Raw Intel

South Korea’s Navy released footage this week of a combat experiment where a humanoid robot called PIBOT took the helm of a naval vessel, gripping the ship’s rudder controls and holding its heading, the same way a human sailor would. The test ran August 23 at a ship-handling simulator operated by the Navy Education and […]View the full article

Are you ready for what is coming? I hope you are, because the diversity industry is tanned, rested, and ready - and in most places already well down their lines of operation. They have the wind at their back. Have you researched the beliefs of the person set to take over the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice? Those who, like me, believe that the most divisive thing you can do to a diverse republic is to set up a spoils system based on race, creed, color or national origin have not been fighting hard enough. Too many of those who should be our natural allies have surrendered high ground after high ground because they convinced themselves that, "it isn…

Americas The State Department announced it has reached a $13 million settlement with US defense contractor Honeywell International over allegations it exported technical data concerning fighter jets and other military vehicles to foreign countries, including China. The settlement resolves 34 charges the State Department leveled against the company for disclosing dozens of engineering prints showing dimensions, geometries and layouts for manufacturing parts for aircraft, gas turbine engines and military electronics. The 174th Attack Wing is working with multiple Pentagon contractors and academic researchers to establish new capabilities for the MQ-9 Reaper drone aircraft,…

Americas Rolls-Royce won a $23.3 million deal, which provides for the depot repair of T56-A-427A engines installed on E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for the Navy. The Allison T56 is a single shaft, modular design military turboprop with a 14-stage axial flow compressor driven by a four-stage turbine. The E-2D is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft. Work will take place in Texas, Canada and Indiana. Estimated completion date is in November 2022. The MQ-25 has been undergoing ground testing at Naval Station Norfolk as the unmanned aircraft prepares to embark on board an aircraft carrier next month. The MQ-25 Stingray introduces unmanned aerial refueling and intelligence, surv…

Another DivThu that is somewhere between a Rorschach test and "it speaks for itself." Like so many of these "DEI" conferences, I would first have you note that they in no way actually reflect either "what the fleet looks like" or what the nation "looks like" - two otherwise meaningless measures of effectiveness that they demand of everyone but rarely meet themselves. They are some of the least diverse and inclusive gatherings you can find. Though they can be found almost anywhere leaching funds from various location in DOD, the most cringy are usually found at the service academies where institutional capture or fear lets their branch of the diversity industry pretty much…

Americas The US Army has approved the requirements to begin prototyping its new Electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (eLRV). According to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainment Timothy Goddette, the budget is now being prepared. Prototyping and the early stages of the program could begin as early as next year. However, the first prototypes may be partially electric […]View the full article

Americas Areté Associates won a $13 million order for integration of the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Block I-3A System into the MQ-8C unmanned aerial system. This delivery order is for 19 months. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona; and Valparaiso, Florida (50%), and is expected to be completed by February 2025. Fiscal […]View the full article

Trident II D5 Test Launch (click to view full) Nuclear tipped missiles were first deployed on board US submarines at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, to deter a Soviet first strike. The deterrence theorists argued that, unlike their land-based cousins, submarine-based nuclear weapons couldn’t be taken out by a surprise first […]View the full article

Americas Systems Planning and Analysis won a $13 million modification to provide support services for the Trident II Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Strategic Weapons System. Tasks to be performed include technical services, program support services, assessments, special studies, and systems engineering services. Work is expected to be completed September 30, 2025. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. The US Air Force’s B-21 Raider program is gaining momentum, with significant progress reported during the Air and Space Force Association’s recent conference. Air Force leaders and industry partners provided key updates on the develop…

Americas Lockheed Martin has received the first shipment of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) launch tubes manufactured by Polish firm WZL-1. Launch tubes serve as the main structural housing for PAC-3 MSE missiles, forming the connection between the missile and the launcher system. The delivery is part of Lockheed Martin’s partnerships program with key Polish government defense companies to develop and manufacture components of the PAC-3 missile. The launch tubes will be used in PAC-3 MSE deliveries worldwide. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Spanish firm Arquimea have just dropped a major upgrade in tactical ISR — an AI-driven anomaly detection system desig…

The Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed that it has completed the relocation of all 17 Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to Saga Camp in Saga Prefecture. The move marks the end of their provisional deployment at Kisarazu Camp in Chiba Prefecture. The redeployment is part of Japan’s ongoing “southwest shift” in force […] The post Japan moves entire Osprey fleet to southwest base first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The ADS Group, the United Kingdom’s trade association for aerospace, defense, security, and space, has formally opened its membership to Ukrainian defense companies for the first time. Calibre Defence reports that the announcement was made during DSEI 2025 in London and coincided with a Taskforce KINDRED-led briefing marking the “UK/Ukraine 100-Year Partnership.” Within 48 hours […] The post UK opens ADS Group to Ukrainian defense industry first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

DZYNE Technologies today introduced its new Dronebuster vehicle kits at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., expanding its existing counter-drone offerings to mobile platforms. The company says the new systems will bring fast-deploying, vehicle-integrated protection against unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for use across convoys, mobile command posts, and […] The post Vehicle-based Dronebuster system goes public at AUSA first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Over 800 soldiers from the British Army’s 19th Light Brigade have completed what the Army describes as the largest overseas deployment of a reserve formation since the 1980s. The unit took part in Exercise Rhino Heart in Sennelager, Germany, training alongside Canadian and Estonian forces to test rapid deployment, combined operations, and NATO interoperability. According […]View the full article

Thailand’s Army has claimed that Cambodian forces launched a BM-21 rocket strike targeting a civilian village in Buriram Province amid a sharp escalation in cross-border fighting, with multiple fronts now active along the Thai-Cambodian border. In a press briefing on December 8, Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree, spokesperson for the Royal Thai Army, said Cambodian troops […]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 …

Germany has taken delivery of its 52nd A400M military transport aircraft, Airbus Defence and Space said on Saturday. According to Airbus Defence, the aircraft is the 52nd A400M delivered to Germany as part of the Luftwaffe’s ongoing airlift modernization program. The delivery adds another operational airframe to Germany’s strategic and tactical transport fleet, which is […]View the full article

Great news via Matt White at T&P. A Marine who single-handedly destroyed a major bridge in Vietnam, swinging hand-over-hand across its steel girders to plant explosive charges even as an enemy tank fired at him, now appears set to receive the Medal of Honor. Marine Capt. John Ripley’s three-hour, one-man assault on the Dong Ha Bridge in April 1972 has long been a hallowed story in the Marine Corps. Fellow Marines, friends, and advocates have pushed for decades to see the Navy Cross he was awarded for the battle upgraded to a Medal of Honor. Those efforts appear to be nearing success, after the Senate approved special legislation that cleared the way for the award to b…

Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on Friday dismissed President Donald Trump’s threat to withdraw the United States from NATO, calling the rhetoric political showmanship. In comments carried by Russian media, Medvedev said he did not believe Washington would actually leave the alliance, arguing that neither the political system nor Congress would […]View the full article

A Russian military helicopter went down near Wabaria in the Gao region of Mali on April 25, confirmed by Russian sources, as fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front and al-Qaeda-linked JNIM launched the largest coordinated offensive in the country in years — striking simultaneously at the capital Bamako, the military stronghold of Kati, and the […]View the full article