Raw Intel

You have to give the People’s Republic of China (PRC) credit for consistency. They like islands. On Sunday’s Midrats Podcast, we touched on this rather brazen act that would be laughable if not serious. The Batanes Islands, which are covered by the so-called maritime delimitation talks between Japan and the Philippines, are legally China's sovereign territory and form a natural geographic extension of China's Taiwan island. China should take corresponding actions to assert its sovereignty over the Batanes, the Global Times learned from Chinese experts and scholars at a symposium. The academic symposium on the sovereignty issue of the Batanes Islands was convened at Jinan…

The U.S. Navy awarded BAE Systems a $149.8 million contract to overhaul USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship that turned back from deployment in 2024 after a rudder failure just 10 days out of port. BAE Systems Maritime Solutions in San Diego will perform the maintenance, modernization and repair work during a fiscal 2027 selected […]View the full article

We don't do politics here ... but we do touch on how politics can impact national security issues ... so here we go! Why has national security almost been a non-issue this election? What to expect if Trump gets a second term. What and who will come to the front if Biden is elected. What will drive the challenge regardless of who gets elected? Come join us for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern as we discuss this and more with an open chat room and open phones if you want to join in. It will be an open topic, open phones free for all ... so if you think our topics are bogus, bring your own! If you use iTunes, you can add Midrats to your …

Americas The Air Force, along with with partners Lockheed Martin and Boeing, completed work on the last of 247 planes in the F-22 Structural Repair Program, officials at Hill Air Force Base in Utah announced on Wednesday. Structural modifications, made by the 574th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron of the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, to the F-22 Raptor added flying serviceability of the fighter plane by an estimated 8,000 hours, according to the Air Force. Lockheed Martin won a $11.4 million deal, which provides engineering and logistics services in support of the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft program to monitor and manage fatigue and obsolescence issues and op…

Is our nation's military as poorly maintained and lacking in self-respect as we seem to be from Kabul to the high seas? What messages are we sending? I'm pondering a long standing critique of mine over at USNIBlog today ... something more important now than ever. Come on 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=JqG1mdM07lg:F-5p4aR4qRk:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=JqG1mdM07lg:F-5p4aR4qRk:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=JqG1mdM07lg:F-5p4aR4qRk:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feed…

With the Russo-Ukrainian War in its 3rd week, everyone is starting to see a new normal emerging in Europe, our alliances, and global posture. What are the assumptions time has left behind, what concepts are playing out well, and what surprises at sea and ashore have been a surprise? What will the next phase look like? This Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern EagleOne and Sal are bringing back the melee format with an eye on Ukraine. Open topic, open phones, green range ... bearings free. Join us live if you can, but it not, you can get the show later by subscribing to the podcast. If you use iTunes, you can add Midrats to your podcast list simply by clicking the iTunes button at t…

Americas The US Air Force contracted Boeing with $14.5 million for KC-135 engineering sustainment services. The contract modification provides for recurring engineering services for sustainment of the KC-135 aircraft for one option year. Work will take place in Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Florida. Estimated completion date is March 31, 2022. Tactical Air Support won a $265.3 million deal, which provides non-recurring engineering, inspection, modification, and block upgrade efforts for 16 F-5E and six F-5F Tiger II aircraft from a Swiss Confederation configuration to a Navy/Marine Corps N+/F+ configuration. Additionally, this contract procures eight block upgrade retrofi…

The last 13-months has seen a scenario few in NATO’s uniformed or civilian leadership either predicted, or for that matter, though was possible. How has the alliance reacted, grown, succeeded, or shown cracks under the pressure of the growing war in Ukraine as it moves it to its second year? Returning to Midrats for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern will be Jorge Benitez, Associate Professor of International Relations at the Marine Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He specializes in NATO and transatlantic relations, European politics, and US national security. He previously served a…

Americas Leidos has awarded CAE a deal to supply a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) for the US Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program. HADES seeks to enhance the service’s aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (A-ISR) capabilities by replacing existing ISR aircraft fleets that have been operational since the Cold War. CAE will […]View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman Systems won a $19 million modification, which provides logistics and test support for mission control and operator training systems as well as associated engineering and field service representative technical support to sustain MQ-4C Triton air vehicles, ensuring continued mission-capability for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the Navy and the government of […]View the full article

Americas Leidos has received a $331-million contract to optimize the US Army’s Global Unified Network (AGUN). AGUN is the service’s standard network capability used to relay classified and unclassified data, voice, video, and other information assets across bases and deployed forces. Under the contract, Leidos will deploy the AGUN to individual sites to maintain a standardized network infrastructure that is “accessible, trusted and interoperable” internationally. The US military carried out a significant airfield seizure exercise on the island of Palau as part of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 25-01. The exercise, which took place from October 10–11, inv…

North Macedonia has expanded its fleet of U.S.-built armored vehicles with the delivery of 29 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs), formally presented on August 15 at the “Jane Sandanski” Barracks in Shtip. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Minister of Defence Vlado Misajlovski, Chief of the General Staff Major General Sashko Lafchiski, […] The post North Macedonia receives 29 new JLTVs from U.S. first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan Steel Works (JSW) has delivered the first domestically produced AMV 8×8 armored personnel carrier to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), according to a report by Nikkei. The AMV, originally developed by Finland’s Patria, was selected to replace the JGSDF’s aging Type 96 wheeled armored personnel carriers. The vehicle offers improved mobility, protection, and […] The post Japan delivers first locally built AMV to ground forces first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukrainian defense officials claim that Russian forces shot down their own military aircraft over Crimea during an attempted interception of drones, according to a statement by Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk. “So actively were they trying to repel Ukrainian attacks that they ended up shooting down their own aircraft today over Crimea,” Pletenchuk said. “The fight […] The post Ukraine: Russia shoots down own aircraft over Crimea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) hosted Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30MKI pilots at Komatsu Air Base. According to a post by the JASDF’s Public Affairs Office, the visiting Indian pilots participated in professional exchanges with Japan’s Air Tactics Development Squadron pilots and took part in an orientation flight aboard a JASDF F-15 fighter. The […]View the full article

China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense confirmed on Jan. 12 that the export-oriented J-10CE fighter jet achieved its first combat victory last May, stating that the aircraft downed several adversary aircraft in an aerial engagement without suffering losses. The agency described the operation as the J-10CE’s first confirmed combat result. […]View the full article

Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec confirmed that its High-Precision Systems holding has delivered a new batch of BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles to the Russian Ministry of Defense, with January shipments exceeding planned targets by 40 percent. According to a statement from Rostec’s press service, the latest delivery includes upgraded BMP-3 vehicles incorporating a range of […]View the full article

U.S. Marines with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/6, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), recently employed the Vector unmanned aerial system during UAS operations at Camp Santiago in Puerto Rico in support of United States Southern Command missions aimed at disrupting illicit trafficking and safeguarding the homeland. Germany-based defense technology company Quantum Systems […]View the full article

Raytheon has been awarded a contract worth up to $708.9 million to produce the next production lot of the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, commonly known as the StormBreaker, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on April 6, 2026. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, issued the undefinitized […]View the full article

A California antenna company has officially announced a High Power Microwave weapon that can fry drone electronics without firing a round, and it is already small enough to mount on an Infantry Squad Vehicle. ThinKom Solutions, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, announced on April 30, 2026, the self-funded development of Alecto, a mobile High Power Microwave […]View the full article