Raw Intel

A defense contractor’s founder just accused one of the country’s most trusted business newspapers of running a story it knew wasn’t true, and the fight broke out in full public view on social media rather than behind closed doors. Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril Industries, a California-based defense technology company known for building autonomous […]View the full article

Petrel Technologies says the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment is evaluating its AERO Sky drone in a live-fire mothership role, with the aircraft shown carrying externally mounted strike drones during the exercise. The company described the work in a post captioned “Golden hour. Live fire. Mothership operations with 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army.” Petrel said […]View the full article

Raytheon has won a $247.1 million contract to build, upgrade and overhaul Phalanx close-in weapon systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, covering the shipboard gun, its land-based counterpart and the missile-armed SeaRAM, the U.S. Department of War announced. Naval Air Systems Command awarded the firm-fixed-price contract to the RTX business without competition. It […]View the full article

For those in the business, one of the most triggering phrases you can read or hear is some pogue out there saying, ‘Well, we have wargamed this, and…’ and then you wait to see if you have a reasonable follow-on, or some cringe-inducing abuse of the military art. Way too many people are abusing war games for the wrong purposes. Everyone wants a national security 8-Ball to tell them the future, and some look to war games to hear what they want to hear. When you see that, it’s a tell. That person/institution does not understand what they are talking about. In the latest Naval War College Review, Charles Edward Gehrke has a simply outstanding article everyone needs to take a …

F-15C over DC (click to view full) “Array of Aging American Aircraft Attracting Attention” discusses the issues that accompany an air force whose fighters have an average age of over 23.5 years – vs. an average of 8.5 years in 1967. One of the most obvious consequences is the potential for fleet groundings due to unforseen structural issues caused by time and fatigue. That very fear is responsible for the #1 priority placed on bringing new KC-X aerial tankers into the fleet to complement the USA’s 1960s-era KC-135 Stratotankers. It can also affect the fighter fleet more directly. Following the crash of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C aircraft Nov 2/07 (see crash s…

Americas A former US Marine Corps (USMC) V-22 test pilot has urged the US Army to select the Defiant-X as its next helicopter instead of the V-280. Scott Trail says based on the Army’s mission objectives, the compound helicopter is the better choice and cheaper solution. Lockheed Martin won a $663.7 million contract modification for Hellfire II missile production. The Hellfire II air-to-ground missile system (AGMS) provides heavy anti-armor capability for attack helicopters. It is a 100lb class air-to-ground precision weapon delivering multi-target capability and precision strike lethality. The Hellfire II missile is in service with the armed forces of the US and 16 othe…

Americas The US Marine Corps has used its Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) to attack a target ship more than 100 nautical miles away during a test in Hawaii. The actual firing of the Naval Strike Missile was carried out by engineers from Marine Corps Systems Command as the NMESIS is not an operational system yet. Two missiles were launched during the test on August 15. Raytheon won an $11.5 million order, which provides for the upgrade of 10 AN/APG-79 radars from Configuration A to Configuration B and continuing required efforts to repair Weapons Replaceable Assemblies identified as nonfunctioning following baseline testing. AN/APG-79 pro…

If you are even remotely connected to the US Navy, you have directly or indirectly been impacted by the "Fat Leonard" scandal. A husbanding agent who used every tool in a very old book - greed, sex, power, influence, and envy - managed to have have naval officers and high ranking law enforcement officers become party to his drive for wealth and influence. One of the best places to find the details of the scandal and to hear from Leonard Glenn Frances himself, is in "The Fat Leonard Podcast." Our guest today will be the podcast's creator, Tom Wright, the coauthor of Billion Dollar Whale and the cofounder of Project Brazen, a journalism-focused production studio. Tom work…

The wrong people with the wrong ideas talking to important people with little experience of the real world have got us here - why do we think they will get us out of the problems we are in? We no longer are the largest Navy, and we no longer act as a competent, reliable, or well led Navy. What to do? Our friend Kori Schake has some ideas, and I'm pondering them over at USNIBlog. Come on by and bring your amens. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ftNoVp5xiRQ:o_KziZ34ALM:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ftNoVp5xiRQ…

Americas L3Harris won a maximum $13 million firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Army Chinook CH-47 helicopter spare parts production and repair. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Performance completion date is June 8, 2027. Northrop Grumman Systems won a $40.7 million order, which provides Full Scale Fatigue Test (FSFT) and Effects of Defects (EoD) for the Triton MQ-4C unmanned aircraft system, to include testing, analyzing, and documenting the results of both the FSFT and EoD test, as well as identifying post-test activities in…

Americas During AUSA 2022, Boeing took the opportunity to unveil its Modernized Apache concept to leaders of the US Army. Touting it as the next evolution of the current AH-64E v6 attack helicopter, the Modernized Apache can be differentiated externally from the classic Apache by its longer wing, which allows it to have three hard points per wing, upward-facing engine exhaust and the substitution of the chain gun with a laser turret. Powered by the new Improved Turbine Engine (ITE), Boeing is improving the drivetrain in order for the Modernized Apache to faster, further and more efficiently. US President Joe Biden on Monday promised to provide advanced air defense system…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $32.5 million modification, which adds scope to design, develop, and establish the F-35 NextGen Open Mission services in support of the Mission Planning Enterprise Software, encompassing the usage of modern cloud-based technologies and modern software methodologies for the Joint Strike Fighter Program. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas; […]View the full article

Americas The US Army has awarded RTX, until recently known as Raytheon Technologies, a $118-million contract to deliver a Common Sensor Payload (CSP) for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone. The CSP is an “electro-optical/infrared/laser designator sensor,” providing “battlespace awareness, force protection, and net-centric operations.” The CSP version 3 will come equipped with a target location […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems won a $8.3 million cost type modification for AEGIS capability package development and fielding, system integration and fielding, and in-service sustainment performance incentive fee. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. The US Army has tapped General […]View the full article

Americas BAE Systems Land & Armaments won a $121.4 million modification to produce M2A4 and M7A4 Bradley vehicles from various inducted legacy source variants. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2026. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. US company Boeing is offering the latest variant of its famed CH-47 Chinook helicopter as Poland’s new heavy-lift military transport solution. Announced at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, company director Tim Flood said the 47F Block II version of its Chinook would support Warsaw’s defense need…

Americas Collins Aerospace, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $33.5 million order under a previously issued basic ordering agreement. The contract supports the replacement of the obsolete Control Display Navigation Unit (CDNU) 900 with the updated CDNU-7000 series for the US Navy’s C/KC-130T aircraft. Work will be carried out in Cedar Rapids and is scheduled for completion by December 2027. The full contract amount will be funded by Fiscal Year 2025 Navy aircraft procurement funds, which will be obligated at the time of the award. These funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was not competitively awarded. The Naval Air Warfare Cen…

Russia’s defense industry has been rocked by another corruption scandal, with federal security agents detaining a former senior manager at the country’s primary infantry fighting vehicle manufacturer, AO “Kurganmashzavod.” According to the Federal Security Service (FSB) branch in the Kurgan region, the former head of the plant’s metals department is suspected of abuse of official […] The post Russian defense industry hit by new corruption arrests first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A T-90MS main battle tank that once stood on display at the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) in the United Arab Emirates has now been deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine, according to a statement from the manufacturer. The tank, originally painted in desert camouflage for its appearance at IDEX 2025, was returned to Russia, repainted […] The post Russia sends exhibition T-90MS tank to frontline first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

China’s state-owned land systems manufacturer Norinco has developed a compact, lightweight Yitian air-defence vehicle built on a 4×4 off-road Yema chassis. The system pairs an armored vehicle for the crew compartment with launchers modified for TY-90–type missiles intended to intercept low- and ultra-low-altitude helicopters, unmanned aircraft and high-speed cruise missiles. The Yitian is designed for […] The post China develops new lightweight air defense vehicle first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A French military radar aircraft was tracked conducting a flight through the Caribbean on Thursday, drawing attention after aviation observers linked the aircraft’s route to ongoing radar activity detected from Puerto Rico. Open-source aviation monitor Aviation and Naval Assets highlighted the flight, noting that a Beechcraft Super King Air B350, registered under the French military […]View the full article