its Nimble Options for Buying Layered Effects, or NOBLE, announcement, establishing a five-year acquisition framework running through March 27, 2030. The announcement consolidates multiple contracting authorities under a single structure to support missile defense research, prototyping, and rapid capability development. The NOBLE […]View the full article

Germany’s Bundeswehr intends to submit a budget request in the second half of 2026 to conclude a framework contract with KNDS for the procurement of up to 500 MARS 3, also known as EuroPuls, multiple launch rocket systems, according to reporting by hartpunkt journalist Waldemar Geiger. Roughly half of the systems included in the framework […]View the full article

German analyst Julian Röpcke renewed his criticism of European defense procurement systems after Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile system at a distance of more than 100 kilometers in the Zaporizhzhia region. In a post on X, he cited the combat performance and cost of a Ukrainian-made kamikaze drone used in the strike. […]View the full article

The United States Navy on March 2, 2026, awarded Northrop Grumman a $225,1 million contract modification to support the E-130J aircraft under the Take Charge and Move Out recapitalization program. The award exercises options for the design, development, and delivery of all E-130J weapons systems training materials and courseware. The modification (P00011) is issued under […]View the full article

Jackson-based AdlerAerospace, in partnership with its Czech R&D affiliate TRL Drones, has developed the TALOS-J and TALOS-E interceptor drone systems — a new fixed-wing counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) family designed using operational lessons drawn from battlefield conditions in Ukraine, the company confirmed during an exclusive interview with CEO and Chairman Wilhelm Meya. TRL Drones brings […]View the full article

Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said on March 2, 2026, that Qatari air defenses shot down two Iranian Su-24 Fencer swing-wing attack jets and intercepted multiple ballistic missiles and drones targeting the country, according to an official statement released in Doha. The ministry stated that Qatar Emiri Air Force and naval air defense units successfully neutralized […]View the full article

As we are at D+2 and spent a full hour yesterday discussing Operation Epic Fury on the Midrats Podcast, I’m not going to review what we know so far—if you’d like Mark and my take, give the episode a listen. What I would like to do is dive into a topic that I hinted at in the show: my historical support for the punitive expedition. The target is valid, and the method has been underused for way too long. I support the strikes on Iran because it firmly fits into a view I have held on the use of national military power for decades, based on thousands of years of military practice. If you are not up to speed with the thousands of Americans dead and maimed by the Islamic Repub…