Raw Intel

Americas Northrup Grumman won a $387 million modification to provide continued research and development of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Cockpit Technical Refresh cockpit redesign and Theater Combat Identification to replace the current E-2D integrated navigation and controls and display systems and tactical mission computer and display systems for the Navy. Work is expected to be completed in September 2028. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,940,911 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.…

Russia is moving ahead with the design of a new ocean-going warship, according to Admiral Alexander Moiseev, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy. The vessel, described as a future “far ocean zone” (blue-water) combat platform, is expected to be laid down under the country’s next State Armament Program. Speaking to Russian state media, Admiral Moiseev confirmed […] The post Russia plans new blue-water warship first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Amiral Ronarc’h—France’s first Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention (FDI)—has departed the Naval Group shipyard in Lorient, heading to its homeport in Brest. According to a statement from the French defense procurement agency, Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), the departure follows the completion of sea trials and signals the beginning of the acceptance phase by […] The post French Navy welcomes new combat frigate first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

As the regulars know, my love of the naval gun is unmatched. Not just the ones we should have had. That is why I’ve enjoyed the tempest of the last few weeks about “bringing back battleships” that I fully credit to our friend John Konrad, with a little help recently from President Trump. As for me, in the end I am trending towards a rather cold analysis of the situation. We are well past the point of reactivating the IOWA Class BB for a whole host of reasons. I won’t summarize them here, they are too numerous. I also don’t think we can build new ones, even if there were the money and will to so so. To be blunt, we would first have to build a foundry to make the barrels. N…

I don’t publish new “Long Game” editions as much as I used to in the two decades since it started. The major reason is that the Long Game is here. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has the world’s largest navy. It could be argued that she is the greatest regional naval power in the Western Pacific. We are well past the point that the Pacific could be considered an American lake. Her challenge at the global scale is already well underway, pun intended. However, there is another Long Game that must be played out; it is changing the mindset and people in government, academia, and industry who refuse, for a whole host of reasons, to acknowledge the threat to the West from …

The Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force will receive three additional NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopters (NFHs) under a new contract signed today between NHIndustries (NHI) and the NATO Helicopter Management Agency (NAHEMA), further expanding the Dutch Navy’s maritime aviation fleet. According to a press release from NHIndustries, the helicopters will be assembled by Leonardo in […]View the full article

Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) deployed robotic quadruped drones during a January 2026 airborne assault exercise conducted by the 1st Airborne Brigade, marking the first time the unit integrated unmanned ground vehicles into its annual new-year descent training. According to the training footage broadcast in Japan, the exercise featured an assault element inserting from two […]View the full article

Teledyne FLIR Defense said last week it has introduced major software upgrades to its Ranger radar family, improving detection speed, tracking accuracy, and performance against unmanned aerial threats, with immediate effect on systems deployed worldwide. According to a company announcement, the upgrades apply to the Ranger R8-3DX and Ranger R20SS radar platforms, which are widely […]View the full article

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bombers conducted strikes on Iranian ballistic missile facilities and command-and-control positions during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, according to official statements. The confirmation came alongside newly released footage from United States Central Command Public Affairs showing airmen preparing a B-52H Stratofortress for […]View the full article

An Iranian ballistic missile strike late Thursday heavily damaged the production facility of Israeli drone manufacturer Aero-Sentinel, hitting just meters from the company’s site in Petach Tikva and disrupting part of its manufacturing operations. In comments shared with Defence Blog, the company said the site was struck by an Iranian missile but stressed that the […]View the full article

Two separate contracts awarded within days of each other are pouring more than $163 million into the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll — the remote Pacific range where the U.S. military tests ballistic missiles, tracks reentry vehicles, and validates the interceptors designed to shoot them down. The more recent award, dated April 27, 2026, […]View the full article

The U.S. Space Force has awarded Viasat and Intelsat General Communications a combined $437.7 million contract to build satellites for the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Global program, a new constellation designed to keep troops connected even when adversaries are actively trying to jam them out of the sky. The contract, announced May 22, covers the procurement […]View the full article

The single most important military headquarters in the Pacific got its old name back, and the decision quietly closes the book on a label that lasted only eight years. The Department of War announced Tuesday that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the four-star headquarters responsible for American military operations across roughly half the planet, will officially revert […]View the full article

Australia’s Army flew its Vector AI fixed-wing drone during Exercise Southern Jackaroo at the Townsville Field Training Area in Queensland, using the aircraft to identify targets in depth and feed that information directly into drone and artillery strikes on simulated enemy positions. The drone is built by Quantum Systems, a German manufacturer whose reconnaissance aircraft […]View the full article

Panels, seminars, conferences, reports, speeches, and emotion do not build a navy. Even shipyards do not build a navy. In the American system of government, if you want a navy you have to go up to Capitol Hill and get Congress to fund it. Without money, everything else is just a PDF. What is the state of play in bringing the argument for sea power to Congress? Returning to the Midrats Podcast just in time for the Senate’s August recess will be Brent Sadler, CAPT, USN (Ret.). You can join us LIVE today from 5-6 PM Eastern at this link. If you can’t make the live show, check the Substack later Sunday for all the podcast links and make us part of your commute listen. Brent i…

British radar maker Blighter is pushing for more sales in Central and Eastern Europe, showcasing its border and low-altitude air surveillance radars this week at the MSPO defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland. The company builds ground-based radars that use electronic scanning array antennas rather than the mechanically rotating dishes found on older radar systems, letting […]View the full article

Americas US hypersonic missiles can strike within six inches of a target after traveling thousands of miles at Mach 5 or faster, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said. Speaking at a conference of the US Association of the Army on Tuesday, McCarthy referred to a March 19 test of the missile, which was fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. It flew at hypersonic speed, defined as five or more times the speed of sound, before striking its “designated impact point,” the Army said. The test reportedly demonstrated that the weapon, which consists of a warhead, guidance system and thermal protection, can fly five times the speed of sound, maneuver in varying…

Americas Leonardo announced that it is working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to install the former’s Seaspray 7500E V2 radar on the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. To be mounted into the centerline radar pod, this radar will be made available to international customers. It replaces the GA-ASI Lynx Multi-mode Radar. According to Leonardo, the Seaspray 7500E V2 is well-suited to the SeaGuardian mission set, using Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology to detect, track and classify hundreds of maritime contacts. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the thousands of National Guard troops who will provide security in Washington, DC, for the inaugurat…

Americas Sikorsky won a $17.3 million contract modification, that adds scope to provide production system engineering and program management support in support of CH-53K aircraft low-rate initial production. The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. The CH-53K is a new-build helicopter that will expand the fleet’s ability to move more material, more rapidly throughout the area of responsibility using proven and mature technologies. Work will take place in Stratford, Connecticut and is expected to be finished in June 2022. The US Navy issued Northrop Grumman with a prototype and risk reduction contract for the development …

While a lot of the attention in unmanned systems the last two decades has been in the air, significant developments on and under the surface of the oceans were happening in parallel. From small mine hunting unmanned surface vessels and the development of the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel above the seas, to unmanned systems the size of lightweight torpedoes to midget submarines below the surface, unmanned maritime systems capabilities are growing each year. With each incremental advance in engineering automation to autonomous operations, their utility from maritime security to war fighting increases as well. For the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern our guest to dis…