Raw Intel

The next questions is, who will throw their hat in the ring with them? From De Telegraph; The Netherlands has offered mine hunters to clear the way for grain ships from Ukraine. "If we can play a role, we are happy to do so," Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said at the NATO summit in Madrid. The Netherlands has offered Turkey, which mediates in the matter, help to clear the sea mines on the shipping routes. Then Russia and Ukraine will have to agree on a so-called maritime corridor, emphasizes Ollongren. Neighboring NATO member states such as Romania and Bulgaria are also in principle more eligible to supply minehunters, insiders say. The Koninklijke Marine has a half-d…

We have not had the chance to dig up LCS and gibbet it at the entrance of the harbor recently, so let's take a nice overview by Sam about the healthy churn between the Executive and Legislative Branches of government to see how it looks in the light of 2022; As part of the FY 2023 submission, the Pentagon proposed cutting warships from the Navy’s battleforce – including six cruisers, four Whidbey Island/Harper’s Ferry-class amphibious Dock Landing Ships, nine Littoral Combat Ships as well as Montford Point and John Glenn. The youngest ship on the list, USS St. Louis (LCS-19), commissioned in 2020. Years before LCS hull-1 was commissioned, we tried to warn the Navy what …

It is with nations as with people; they will show you what they value by what they spend their money on. Details always matter in a budget, but with inflationary pressures unseen in decades, a significant land war in Europe, and an accelerated naval challenge by the People’s Republic of China, the actual buying power of a budget and where you spend it matters more than usual. Few are better positioned to explain the bold faced concerns with the 2024 Defense Budget to navalists than our friend Bryan McGrath, returning again for a guest post that will bring you up to speed. Over to you Bryan. Last week, the Biden Administration delivered its 2024 Defense Budget to Capitol …

Americas The US Army is developing a new off-road, high-speed unmanned ground vehicle prototype for urban reconnaissance and natural disaster relief missions. Called the “Deep Orange 14,” the robotic vehicle will be produced in collaboration with South Carolina-based research institution, Clemson University. According to the university, the prototype will be able to navigate through unknown and […]View the full article

Americas Epsilon Inc. won a $184.5 million deal to procure IT and cyber security (CS) support for the classified IT networks to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of the F-35 Joint Program Office ensuring the range of IT and CS are maintained within Department of Defense (DOD), Special Access Programs, and US Cyber Command security standards and mandates. Work is expected to be completed in October 2029. This contract was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin has announced an increase in the production of key equipment across its facilities in the US. In particular, the company …

Americas Mass Virtual Inc. has launched an extended reality (XR) solution at Fort Bliss to optimize the training of US Army aerial intelligence units. The project covers the installation of the Florida-based company’s proprietary MassXR simulator, which provides “high-fidelity” and “repeatable” virtual lessons on the operation and sustainment of critical sensors and surveillance aboard an aircraft. It’s now part of the Virtual Aerial Systems Trainer (VAST) program, which trains future aircrews for ATHENA and HADES surveillance aircraft. The US Air Force is bringing cutting-edge helmet display technology to its veteran fighter fleet, announcing a contract with Thales for S…

Raytheon, an RTX business, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany’s Diehl Defence to co-produce key elements of the Stinger missile in Europe. The agreement, announced by the companies, sets the stage for extending Stinger production at Diehl Defence facilities as part of the firm’s expansion plan. “Stinger is the surface-to-air missile of choice […] The post Raytheon and Diehl to build Stinger missiles in Europe first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

With people talking about who is getting canceled where and for what back in the news, it had me thinking of all the gnashing of teeth and rending of clothes we’ve read this year about President Trump’s team shaping the uniformed leadership, moving along a few senior uniformed personnel who had a track record, that, well, indicated they probably would not have the full trust and confidence of the CINC. All Presidents do this in their own way, but from the sounds of things over the last six months, you’d think anyone who wasn’t a documented contributor to the Trump ‘16, ‘20, and ‘24 campaigns for President and could not dance to Y.M.C.A. was being fired, forced to retire, …

DEUTZ, a German system provider for mobility and energy solutions, and ARX Robotics, a European defense technology company developing next-generation unmanned ground systems, have announced plans for a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating Europe’s defense innovation. According to a joint statement issued on October 16, DEUTZ intends to become the lead investor in an upcoming […] The post DEUTZ and ARX Robotics announce strategic defense partnership first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

India has successfully conducted a static test of the Project K-5 Stage-2 rocket motor, a major step toward the country’s next-generation submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capability. The test took place on September 12, 2025, at the Advanced Centre for Energetic Materials (ACEM) in Nasik, confirming the performance of key propulsion systems designed for deep-sea deterrence […]View the full article

Northrop Grumman, working with the U.S. Air Force, has completed a key flight test of the Stand-in Attack Weapon, or SiAW, validating the missile’s safe separation from an F-16 aircraft, the company announced. According to a press release from Northrop Grumman, the separation test was conducted recently and focused on confirming flight safety and aerodynamic […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded Trust Automation a $490 million contract to research, develop, prototype, and produce counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) technologies, the company announced on January 12, 2026. According to Trust Automation, the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract will support the rapid development and transition of unmanned and counter-unmanned aircraft capabilities. Work will take […]View the full article

South Korean Firm SK Oceanplant Signs MSRA with U.S. Navy, Secures Warship MRO Eligibility South Korean shipbuilder SK Oceanplant has signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the U.S. Navy, securing eligibility to participate in maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) work for U.S. naval vessels, the company announced on February 10. According to Yonhap […]View the full article

Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system near Melitopol after a long-range strike by a domestically produced FP-2 attack drone, Ukrainian officials said. The strike occurred near the village of Nove, several kilometers from Melitopol, after the drone traveled approximately 90 kilometers to reach the target. According to Ukrainian defense media outlet Militarnyi, […]View the full article

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday released new footage showing recent airstrikes on targets inside Iran, including what appears to be a strike on an Iranian S-300PMU long-range air defense system, one of the most advanced Russian-supplied surface-to-air missile systems in Tehran’s inventory. The newly published footage comes as Israel continues to showcase the results […]View the full article

Norway’s first Leopard 2A8 NO main battle tanks arrived at Rena camp in Østerdalen on April 30, 2026. The new main battle tanks came equipped with Trophy active protection systems, making them among the most survivable tanks fielded by any NATO nation. Two of the 54 Leopard 2A8 NO tanks Norway has ordered from German […]View the full article

Chinese state television has aired footage of a new armored troop transport vehicle conducting high-altitude driving exercises on the Tibetan Plateau, offering the clearest public look yet at what appears to be a purpose-built solution to one of the People’s Liberation Army’s most persistent logistical problems: how to move infantry safely across one of the […]View the full article

A Maryland company wants to build something nobody’s ever actually flown: a working gas station in orbit, and the Department of War is now paying for it. Quantum Space announced a contract through the Pentagon’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to demonstrate a fuel depot spacecraft, built on its Ranger platform, that can refuel other […]View the full article

Norwegian defense and technology group Kongsberg posted a second quarter that outpaced its own recent growth trajectory by a wide margin, with revenue climbing 31 percent to NOK 10,389 million (roughly $1.06 billion) and operating profit jumping nearly 50 percent to NOK 1,669 million (about $171 million), as demand for its missile systems and layered […]View the full article

I am of the last cohort of military officers who grew up training for nuclear war expected at any moment. By the time I had been on this planet less than 25 years, I was cleared, if ordered, to deliver nuclear weapons—so were thousands of us. From frigates to submarines to helicopters, pointy nosed jets and prop engined patrol aircraft—our Navy was thick with nuclear weapons. As a junior officer, it was just another PQS book, another exercise, another inspection, another qualification. No big deal. Well, it was a big deal. I saw a grown man cry over an inspection as a JO. In hindsight, it was actually kind of amazing how we just lived with those things on a hair-trigger …