Raw Intel

So, half a decade after we started the program to design our next oiler, all we have is this circa-1998 MS Paint graphic. We have what we have. Let’s look at where it started. The TAOL program (referred to in some documents as the NGLS or Next-Generation Medium Logistics Ship program) was initiated in the Navy’s FY2021 budget submission. The program envisages building a new class of CLF ships (or a family of CLF ship designs) that would be smaller and individually less expensive to procure than the Navy’s current CLF ships. Figure 1 shows a sketch of a Navy notional TAOL design concept. The Navy states that the TAOL is planned to be, “a new class of ships to augment the …

A Russian drone struck an apartment building in Galați, Romania, in May 2026, and the incident has become a flashpoint in a broader story about a vulnerability the European defense industry has been racing to address. Separate reporting has linked some stray-drone incidents across the region to heavy electronic warfare, including GPS spoofing and jamming, […]View the full article

The Pentagon has told American metal suppliers it wants to know exactly how much titanium and magnesium the country would need to keep building fighter jets and military hardware if a real war cut off the foreign supply chains both materials currently depend on. The Defense Logistics Agency, the Department of War’s supply and logistics […]View the full article

A boat built to carry a 70-ton battle tank through the surf rolled off an assembly line in Vancouver, Washington, and the U.S. Army is counting down to delivery this fall. Vigor Marine Group unveiled the USAV Craney Island, the second Maneuver Support Vessel (Light) built under a program designed to replace the Army’s aging […]View the full article

Americas Honeywell International won a $15.8 million delivery order for V-22 spare parts. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. The delivery order was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year contract with no option periods. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is October 31, 2021. L3 Technologies von a $23.8 million contract to perform…

Into that good night (click to view full) The 5th-generation F-22A Raptor fighter program has been the subject of fierce controversy, with advocates and detractors aplenty. On the one hand, the aircraft offers full stealth, revolutionary radar and sensor capabilities, dual air-air and air-ground SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) excellence, the ability to cruise above Mach 1 without afterburners, thrust-vectoring super-maneuverability… and a ridiculously lopsided kill record in exercises against the best American fighters. On the other hand, critics charged that it was too expensive, too limited, and cripples the USAF’s overall force structure. Meanwhile, close …

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bofj1zka7Tc/T4CfKmxTi9I/AAAAAAAABrg/ovZNCx9QrWY/s320/Thatcher_Pinochet.jpgPeople think they know the story of General Pinochet. 95% don't. In many respects, all you have to do is look at the political and economic stability he left Chile and compare it to the leftist dictators' legacy in Latin America. It speaks for itself. My long time readers know my views; no reason to go over them again. There is a lesser known story that all should know, and fleshed out the debt Britain owes the General. The following is from a man I wish we could have as our Secretary of the Treasury or Federal reserve; the great man José Piñera.General Pinochet and the F…

Americas Bell Boeing won a $24.3 million contract modification, which increases scope to provide additional MV-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization in-service and over and above repair support. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. Work will take place in Pennsylvania and Texas. Estimated completion will be in June 2023. General Dynamics won a $12.3 million contract modification for Abrams systems technical support. The M1 Abrams is a third g…

Americas Boeing won an $11.4 million contract modification, which exercises an option to provide for installation of 25 previously procured A-kits in support of the Increment 3 Block 1 retrofit requirements for the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be completed in December 2023. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has completed a flight test of its air-to-air laser communication system at Montgomery Field in Kearney Mesa, California. The laser system was trialed to enable General Atomics-built drones to perform beyond-line-of-sight communications in multi-domain operations and other air-to-space communic…

Americas Raytheon won a $33 million spares delivery order under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00383-19-G-UX01 for the procurement of two Active Electronically Scanned Array radar system APG-79 weapon repairable assemblies (WRAs), for a total quantity of 54 WRAs in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. The delivery order does not include an option period. All […]View the full article

Americas Sikorsky won a $2 billion modification by the US Navy, which adds scope for Lots 7 and 8 block buy contract for a combined quantity of 35 CH-53K full-rate production aircraft, 27 for the Marine Corps and eight for the government of Israel, as well as provides associated aircraft and programmatic support, logistical support […]View the full article

BAMS Operation Concept (click to view full) The world’s P-3 Orion fleets have served for a long time, and many are reaching the end of their lifespans. In the USA, and possibly beyond, the new P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft will take up the P-3’s role. While the P-8’s base 737-based airframe offers strong service […]View the full article

Americas Hydronalix won a $42 million contract for assets and technical support services of specialized technology supporting the Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization program of record, a component of Force Design 2030, which aims to improve integrated warfighting capabilities using unmanned vehicles. The period of performance of the base award is October 24, 2024, through October 23, 2029. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. This contract was awarded as a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 15 US Code 638(r)(4). Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. The US military carried out a significant airfie…

Preparations are underway in Beijing for what is expected to be one of China’s most expansive military parades in years. While ground forces equipment has already impressed observers, analysts say the aviation segment may become the parade’s defining moment. Andreas Rupprecht, a leading expert on Chinese military aviation, told Defence Blog that the scale of […] The post Analyst: China’s air power display exceeds expectations first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries and German defense firm Taurus Systems GmbH are in early discussions on technical cooperation for cruise missile engines, according to several sources familiar with the matter. As reported by Reuters, Taurus has expressed interest in Kawasaki’s compact, fuel-efficient turbofan engine currently under development for Japan’s next-generation anti-ship missiles. The engine is […] The post Japan may provide engines for Germany’s Taurus missiles first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has unveiled new images showing domestic tests of the Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP), a next-generation hypersonic weapon being developed for island defense. The photos, presented by ATLA’s Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Development Section under the Joint Systems Development Division, show the missile’s transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) system in a range […]View the full article

The United States Marine Corps has tested a new unmanned amphibious ground vehicle during a recent Technical Concept Experiment 25.2 at Red Beach on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, according to materials released following the event. The experimental platform, described as an Unmanned Swarming Amphibious Craft, was observed operating along the shoreline and surf […]View the full article

Northrop Grumman delivered its 1,500th center fuselage for the F-35 Lightning II on Jan. 12, completing the milestone at its Integrated Assembly Line in Palmdale, California. The delivery reflects the current production pace of one center fuselage every 30 hours. According to Northrop Grumman, the Palmdale facility uses advanced manufacturing processes to build center fuselages […]View the full article

A Ukrainian hacktivist group known as “256 Cyber Assault Division,” working alongside OSINT organizations InformNapalm and MILITANT, announced it conducted a counter-operation targeting Russian efforts to bypass Starlink restrictions and activate terminals through Ukrainian intermediaries. In a statement, the group said it launched a network of channels and bots to identify Russian military personnel attempting […]View the full article

Aerostat platforms—often seen as an archaic technology that many readers associate with the Second World War—are gaining renewed relevance on the battlefield in Ukraine as they combine with drones and modern reconnaissance systems. In a war shaped by unmanned aircraft, electronic warfare, and rapidly evolving battlefield technology, these tethered platforms are finding a new role […]View the full article