Raw Intel

One topic I didn’t expect us to dive into on yesterday’s Midrats with Dean Cheng was the growing nuclear capability of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Once the show was over, I figured I needed to pull Rebeccah Heinrichs’s article from Friday up from my ‘read later’ tab. She gives a solid review of the state of play and offers three suggestions, two of which I generally endorse, and the third a firm non-concur. First, let’s review the table she sets. Just three years ago, China denied it was rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal. In 2022, Fu Cong, then the director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s arms control department (now China’s permanent representat…

Global Military Products has received a firm-fixed-price contract valued at up to $4.9 million to deliver its Scorpion Light mobile mortar system to the United States Marine Corps for testing and evaluation, the company announced on Feb. 24, 2026. The systems will be supplied through the Naval Surface Technology & Innovation Consortium and will undergo […]View the full article

Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi defended the planned deployment of surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni Island, calling the move a protective measure aimed solely at strengthening the country’s air defense posture. His remarks came after Beijing accused Tokyo of escalating regional tensions. Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Defense, Koizumi said the missiles […]View the full article

Taiwan’s military has formally inducted its first unit of U.S.-made Abrams M1A2T tanks, a move that underscores the island’s effort to modernize its armed forces in the face of growing pressure from China. President Lai Ching-te presided over a commissioning ceremony on Friday at the Hukou military base in Hsinchu County. The event marked the […]View the full article

During NATO counter-drone trials in France, an interceptor built on Ukrainian technology became the only system to successfully neutralize a target drone amid storm conditions, Militarnyi reported. The testing took place at the Biscarrosse range operated by the French defense procurement agency, where multiple interceptors were evaluated under live conditions. Although the exercise had been […]View the full article

Ukraine’s air defense forces are facing mounting challenges as Russia modifies its ballistic missiles to evade Western-made Patriot systems, a senior Ukrainian Air Force official said on Sunday. Yurii Ihnat, chief of communications for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, confirmed during a national television broadcast that intercepting Russian ballistic missiles has become more difficult. The change, […] The post Ukraine: Russian ballistic missiles now harder for Patriot to hit first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The United States Army has released a set of new Requests for Information aimed at advancing the Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher, or CAML, a next-generation autonomous fires platform intended to reshape how the service moves, loads, and employs missile systems across future battlefields. The notices, issued through the PAE Fires CAML Product Office, outline three […]View the full article

South Korea’s top military officer has raised concerns that North Korea may have received Russian assistance in developing its newly unveiled Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). During a parliamentary audit session on Tuesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Gen. Jin Yong-sung told lawmakers there is “sufficient possibility” that Russia supported North Korea’s […] The post Russian hand suspected in North Korea’s new ICBM first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) chief Seok Jong-gun warned this week that Chinese sanctions targeting Hanwha Ocean’s U.S.-based shipbuilding affiliates could eventually affect the U.S.-Korea naval cooperation project known as MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again). During a National Assembly defense committee hearing on Thursday, Seok said, “While there is no immediate impact, […] The post Chinese sanctions cloud U.S.-Korea naval cooperation first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has undergone two decades of transformation, trading sheer numbers for advanced technology and shifting its force structure to confront new security challenges. A study from the National Defense University revisits earlier forecasts about the “right size” of China’s air force and evaluates how modernization since 2007 has reshaped […] The post China builds smaller but more capable air force first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Norwegian Armed Forces, alongside about 3,000 United States Marines and other U.S. and NATO units, will conduct Exercise Cold Response 26 in northern Norway in March 2026, with allied forces beginning cold-weather training deployments as early as January, U.S. and Norwegian officials confirmed. The exercise is a Norwegian-led, routine winter drill designed to test […]View the full article

MBDA, Europe’s largest missile maker, has completed delivery of the first batch of ASTER air defense missiles under a high-priority accelerated production program, fulfilling urgent operational needs for France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. According to OpexNews, this milestone comes just under 30 months after the initial order, well ahead of standard pre-war production […] The post Europe’s top missile maker ramps up production first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec confirmed it will present a range of advanced military systems at the World Defense Show 2026 in Saudi Arabia. The exhibition will include the BTR-22 armored personnel carrier, the Ballista remote-controlled combat module, the Planshet-A/Atlet artillery fire-control system, the Volk (Wolf) armored vehicle and the 300mm Sarma multiple launch rocket […]View the full article

The USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, arrived at the Port of Ponce in Puerto Rico during the morning hours of November 8, 2025. The ship was seen mooring at Muelle de Ponce between 7:39 and 7:59 a.m., according to local observation of the vessel’s movement. The USS Fort Lauderdale is […]View the full article

Theseus, a San Francisco-based innovation startup focused on GPS-denied navigation, said it successfully completed a long-duration test flight of its Micro Visual Positioning System over central Florida. The company said its Micro Visual Positioning System completed a 5-hour, 22-minute flight covering about 564 kilometers during a March test in central Florida. Ian Laffey, chief executive […]View the full article

Russia has made clear it has no plans to provide military assistance to Venezuela, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that Caracas has not asked Moscow for weapons or troops. Speaking to Russian media, including TASS, Lavrov stressed that while Venezuela remains a friendly nation and strategic partner, the relationship does not include mutual defense […]View the full article

German shipbuilder NVL Group has announced the establishment of a joint venture with UK-based Kraken Technology Group to accelerate the development and production of uncrewed surface vessels for both military and civilian use. The new company, NVL Kraken, will operate from NVL’s Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg and complement existing facilities in the United Kingdom. According […] The post German shipbuilder, UK startup team up to build naval drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $26 million contract to provide Foreign Military Sales (FMS) support for Ukraine’s F-16 fighter program, the Pentagon announced. The contract will fund the creation of country-specific technical orders tailored to Ukraine’s fleet of Fighting Falcons. The agreement, issued as a firm-fixed-price and time-and-materials contract, falls under […] The post Lockheed wins $26M Ukraine F-16 support deal first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Danish startup is entering the unmanned logistics market with a family of heavy-lift, high-speed autonomous cargo aircraft designed to move large payloads over medium distances. Acodyne says it is developing an unmanned electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft aimed at what it describes as the “middle-mile” logistics segment, a space between short-range drones and […]View the full article

Right before I first posted this six years ago, after I once again lamented that we no longer have a ship with the name USS Shangri-La, Bill Schultz reminded me that there is a simply awesome video available of a unique and under-appreciated time in naval aviation; the early 1960s. What an incredible time of change and advancement ... and a time yet warped by the war that would dominate the rest of the decade. So, let’s take a moment to give tribute to those Sailors of the early-60s ... in glorious technicolor, on the USS Shangri-La (CV 38), circa 1962, somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Crusaders, Skyrays, Skyhawks, Skyraiders, Marines doing PT on deck ... just glorious…