Raw Intel

Y Combinator-backed startup IMPACT Drones says it built a working prototype of its high-speed interceptor drone, called SABLE, in two weeks, according to posts by the company’s two co-founders on social media. Jasper Lortije, whom the company lists as CEO, and Alessandro Fiume, listed as founder, both posted about the prototype this week. IMPACT Drones […]View the full article

Americas General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. won a $2.4 million contract modification to exercise an option for the construction of one Block V Virginia Class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. Electric Boat Corp. will continue to subcontract with Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding. The Virginia-class is a nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack submarines (NSSN New SSN), currently in service in the United States Navy. Designed by General Dynamics’s Electric Boat (EB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries. The US Navy has been procuring Virginia (SSN-774) class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) since FY1998, and a total of 34 have been p…

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) along with Congressmen Jim Banks (R-IN), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) commissioned a study by Lieutenant General Robert E. Schmidle, USMC, Ret. and Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, USN, Ret. on a series of issues familiar to regulars here and on Midrats. It was released on Monday and at only 22 pages is an easy read, the aptly titled, "A Report on the Culture of the United States Navy Surface Fleet" is a compact summary you should take time to read in full. What does it use as the basis for its review? 77 unique and formal interviews were conducted with Navy personnel via an extensive hour-long process to establish a common c…

Americas Northrop Grumman Aerospace won a $298.2 million contract modification to repair common unmanned aircraft system components for the US Air Force. The deal provides for repair services for “common items” for both the RQ-4B and MQ-4C Triton. It will support reparable National Stock Numbers (NSNs) which encompass the Air Vehicle, multiple sensor packages, Mission Control Element, and Launch and Recovery Element. In addition, this effort includes support engineering services covered under the engineering delegation authority for NSNs transferred to and under the management of the 407 Supply Chain Management Squadron. Work will take place in California, Utah, Virginia,…

It is amazing what you can find just out there in the open for all to see. In case you missed last week's Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, you should take some time to read it. If you're running short on time, just check out Appendix D. Read the very last bit. The fact that in 2022 this needs to be said ... but it does. Scathing indictment. Just scathing. h/t Charlie B. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=IahDEOUEGho:lyLl9JFFBkE:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=IahD…

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $15.5 million delivery order for overhaul of power amplifier modules in support of the E-2D aircraft. All work will be completed by September 2025 with no option periods. Work will be performed in Woodland Hills, California; and Liverpool, New York. Annual working capital funds (Navy) in the full amount will […]View the full article

B-52H: flyin’ low, dyin’ slow… (click to view full) Officially, it’s the B-52H Stratofortress. Unofficially, it’s the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F–cker). Either way, this subsonic heavy bomber remains the mainstay of the U.S. strategic fleet after more than 50 years of service. A total of 102 B-52H bombers were delivered from FY 1961-1963, and […]View the full article

Americas Raytheon won a $10 million order, which provides for sustainment of delivered block fleet releases, as well as ongoing development of flight test and fleet releases and analysis in support of implementation of future sustainment block fleet releases for the V-22 avionics systems for the Navy, Marines, and Air Force. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed in March 2026. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon won a $26 million modification to exercise options for engineering and technical support for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile and NATO SeaSparrow Missile Systems progra…

Americas Canada has opened a rebuilt pier at its Esquimalt naval base in British Columbia. This project cost 1.1 billion Canadian dollars and is part of a larger plan to upgrade the harbor. The new pier will be able to handle the Royal Canadian Navy’s new ships, like the Joint Support Ships and Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, which are being built as part of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. This upgrade will allow the base to support these larger, modern vessels. GM Defense has been awarded a $44.8 million contract to provide its Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISV) to the US Army. The exact number of vehicles to be supplied hasn’t been specified, and work locations…

The U.S. Army has awarded Dynetics Inc., based in Huntsville, Alabama, a new $264.6 million contract to advance its Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) weapon system, which is designed to counter a growing range of aerial threats including drones, cruise missiles, and rocket attacks on U.S. and allied infrastructure. According to a release from the […] The post US Army awards Dynetics new contract for IFPC air defense system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea of AGM-65G2 Maverick laser-guided missiles and associated support valued at approximately $34 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on October 1. Under the proposed deal, South Korea has requested 44 AGM-65G2 air-to-surface missiles along with U.S. government […] The post U.S. approves Maverick missile sale to South Korea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ram Professional has announced a new collaboration with Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel to build an updated variant of the Senator armored vehicle using the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab platform. In a statement, the company said, “With the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab’s outstanding payload capacity and exceptional durability, it’s no wonder the military defense vehicle company, […]View the full article

Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi defended the planned deployment of surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni Island, calling the move a protective measure aimed solely at strengthening the country’s air defense posture. His remarks came after Beijing accused Tokyo of escalating regional tensions. Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Defense, Koizumi said the missiles […]View the full article

The United Kingdom and Germany have signed a £52 million ($70 million) contract to jointly procure a new mobile artillery system capable of firing while on the move, the two governments confirmed this week. Under the agreement, the UK will receive one Early Capability Demonstrator (ECD) of the RCH 155 artillery system, while Germany will […]View the full article

SummaryIn this episode, Sal discusses the evolving landscape of national security, focusing on the significant changes in global dynamics over the past year. He examines the roles of major players like China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, as well as the emerging trends in South America and India’s strategic position. Sal emphasizes the importance of unde… Read more View the full article

SYOS Aerospace, a developer of autonomous uncrewed systems operating across multiple markets from the United Kingdom to Ukraine, says customer and end user experience gathered in demanding environments is shaping the evolution of its aerial, ground, and maritime platforms as global demand for autonomous capability grows. The company shared with us its vision for the […]View the full article

Spain’s Indra Group and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace on March 24 signed a binding agreement in Madrid to jointly develop new tracked self-propelled artillery systems for the Spanish Armed Forces, the companies said. The agreement focuses on building a new family of land platforms based on Hanwha’s K9 artillery system with integrated Spanish technologies. The […]View the full article

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll publicly acknowledged before Congress that the American military is actively adopting lessons from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, calling Ukraine’s wartime innovations a fundamental transformation of how humans engage in armed conflict. Driscoll made the remarks during a congressional hearing, speaking directly to Ukraine’s battlefield performance since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. […]View the full article

BZ to the folks who decided not to release it the Friday before Mother’s Day Weekend. Yesterday, Acting SECNAV Cao released the U.S. Navy’s Shipbuilding Plan. Let’s dive in, but first, the usual caveats we’ve used over the last couple of decades when reviewing such items. Ignore the out years. They are notoriously inaccurate in both numbers and type. Focus on what you see four years from the year it is issued. The next four years, meh. Beyond that…don’t bet your lunch money on it. There’s a LOT here to dive into. You need to read it all. I’m just going to hit the bright, shiny objects. I would argue that one of the more valuable things, if you are trying to get your min…

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, published a solicitation on June 5, launching a new program called ExPEDitions, short for Expeditionary Power- and Energy-Dense Implementations, to develop rechargeable batteries capable of delivering five to ten times the energy density of current technology for use in drones, ground vehicles, and other military equipment. […]View the full article