Raw Intel

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

Soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) set up and operated the AEVEX Atlas precision-guided drone system at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC ) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, on April 5, 2026 — the first time the Atlas system has been integrated into training at JRTC, according to the U.S. Army. JRTC […]View the full article

The German Bundeswehr successfully tested AI-enabled drone swarms last week, with European defense technology company STARK demonstrating its loitering munition and command and control software in a live exercise that integrated reconnaissance and strike capabilities into a single operational sequence. STARK participated in the trials with its Virtus loitering munition and Minerva command and control […]View the full article

The Javelin Joint Venture delivered the first Lightweight Command Launch Units to the U.S. Army, putting a next-generation launcher into soldiers’ hands that offers twice the target detection and recognition range of the unit it replaces while cutting weight by 25 percent and size by 30 percent. The delivery, announced from Tucson, Arizona where Raytheon […]View the full article

A Czech jet trainer that traces its lineage back to the Cold War just broke into two new continents in the same week, and the company behind it says its factory floor is now booked solid into 2027. AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE signed two new contracts for its L-39 Skyfox aircraft, one with a customer in […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has asked American rocket companies for their best ideas on an engine that could let a single missile take off like a rocket, cruise like a jet, and skip the giant fuel tanks that usually make that kind of flexibility impossible. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket and Space Propulsion Division, […]View the full article

Two of America’s biggest defense manufacturers teamed up to solve a problem that has quietly threatened to undercut the Pentagon’s entire hypersonic weapons push, the country’s struggle to actually build these weapons fast enough once the engineering work is done. Lockheed Martin and Albany Engineered Composites, a segment of Albany International Corp., announced a teaming […]View the full article

Four defense-tech companies integrated an AI-enabled sensor, an unmanned helicopter, Ukrainian-made interceptor drones and tactical radios into a single counter-drone system, then tested it at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, during a Pentagon exercise called Falcon Peak 26.2. DataShapes AI, Evolved Aerospace, General Cherry and Persistent Systems built the combined system in about three […]View the full article

Epirus has plugged its Leonidas high-power microwave drone killer into a wider U.S. Army command-and-control network during Operation Jailbreak Falcon Fury, an Army effort to make counter-drone sensors, weapons and software from different makers work together. The California company said on X that it joined the event to show how Leonidas can link sensors and […]View the full article

Red Cat Holdings’ maritime division, Blue Ops, has opened orders for two new uncrewed surface vessels, an 18-foot boat built for reconnaissance and one-way attack missions and a 39-foot vessel already in low-rate production, as part of a new B-Series lineup named after each boat’s length. The company announced the family on Oct. 22, 2026. […]View the full article

E-4B NAOC (click to view full) In December 2005, the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a contract as Product Support Integrator (PSI) for the USAF’s E-4 National Airborne Operations Center fleet. These 4 modified 747-200s were introduced in 1974, and serve as complete flying command posts for national and military authorities. As one might imagine, they are hardened to resist the side-effects of nuclear attack, such as electro-magnetic pulse effects. The 2005 contract was a 5-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract vehicle, with one 5-year option and a $2 billion cost cap. That’s a lot of money for a small fleet, but the E-4’s plays a military and civil role…

Americas Boeing won a $7.6 million contract modification for integration of the legacy strap pack assembly for remanufactured AH-64E aircraft. The AH-64 Apache is a twin-engine, four bladed, multi-mission attack helicopter designed as a highly stable aerial weapons-delivery platform. The AH-64E features improved digital connectivity, the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, more powerful T700-GE-701D engines with upgraded face gear transmission to accommodate more power, capability to control UAVs, full IFR capability, and improved landing gear. Work will take place in Mesa, Arizona. Estimated completion date is January 31, 2024. An exoskeleton, worn by US Air…

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won an $11.9 million contract modification, which provides non-recurring engineering to include investigations, systems engineering support, risk analysis and integration development in support of the CH-53K Data Transfer Unit and Defensive Electronic Countermeasure System Replacement Phase III, to replace existing subsystems within the CH-53K production aircraft. The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. Work will take place in Maryland, Connecticut, Iowa, Texas and Vermont. Expected completion date is in June 2024. Honeywell International won a $9.4 million order for the procurement of the emb…

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $17 million modification, which adds scope to provide for the production, delivery, and installation of Link 16 Crypto-Modernization/Hybrid Beyond Line of Sight capabilities on 15 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is the newest variant of the E-2 aircraft platform. It features a state-of-the-art radar with a two-generation leap in capability and upgraded aircraft systems that will improve supportability and increase readiness. Work will take place in Florida, Virginia, Illinois, California and New York. Estimated completion date is May 2023. The US Air Force, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps will have an a…

There are many fine traditions in the naval service, especially in the Anglosphere. One of the best was summarized by Admiral Nelson, RN. When in doubt, attack. That bias for action in the face of a threat is an admirable trait, especially when contrasted with a more common human reaction – to freeze. As we have evolved as a species, other reactions developed past these Upper-Paleolithic instincts of Homo Sapiens. Indeed, in the modern evolution of Homo Bureaucraticus, scapegoating and blame-shifting, have sadly become more common through natural selection. In Ottomanesque bureaucracies, game recognizes game, and such responses are rewarded and passed along generation af…

The big navalist news over the weekend was unquestionably what appears to be a successful attack on the Russian Navy at Sevastopol by remotely piloted surface craft by the Ukrainians. Some reports call them "drones" or other such descriptors, but really they appear to be an upscaled militarized remotely piloted surface vessel on a one way trip. There is a lot of expected hyperbole about the attack, and that is what I wanted to address today. I am concerned that the overhype by the ignorant, click hunting, or agenda driven people in the public space will cause us to miss the most important lesson here. This attack was not historically significant in a larger sense, no more…

Remarks by Commander Salamander before the Congressional Research Service, Defense Breakfast Seminar, Wednesday, 22 March 2023 I appreciate the opportunity to discuss some of my views on current topics affecting our defense posture and the future of our country. The views I will express are my own from my perspective after 35 years as a naval officer, defense journalist, and student of history. I will not dwell on the specifics of the broad breadth of topics I’ve written on because they are available for anyone with access to a computer. I would like to share with you thoughts on the importance on one topic I’ve been writing about since 2004; the People’s Republic of Chin…

Americas Raytheon won a $48.8 million deal for the repair of 10 forward-looking infrared components in support of the V-22 and CH-53 helicopters. This contract includes a five-year base period with no options. Work will take place in McKinney, Texas (40%); El Segundo, California (30%); Jacksonville, Florida (15%); and Goleta, California (15%). Work is expected […]View the full article

Americas The State Department has approved Canada’s request to gain access to the Mobile User Objective System service and procure associated logistics and program support services from the US government under a potential $138 million foreign military sales agreement. General Dynamics will serve as the principal contractor in the proposed FMS deal, which covers the provision of […]View the full article