Raw Intel

On May 22, the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi, a city outside Chennai in southern India, rolled out the 1,000th T-90 Bhishma main battle tank built on Indian soil, completing a production run that began with Russian blueprints and foreign components two decades ago and ends with a tank that is roughly 80 percent Indian […]View the full article

Portugal is doubling down on a bet it made just a year ago: that the best way to watch its own coastline and territory is to own the satellites doing the watching, rather than renting someone else’s. ICEYE, the Finnish company that operates the world’s largest synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation, announced that CTI Aeroespacial, […]View the full article

From the Sea of Azov, Strait of Hormuz, Ankara, to the South China Sea - don’t miss today’s LIVE Midrats Podcast from 5-6pm Eastern. You can join the live session and contribute the chat room at this link. In our melee format, Mark and I have our list of topics, but if you join the live show chat, you can ask us questions or even suggest a topic we cover. Live…not net. If you are reading this after the show, check the Substack later Sunday night for all the podcast links. Don’t miss it! Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

A team of engineers have proved that a helicopter design older than most of their grandparents can still out-fly the strangest, most futuristic drone shapes engineers could dream up. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon’s advanced research arm known for funding technologies that eventually reshape entire industries, announced that its Lift Challenge had […]View the full article

Finland has agreed to buy more than 100 Patria TREMOS mortar systems, with an option for hundreds more, defense manufacturer Patria announced. Deliveries under the serial production contract begin this year and will continue through 2028, Patria said. The Finnish Army designates the system the 120 KRH M3. Finland already received a smaller pre-series batch […]View the full article

The U.S. military will deploy its NMESIS anti-ship missile launcher to Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island and about 107 km (66 miles) from Taiwan, during a major U.S.-Japanese exercise this month, Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Oct. 2, citing the Yonaguni town government. The launcher will take part in Keen Sword, a large joint exercise […]View the full article

A U.S. Army Patriot air defense battalion at Fort Hood, Texas, has put its launchers, radars and support vehicles into the field for a battalion-wide readiness exercise, according to photos released by the service on Oct. 21, 2026. The exercise involves the 1st Battalion, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, part of the 69th Air Defense […]View the full article

Americas Raytheon Missiles Won a $239.1 million contract modification for StormBreaker (SDBII, GBU-53/B) production Lot 6. Designed to address critical troop needs, the StormBreaker can detect, track, and destroy stationary or moving targets with high-precision and stand-off range during the day and at night in all-weather conditions. The GBU-53/B, originally known as the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), has a tri-mode guidance system able to find targets using imaging infrared or millimeter-wave radar, or using semi-active laser homing to hit a designated aimpoint. Depending on the altitude of the launching aircraft, the weapon can also glide up to 69 miles on its own us…

New year, new decade, and a new President. Where should be be looking to have the right view on changes to strategy and maritime power? What existing trends are getting stronger, weakening - and what new things are starting to show up on the scope? Our guest for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern to cover the full natsec waterfront as we find it will be returning guest James R. Holmes, PhD. James holds the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and served on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. A former U.S. Navy surface-warfare officer, he was the last gunnery officer in history t…

Americas Textron Systems won a $15.8 million contract for a one-time mid-life upgrade engineering change proposal for the advanced boresight equipment (ABE) system to modernize and bring 100 fielded domestic and Foreign Military Sales units up to the current commercial off the shelf configuration. Additionally, this contract procures depot repair and upgrade support for the ABE currently installed on AH-1Z, AH-1W and MH-60R combat aircraft, ashore and afloat. Depot repair and upgrade support includes tear down and evaluation of ABE, as well as restoration, modification, and procurement of spare parts in support of ABE component and assembly repairs and upgrades. Work will…

Americas EaglePicher Technologies won a $12 million deal for the BBU-63/B Impulse Cartridge for the B-2 bomber. The B-2 is a low-observable, strategic, long-range, heavy bomber capable of penetrating sophisticated and dense air-defense shields. Work will take place in Missouri. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2026. The US Navy has sent its third and final ship Zumwalt Class destroyer off to sea trials, its maker, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, announced. The USS Lyndon B. Johnson, christened in April 2019, left the Bath Iron Works shipyard on Friday and is expected to be commissioned by the Navy in 2023, after its combat systems are fully installed and acti…

Back in 2014 we took a day to give a nod to MA2 Mayo, USN. A year later friends at USNI News posted the final report. Make sure and read the VCNO's endorsement below. Lots to ponder there, and in honor of Perry Officer Mayo, you should give it a read. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4hf-CRLxgLo/UzTjvaOFojI/AAAAAAAAIEA/ipwhck5s4AI/s320/Killed-Sailor-from-USS-Mahan-Shooting-Identified-495x278.jpgIn port. Just another watch on the pier. Tic. Toc. Yawn. It's 23:20. Watch is almost over. Thing is, there is no such thing as a normal watch. You never know when the call comes. You don't even have to be at sea. You don't even have to be overseas. You can just be at the largest nava…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $869.9 million contract modification, which adds scope for integrating mission and weapon systems capability development, including flight-test hardware, through system functional review to development test complete on the F-35A, F-35B, F-35C aircraft. Work will take place in Texas, New Hampshire, Florida, Maryland, California, Missouri and Arizona. Estimated completion will be in December 2026. The US Air Force and Boeing have concluded that delivery of the new Air Force One is now 17 months behind schedule. This means the transport will not be delivered by 2024. The delay was first reported by Breaking Defense, which says the information …

Over at The Tablet, Jeremy Stern has a real meaty article on “our” German problem. I lived in and around Germans for years and still try to get a grasp on what they want and why. As you would expect being that Germans contribute more to America’s DNA than any other group, there is a familiarity to Germans and Germany … but that only get you so far until you find yourself in an “uncanny valley” where you realize that you are not quite in sync with those around you. They are not us, and likewise…and that should be fine and good for everyone. America’s view of their relationship with Germany and what we think Germany’s relationship with Russia should be is just that – Americ…

Ever wonder how fast things can come at you in combat ... and how fast you have to react to survive? Simply stunning video from the shootdown of a Russian S-25 in Ukraine: No other aircraft has been so valuable - and no aircraft has been shot down more - than the SU-25 in this conflict. Many regulars here are very familiar with "time compression" in such situations. Time slows down a lot. If you have not experienced that, you may wonder how he is able to eject so fast to survive a direct hit at 200-meters (about 600'). Well, training is one, but time compression is another. This slow-motion video makes it a little closer to what it felt like to the pilot. RUS Su…

Americas Boeing won a $3.4 million deal for the procurement and delivery of 17 Lot 13 P-8A Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (14 for the government of Canada and three for the government of Germany), as well as associated non-recurring engineering. Work will be completed in March 2028. Foreign Military Sales customer funds in the amount of […]View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $60.2 million modification, which is to procure the non-recurring engineering, material, tooling, and labor required to complete the Integrated Functional Capability 4 change requests and engineering change proposals in support of the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System air vehicle B11 for the Navy. Work is expected to be completed February 2029. Fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $60,249,668 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The US Army is rethinking how it u…

Writing in The Strategist, defense analyst Ross Babbage argues that Australia must urgently develop independent, long-range strike capabilities to prepare for an era of heightened strategic uncertainty. He contends that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) cannot rely solely on U.S. guarantees and should pursue “very strong independent deterrence,” even against a major power adversary. Babbage […] The post Expert says Australia needs intermediate-range ballistic missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed plans to station new electronic warfare units in Okinawa and Kumamoto, aiming to enhance deterrence in the country’s southwestern region amid growing regional tensions. According to Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, speaking at a press conference following a cabinet meeting on September 16, the new units will be deployed to […] The post Japan sets up radar-jamming units on frontline islands first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

As some of you are aware, I am forcing myself to finish General Kenneth McKenzie, USMC (Ret.)’s book on his tour as the Commander at CENTCOM, The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century. My opinion of his performance at CENTCOM is well known to readers. However, Tom Ricks subtly challenged me to read the book. I’ve compromised and checked it out as an audiobook. (spoiler: my opinion of his performance gets worse with each minute of the book). Anyway, in order to get through this before it ruins my early fall, I’ve sped the audio up to 1.25X speed to get through the remaining 2+ hours I have left. I’m at the point right before the Abbey Gate attack, and it …