Raw Intel

Türkiye’s defense electronics leader ASELSAN has introduced its new ground-based precision strike system, GÖKTAN, during the IDEF 2025 defense exhibition. The system is part of a broader suite of next-generation warfare technologies showcased by the company, aimed at meeting the changing needs of modern armed forces operating across multiple domains. According to ASELSAN, GÖKTAN is […] The post ASELSAN unveils GOKTAN strike system at IDEF 2025 first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The French military announced a joint air surveillance operation over the Black Sea on July 24, conducted in close coordination with British and Belgian forces. The operation aimed to enhance regional stability and safeguard the security of Europe’s southeastern flank amid ongoing concerns about access to international airspace and maritime freedom. The surveillance mission, conducted […] The post France, UK, Belgium jets patrol Black Sea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Show LinksReforming the promotion system in DOD Australian Missile Canister Loading Equipment (MCLE) USNS Oscar V. Peterson (T‑AO 206) SummaryIn this episode of the Commander Salamander UNCLAS Read Board Podcast, the host discusses various topics related to national security, military developments, and the challenges faced by the Navy. Key themes include t… Read more View the full article

No, neither that pic above nor the one below is the F/A-XX, but it’s the closest we’ve got. However, let’s review the decades-long Salamander Requirements List we have set out for the next Navy tactical aircraft. All hail the return of the heavy fighter to the airwing: Range: It has to fight in the Pacific and engage other enemies from a distance. Payload: It must be able to carry at least a half-dozen AIM-174B Gunslinger, with a minimum of four of them internally. As the drone wars over Israel have proven its utility again, it must have an internal gun. Flexibility: Must perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions like the Super Hornet it will replace.. Two Engines:…

Neither rust nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sleep. They are determined, persistent, and keep the long-term view—especially when it comes to their neo-mercantilist drive to dominate global trade and the ports. Remember when early on in the Trump Administration it seemed that BlackRock was going to buy back some of the critical port infrastructure that the PRC grabbed hold of while the world was distracted and pockets got itchy? Well, don’t think all is taken care of. Via James T. Areddy, Daniel Kiss & Ming Li in last Saturday’s WSJ: When a Hong Kong conglomerate set plans this year to sell its global network of shipping ports to an American-led investment gro…

“The difference, of course, between the debate over the nature of thermonuclear war and previous such debates is that it remains hypothetical. And unless we want to bet everything on the optimist, that is what it will always be. For if we lost this bet, and the pessimist turned out to be right, a thermonuclear war will have destroyed the human race, and along with it things like discourse and memory. The debate would remain forever unresolved, because those pessimists proven right, along with those optimists proven wrong, would all be dead.” —Campbell Craig, Destroying the Village The Israeli-American attack on the Iranian has for now at least, brought the topic of the t…

On today’s Midrats, we have returning guest Craig Whiteside and his co-author Ian C. Rice joining us to discuss one of the nightmares we all have in the new book coming out this month. He co-authored it with Ian Rice, Non-state Special Operations: Capabilities and Effects. From the abstract: Building on previous research on Islamic State special operations, the book develops a theoretical framework surrounding a typology of VNSA (militants, proxies, criminal/cults, and mercenaries) to explore variations of non-state special operations, with multiple cases for each category of actor. Understanding when and why VNSA use special operations provides insights into the inner w…

When it comes to the A-1H Skyraider vs. MiG-17s, some are familiar with the story from 1966, but have you heard it first person right after it took place? This story, which I first covered back in 2009, is a classic and brings us back to a man we honored in another FbF last month: Lieutenant Pete Russell, USN. That’s him on the right in the picture above, with LTJg. Tom Patton, USN as they discuss the story below. LCDR Leo Cook and his wingman LTJG Wiley were the lead section of Skyraiders working to locate and hopefully rescue a downed US pilot in North Vietnam. While maneuvering at low altitude between ridges and cloud layers, they were jumped by what turned out to be t…

On Monday, the Congressional Research Service came out with its latest, Navy DDG(X) Next-Generation Destroyer Program: Background and Issues for Congress. This is worth your time, as we need to get this right. We have to get this right because we have yet to cut steel on a successfully designed surface warship since Ronaldus Magnus was CINC. The same organizations, processes—and in some cases people—that failed on DDG-1000, LCS, CG(X), and are doing their best to scupper FFG-62, are working on DDG(X), so keep a weather eye on the program. I’m trying to be an optimist, but concerns have been growing roots for years. Low-trust is well-deserved. At first read, I thought we …

It has taken a while, mostly because of the memories of their grandfathers, but after years of hard work by people you may never hear of, one of the most powerful, important, and natural alliances in the Pacific is growing closer together—that of Japan, Australia, and the U.S. Senior U.S., Australian and Japanese flag officers agreed today to further enhance logistics interoperability among their maritime forces. Their intent is to enable deeper maritime cooperation among the three nations, building upon their enduring commitment to stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. Official seal of the Department of the Navy. Note: 18 United States Code, Part 1, Chapter 47, Sec…

Few people in the maritime space have been thinking, writing, and speaking about counter-piracy more than our friend Claude Berube. As a matter of fact, we discussed just this topic in Episode 2 of the Midrats Podcast back in January of 2010. You can access the audio from the Episode, with the late, great Raymond Pritchard as one of the co-hosts, at this link. He was on a roll that year, the following month he was on a great panel at Heritage that, sadly, is no longer available on the internet. In 2012, my Midrats co-host wrote a nice article about a superb collection he co-edited, Maritime Private Security: Market responses to piracy, terrorism and waterborne security ri…

Take a deep breath, relax, focus, and we’ll get through this together. We don’t have to like what is in front of us, but we do have to accept that it is there. I try to be optimistic, but I’m also a realist. You have what you have, and you have to be an adult about what is placed in front of you. I told you a decade and a half ago, The Terrible 20s were coming. You can only hold back the flood for so long. Math is hard and does not have feelings. Don’t put too much stock in what is said. Look at what is being done. Though most NATO allies have agreed to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, absent a major war, it’s unlikely to happen except in a very few places like perhaps …

Take a break from the heat today to discuss some of the hidden history, and importance, of the Presidential retreat at Camp David with the author of the book, Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David, Charles Ferguson. You can listen at this link, or with the Spotify widget below. After graduating from Georgia Tech and earning his commission, Charles Ferguson served for 11 years in the Submarine force onboard the USS Louisville and as Weapons Officer onboard USS Buffalo with a shore duty at Nuclear Power School in between. He switched to the IRR as Chaplain Candidate while attending seminary at Duke Divinity School and was recommissioned as an Active Duty Chaplain …

Whenever you walk around base, you may not be aware that—should fate call them—you are passing holders of Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and other heroes. Sure, they don’t have it now, but should circumstances allow—their true character will be revealed. When you join the service, you have no idea what will find you in the course of your service, or when just another boring duty day turns into something immortal. In the horrible tragedy over the weekend in Texas, we saw an example of this in the person of USCG rescue swimmer, Petty Officer Third Class Scott Ruskan. Via USA Today’s Lori Comstock Ruskan, a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Oxford, New Jersey, is being credi…

OK, hold on…you might have suffered the same yawn that I did when reading news about our old girl NIXIE… U.S. Navy budget documentation released last week is adding a series of new capabilities to the current AN/SLQ-25 Nixie countermeasures suite, including a new hard-kill capability via deck launchers, set to be deployed to over 168 different front-line ships in coming years. …until you got to the second clause. I know some of you are thinking, “Oh, we can talk about hard kill now?” Then, in the next paragraph by Carter Johnson at Naval News, this sexy little creature wanders on stage, The hard-kill weapon, known as the Mk58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW), is expecte…

Show LinksCoast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan Modern Chinese Maritime Forces, 01JUL2025 Edition. Frontline states say “bye” to the Ottawa Convention on Mines. King's Navy: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897–1947 Heritage DataViz on US Fleet promises v. PLAN Execution MK-58 torpedo SummaryIn this episode, the host discusse… Read more View the full article

Oh, my love and forlorn desire has appeared before me once again to cause me to hope and to think of what might have been. Alas, as with many things you crave too much but never capture, over the years you feel cheated, heartbroken, and perhaps a little bitter…but still, you long for the promise always right out of reach. The railgun. Directly, I first wrote about it on the OG Blog almost fifteen years ago, and indirectly over fifteen years ago. Let’s visit when I addressed it directly: With the advances of technology, computers, and a better understanding of what it takes to destroy a missile in flight - in 15 years and utility and effectiveness of the missile as an offe…

Fourteen years since the announced “Pacific Pivot”, the last month we’ve been subjected to a very public debate about how much support for Ukraine in her war with Russia is impacting our ability to prepare for potential war with China in the Pacific. Though history prefers to throw a curveball more often than not, the one scenario that is seen as the most likely trigger for the next Great Pacific War is Taiwan. Should this war come—and if we prepare properly for it, it very well may not—are we ready to make any attempt to take Taiwan a debacle for People’s Republic of China (PRC) a debacle, or are we under-preparing to the degree that we will slouch our way into a long dr…

CALVIN COOLIDGE30th President of the United States: 1923 ‐ 1929 July 05, 1926 Fellow Countrymen: We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the 4th day of July. Whatever may have been the impression created by the news which went out from this ci…

I am sure that most navalists have had a moment or two in the last few months where they’ve wanted to shuffle down to the basement to get their ready sackcloth and ashes and roll in the doom. The news can lead you that way. Let’s check in with Paul Berger at WSJ; In the first major speech to Congress of his second term, President Trump vowed to resurrect American shipbuilding. Four months later, Trump’s ambitious plans to reverse decades of maritime-industry decline are sputtering. Are they? Maybe sputtering or trying to find their footing in the chaos. It’s the first few months of an administration dealing with a low-boil naval conflict in the Red Sea, year two of the wa…