Raw Intel

Russia is attempting to renew interest in foreign orders for its Su-57 fighter aircraft, releasing new promotional material showing the jet’s internal weapons bays and air-to-air missiles ahead of the Dubai Airshow 2025. The video was published by United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), part of the Rostec state defense conglomerate, and highlights the Su-57 Felon’s concealed […]View the full article

Turkish-built Ejder TTZA 6×6 armored personnel carriers were unveiled for the first time during a military parade held in Damascus celebrating the fall of the Assad regime, marking the public debut of the vehicles in Syrian service. The parade, staged by the new authorities in Damascus, featured multiple examples of the Ejder TTZA—short for Taktik […]View the full article

The United States Commerce Department has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have imposed new restrictions on Chinese-made drones, according to a government notice posted Friday. The reversal ends a months-long review process and comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing this April. According to documents published on the federal website, Commerce […]View the full article

United States Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet reported Sunday that Navy sailors aboard USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) took part last week in a live-fire maritime gunnery exercise in the Arabian Gulf, with close air support provided by U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, commonly known as the Warthog. According to the […]View the full article

A dispute over Western-supplied unmanned aerial systems resurfaced in Ukraine on Thursday, March 5, after Ukrainian military expert Taras Chmut publicly criticized Latvian-made AtlasPro reconnaissance drones previously delivered to Ukrainian forces. Chmut accused the manufacturer Atlas Aerospace and Ukrainian officials involved in procurement of these drone systems that he said failed to meet battlefield requirements. […]View the full article

A second United States Air Force combat aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf region on Friday as rescue teams continued searching for a missing crew member from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle, according to two U.S. officials cited by The New York Times. The second aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, went down near the Strait […]View the full article

Oshkosh Defense is rolling two significant platforms onto the Modern Day Marine exhibition floor this week — including an autonomous ground vehicle armed with anti-ship missiles that represents one of the Marine Corps’ most consequential doctrinal shifts in a generation. The company will exhibit at Modern Day Marine from April 28 through 30, 2026, showcasing […]View the full article

A U.S. Army artillery battalion at Fort Carson, Colorado fired its last rounds as a Paladin unit on May 7, closing out 43 years of service with the self-propelled howitzer while simultaneously becoming the first Paladin formation in the Army to fire using the new Artillery Execution Suite, the Army reported. The 3rd Battalion, 29th […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin announced the HIMARS FLEX on June 16, a modular evolution of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System that introduces a dual-pod launcher configuration capable of carrying double the munitions of the standard single-pod HIMARS, adds the ability to fire air and missile defense interceptors including the PAC-3 from the same chassis, and […]View the full article

If nuclear war ever broke out and every ground-based command center went dark, a fleet of aging jets built on a 1960s airliner design would still be able to relay the launch order, and the U.S. Navy just opened bidding on a decade-long contract to keep those planes flying. The Naval Air Systems Command posted […]View the full article

A Florida company that started out printing furniture with giant robotic arms is now applying that same technology to something considerably more consequential, building drone boats for the U.S. military layer by layer instead of piece by piece. Haddy, a digital manufacturing company based in St. Petersburg, Florida, announced on Saturday that it has produced […]View the full article

Poland’s state-owned defense conglomerate PGZ unveiled its new heavy infantry fighting vehicle in full for the first time at MSPO 2026, the Kielce arms fair, after days of teasing only partial glimpses of the vehicle on social media. The vehicle, known by its Polish designation CBWP, or Ciężki Bojowy Wóz Piechoty, was developed by Huta […]View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered 32 recovery versions of its Amphibious Combat Vehicle from BAE Systems, the armored repair-and-tow vehicles that will haul broken-down or damaged ACVs off the battlefield and fix them in the field. Marine Corps Systems Command awarded BAE Systems a $230.1 million firm-fixed-price modification on Oct. 1 to exercise options […]View the full article

Türkiye is preparing to deploy military personnel to Saudi Arabia under the new joint defense pact it signed with the kingdom and Pakistan, and the government will send a deployment mandate to the Turkish parliament once lawmakers ratify the agreement, Reuters reported. Ankara has already submitted the pact, known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, […]View the full article

For those interested in the DADT debate, I have posted a piece I wrote almost five years ago and my opinion is the same. DADT is a "gay" rule. It is silly to have gay service members simply pretend they are not. View the full article

First - I am not happy that Galrahn scooped me on this message ... but hey, no one's spies are perfect ... ahem ....... but, this is not a shock to the front porch. 2. SENIOR INSPECTOR COMMENTS: USS FREEDOM (LCS 1) IS EVALUATED AS A "NO-GO" AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO PROCEED WITH THE SCHEDULED SPECIAL TRIAL (ST). FREEDOM'S CREW AND CONTRACTORS WERE NOT PREPARED FOR THE INSPECTION. BOTH ENTITIES WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE CONDUCT OF INSURV MATERIAL CHECKS. EXECUTION OF THE SOE WAS VERY POOR . THERE WAS CONFUSION BETWEEN CONTRACTOR AND CREW RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF EQUIPMENT CHECKS. THE INSPECTION EXPERIENCE LEVEL FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE CREW IS LOW AL…

Non-state or quasi-non-state actors preying on commerce for profit. They steal, hold hostages, and some times engage in extortion where if you don’t pay them off, they will break your stuff. The news of the last 48-hrs about DarkSide and the pipeline held hostage is just another chapter in a long story; The ransomware group linked to the extortion attempt that has snared fuel deliveries across the U.S. East Coast may be new, but that doesn’t mean its hackers are amateurs. Who precisely is behind the disruptive intrusion into Colonial Pipeline hasn’t been made officially known and digital attribution can be tricky, especially early on in an investigation. A former U.…

Americas The US Navy announced, that it has finished a test of its first littoral combat ship-based unmanned mine detection system. The Unmanned Influence Sweep System designed for the LCS has a mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicle, or MCM USV, and a towed minesweeping payload to sweep magnetic or acoustic mines, the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has departed from Norfolk Naval Station to Newport News Shipyard for planned maintenance. According to a statement, the six-month maintenance period, called a Planned Incremental Availability, which includes modernization, maintenance …

Americas Oshkosh Defense won an $11.6 million contract modification for regional field service representatives to support fielding of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. The Oshkosh Defense Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is designed for never-before-achieved speed, power and protected mobility outside the wire. Work will take place in Wisconsin. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2023. The US Air Force has initiated the process of retiring its JSTARS fleet with the first production aircraft delivered #92-3289 being sent to retirement at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The jet left Robins Air Force Base on February 11. Middle East & Africa The Turkish Navy’s …

Americas The GAU-18 .50 caliber machine gun was recently unmounted from an HH-60 helicopter and mounted on the ground to be tested as a defensive weapon. The test took place at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida on October 14. It was organized by the 920th Rescue Wing. The US Defense Innovation Unit has contracted Nauticus Robotics to develop an amphibious drone to support mine-hunting operations. As part of the agreement, the company will modify an off-the-shelf unmanned system to allow it to traverse sea or land during operations. Nauticus will also integrate its “ToolKITT” autonomy software to guide the modified robot in identifying undersea mines and avoiding potenti…