Raw Intel

The United States will provide Ukraine with 65 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles (MSFV) under a new round of military assistance funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), according to a report from Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi. The vehicles will be manufactured by Textron Systems Corporation, which will also supply spare parts to support ongoing […] The post U.S. to send 65 MSFV armored vehicles to Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Azerbaijan publicly displayed a Chinese long-range air-defense system for the first time during a military parade rehearsal in Baku, the defence outlet Militarnyi reported. Video from the rehearsal shows a characteristic FD-2000B launcher mounted on a four-axle transporter, matching export variants of the HQ-9B family, the report said. The appearance of the FD-2000B, an export […]View the full article

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has relaunched its search for a precision strike loitering munition under a new program name, issuing a fresh request for information in May 2026 under the designation Project INSTIGATOR, a renamed and restructured version of the Medium Range Precision Strike program that the MOD has been developing since late 2024 with […]View the full article

South Korean Hanwha Aerospace has signed a joint development agreement with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to co-develop and co-produce the Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing (GE-STOL) unmanned aircraft system, the companies announced during the AUSA 2025 exhibition in Washington, D.C. The contract was signed by Sun Kim, Senior Executive Vice President of […] The post GA-ASI selects Hanwha to co-produce tactical unmanned aircraft 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

Ukrainian strike underwater drones have attacked a Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, in what Ukrainian officials describe as the first combat use of underwater drones to disable a modern diesel-electric submarine. According to Ukrainian sources, underwater drones known as “Sub Sea Baby” detonated beneath a Russian Project 636.3 submarine of the Varshavyanka class, known in […]View the full article

Raytheon has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to establish a domestic production capability for thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) wafers, a material used in high-speed communications and advanced sensing systems critical to defense technology, the company announced. The effort aims to create a secure U.S.-based supply chain for TFLN, […]View the full article

Vietnam has developed a new 8×8 amphibious armored personnel carrier prototype, the XTC-03, built by the Vietnam Defense Industry as a domestically designed replacement superior to the Russian BTR-80 series. The XTC-03 represents a significant step in Vietnam’s effort to reduce dependence on Soviet and Russian legacy equipment while building indigenous armored vehicle design capability. […]View the full article

There is one thing that the aviation community is really good at—being brutally honest in mishap investigations and having little wiggle room for poor transparency in discussing why fellow aviators died. They track their data carefully, and when something isn’t right, they find out why. Of course, there are exceptions and people who violate this tradition written in blood, but when they are discovered, they are treated like people who were caught sleeping with their sister…usually. As such, this from Military Times got my attention. The Navy’s data on just its own aviation mishaps shows a marked increase this year. The Naval Safety Command reported eight Class A aviation …

South Korean Hanwha Aerospace has signed a new agreement with GE Aerospace to acquire T700 and F404 engine kits for assembly and testing in South Korea, the companies announced. The engines will be used in Korea’s Surion helicopters and the T-50 family of trainer and light combat aircraft, including the TA-50 and FA-50. Under the […] The post Hanwha to build GE Aerospace engines for Korean aircraft first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Defense Ministry plans to establish a new coastal defense system built around thousands of drones, allocating about ¥100 billion ($628.7 million) in its fiscal 2026 budget. The planned SHIELD system will include more than 10 types of drones designed for different roles, including attacking enemy ships, gathering intelligence, and protecting radar installations. The concept […]View the full article

Textron Aviation Defense has announced plans to assemble the Beechcraft M-346N jet trainer at its Wichita, Kansas facility if the company is selected for the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) program. According to a company statement, Textron Aviation Defense will invest more than $38 million to modernize over 50,000 square feet of existing […]View the full article

When we started talking about the cost of the new proposed battleship with CBO’s Eric Labs on the latest Midrats Podcast, I knew the topic I wanted to start this week with. First of all, let’s look back at the marker I put down right before the announcement. For planning purposes (and budgeting), assume it will wind up costing at least 2/3 of a Ford CVN w/o her CVW. OK, let’s look at the costs of the Ford Class CVN. Some of the sources I see include the $5 billion of development cost added on to the cost of a bit more than $13 billion for a total of $18 billion for Hull-1 of the Ford CVN, with the follow-on Kennedy, Miller, etc coming in at $14/15 billion. Let’s call it $…

Rostec, a Russian-owned arms and technology company, says its High-Precision Systems holding has delivered a new batch of BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles to Russian units, adding protective kits and electronic warfare systems that the company describes as upgrades shaped by battlefield use. The announcement comes as the platform continues to draw criticism inside Russia and […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has banned the use of smart glasses by service members while in uniform, citing operational security concerns in an update to its uniform regulations issued on Jan. 9. The updated guidance explicitly prohibits smart glasses equipped with photo, video, or artificial intelligence capabilities. Task & Purpose reported that an Air […]View the full article

The Israeli Air Force struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps helicopters at two Tehran-area aviation facilities, with the Israel Defense Forces releasing footage of the attacks showing the destruction of Mi-17 series helicopters at Fat’h Heliport in Karaj, west of the Iranian capital. Aviation analyst Babak Taghvaee confirmed the scope of the strikes, identifying the targeted […]View the full article

Ukraine’s experts have confirmed that Russia’s new “Oreshnik” intermediate-range missile relies on decades-old components, according to an analysis released by the Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi on January 11. The findings stem from debris recovered after the missile struck Dnipro in November 2024. Militarnyi reported that the discovery came after CNN broadcast a segment showing parts […]View the full article

China unexpectedly canceled the public debut of its latest stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle during a high-profile military parade on September 3. The drone, which closely resembles the U.S.-made XQ-58A Valkyrie, was visible during rehearsal footage but was ultimately pulled from the final event. Defense analyst Andreas Rupprecht shared an image of the platform on […] The post China pulls stealth drone from parade at last minute first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

China’s J-35 stealth fighters deployed aboard the aircraft carrier Fujian (Type 003) are facing operational restrictions due to ongoing engine performance issues, according to a report by South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper. The report states that footage aired earlier this year by China’s state broadcaster CCTV, promoting the Fujian carrier, drew scrutiny from Chinese military […]View the full article

The Royal Navy has awarded the University of Plymouth a contract to supply a C-Enduro Unmanned Surface Vessel integrated with Robosys Automation’s VOYAGER AI software, enabling advanced over-the-horizon data-gathering operations. Robosys Automation, a developer of maritime autonomy systems, announced the agreement alongside the University of Plymouth, highlighting that the vessel—named Bauza—will be equipped with the […] The post Royal Navy awards contract for AI-powered unmanned vessel first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article