Raw Intel

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

Ukraine has used its homegrown FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 1, adding that the next step is production. “Ukrainian tactical ballistics. FP-7. First combat use. Thank you for the result. Next, production. Glory to Ukraine!” Zelenskyy said. He did not say when or where […]View the full article

Some posts are just sad to write, but they are often the ones you need to write. It is no fun watching a friend intentionally and deliberately destroy themselves for no reason. I guess it is time to pick up the conversation we had back in March and June. When I first saw this, I thought, ‘This is reporting from The Sun. Just tabloid trash.’ Not a single submarine commander passed the legendary Perisher course last year. … Only three were selected to attempt it, with two failing at the simulator stage. Surface ships fared little better with less than ten officers passing the command qualification known as CQ2. The Navy needs 35 passes a year to sustain its sea commands. S…

Lets see, the US has rejected the Iranian nuclear proposal, Russia's Kommersant paper quotes an 'informed Israeli' source that Netanyahu flew to Russia to inform them about an impending Israeli attack on Iran. Interesting rumor, because if true it wouldn't be Netanyahu's first secret trip out of town this week, if the rumors are to be believed. Ramadan ends on September 19th. When the sun sets on Eid-al-Fitr, it will be the night after a new moon, so it will be a very dark night over Tehran. Gates comments about Iran this week didn't hint to urgency, rather it sounded to me like he was trying to be an arms salesman to the region. Maybe it's all part of a conspirac…

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…

Are you aware that NATO nations have already been attacked by Russia? Well, their merchant ships in the Black Sea have. If you know your European history, you know the seriousness of this ... yet, it is out of most people's scan. Links and thoughts over at USNIBlog. Come by and give it a read. 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=lFjwNzdVUz8:w0kBNOsXTLM:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=lFjwNzdVUz8:w0kBNOsXTLM:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=lFjwNzdVUz8:w0kBNOsXTLM:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds…

Americas Canadian government documents have disclosed that Lockheed Martin is required to deliver nine F-35s to Canada by December 1, 2027. The last aircraft will have to be delivered before December 31, 2031. The Liberal government plans to purchase 88 U.S.-built F-35s as part of a project expected to cost taxpayers between $15 billion and $19 billion. Critics of the purchase have noted, however, the full lifecycle cost for the planes is estimated at $77 billion. According to Defense News, Argentina has kicked-started the process for procuring four Boeing-made CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from the US. Aimed at fulfilling a requirement first issued in 2011, the h…

One of the things we like to do on DivThu is to give those who believe that people should be seen as individuals who deserve to be judged by the content of their character, not by immutable characteristics people are born with and can do nothing about, some facts to push back against the emotion laden DEI commissariat diktat thrown at them on a regular basis. One of the auto-generated comments we hear so extruding from the diversity nomenklatura is that – especially our officer corps – must “look like America” and that exceptional efforts must be made to force-mode such results. Is this even possible without action no one would be proud of? Probably not. The big-lie here …

To see where we are and where we need to go, it is always helpful to remind ourselves how we got here. First let's look where we are; the Navy telling Congress to bugger-off; Via Caitlin Kenny at DefenseOne; The Navy is proposing to drop its amphibious fleet below 31 ships, despite an agreement with the Marine Corps and a potential violation of last year’s defense policy law. Sent to Congress on Monday, the Navy’s proposed $255.8 billion 2024 budget aims to retire eight warships before the end of their intended service life, including three Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships, or LSDs, that it proposed to scrap last year but which were saved by the 2023 National Def…

Americas Amentum has won an $818-million contract to manage the modernization and sustainment of US Navy F-16 Viper adversary fighter jets at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada. The Viper is the aggressor version of the Fighting Falcon fourth-generation multi-role combat aircraft. It plays the enemy role or “red team” to train naval airmen in simulated […]View the full article

Americas Triumph Gear won a $18.5 million deal for the repair of one item that is part of the V-22 pylon conversion actuator system. All work will be performed in Park City, Utah. Work is expected to be completed by April 2025. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. […]View the full article

Americas The US military’s effort to speed up how it builds and replaces vehicle parts is getting a high-tech lift thanks to a new $9-million research lab in Illinois. Announced Monday by the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the facility will focus on developing advanced 3D-printing techniques, specifically for large metal components used in military ground vehicles. Northrop Grumman System won a $20.4 million contract for the production and delivery of 63 H1- technical refresh mission computers (TRMCs) and 28 TRMC trays for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers to include 33 TRMCs and 28 trays in support of the Nigeria AH-1…