Raw Intel

Want to take a break from the Second Russo-Ukrainian War? Good, so do I. As we (well at least I) impatiently wait for the USS Constellation (FFG 62) and her sisters to start displacing water, it is interesting to see the design decisions other nations have made to meet their frigate requirements. As our new FFG will be the USN version of the French and Italian FREMM, it is natural to compare it to other European designs, but what about our friends in the Pacific? What are the South Koreans building? Let's take a quick side-by-side look at their Daegu-class frigate presently under serial production. Of course, different nations have different requirements, and you can s…

Usually things flow from here to twitter, but now and then I pop something off that - knowing that not everyone who reads CDRSalamander is on twitter - deserves to flow the other way. As a Navy guy who spent almost half a decade doing an Army guy's job as an operational planner, a few ideas popped in to my head this AM about "what next" in Ukraine. Generally I'm not a fan of winter offensives, but when they work - they work. I am even more not a fan of wasting momentum when your larger enemy is on the back foot. So, three Courses of Action for you to consider ... with absolutely no Commander's Intent or Higher Direction and Guidance ... but when has that ever stopped a co…

Americas The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $439-million contract to produce and deliver the Joint-Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) and Hellfire missile. Lockheed will produce the missiles for the army and Australia, the Czech Republic, France, South Korea, and Thailand. The contract offers three additional follow-on awards of up to $4.5 billion over the next four […]View the full article

Americas Reason Building Group won a $10.3 million deal for constructing the interim building for the F-35. This contract provides for the purchase and construction of a temporary facility to house the F-35 Partner Support Complex Exchange Reprogramming Laboratory Office to support F-35 mission data development and verification for Japan, South Korea, Israel, Belgium, and […]View the full article

Americas General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $561 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Gray Eagle technical services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 28, 2029. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. General […]View the full article

Americas BAE Systems won a $122 million deal for systems engineering and integration support services and special studies in support of the US Trident II (D5) Strategic Weapon System Program and D5 Life Extension 2 Strategic Systems Programs Alteration. Tasks to be performed include systems engineering and integration, test engineering, data analysis, and safety engineering. Work is expected to be completed September 30, 2027. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. The US Navy has contracted Leonardo DRS to produce, inspect, and test ship-based air and surface target detection AN/SPQ-9B radars. The potential five-year contract could amou…

Americas The US Army has experienced a setback in increasing its artillery munition production by October. In early 2024, the army set monthly targets of 60,000 rounds by October of that year, 75,000 by April 2025, and 100,000 by October 2025, but it currently has a monthly output of around 40,000 rounds. Although it is nearly triple the 14,500 monthly rate before Russia’s “military operation” in Ukraine in 2022, production remains below the pace needed to meet the goal of over a million 155-millimeter howitzer shells next year. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has introduced a new drone designed to back up MQ-9B operations, handling high-risk tasks lik…

A Chinese company has begun producing mobile replicas of the U.S.-made HIMARS rocket artillery system, offering the mockups for training and limited export. Videos shared on Chinese social media platforms show a private firm demonstrating moving versions of the system, designed to resemble the American launchers. According to the company, the replicas are being produced […] The post Chinese firm builds HIMARS replicas first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

As the Trump administration prepares to release its first National Defense Strategy (NDS), debate in Washington is sharpening over the role of nuclear weapons in America’s alliances, particularly in Asia. Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at the think tank Defense Priorities, said that while U.S. troop levels in South Korea […] The post South Korea nuclear option enters U.S. debate first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

China has unveiled a concept model for what is described as the world’s largest unmanned cargo drone at the 7th China Helicopter Exposition in Tianjin. The heavy-lift drone, referred to as the Ibis Shadow 60, is based on the airframe of the Shaanxi Y-9 military transport aircraft and features a take-off weight exceeding 60 tons. […] The post China unveils 60-ton unmanned cargo aircraft concept first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Carson Industries Inc. has been awarded a five-year, $31.5 million contract to perform single battery compartment installations for the AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision Device (MNVD). The award was announced by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Weapons Support office at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. The contract is structured as an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) agreement, with an ordering […]View the full article

The Royal Thai Army has recovered a BTR-3E1 armored personnel carrier that became immobilized during recent operations near the Thai-Cambodian border, countering earlier claims circulated by Cambodian sources that the vehicle had been seized. According to Thai military officials, the incident occurred on December 12 during operations in the Ta Phraya district of Sa Kaeo […]View the full article

The Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed that a Russian Navy Vishnya-class intelligence collection ship entered the contiguous zones around Yonaguni Island and Miyako Island between January 13 and January 15 before sailing into the Pacific Ocean. According to the Joint Staff Office, the vessel—hull number 535—was detected moving northeast through the Yonaguni Island contiguous zone […]View the full article

The United States Marine Corps has awarded Kodiak AI a contract to support development of autonomous military ground vehicles by integrating its AI-powered driving system into the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) platform, according to the monitoring group Counter Unmanned Systems. Counter Unmanned Systems reported that Kodiak will integrate its dual-use autonomous […]View the full article

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Ursa Major conducted a flight of the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator (ARMD), achieving supersonic speeds and demonstrating operational concepts for the missile powered by the Draper liquid rocket engine. The test flight was carried out as part of a program focused on developing rapidly deployable and lower-cost missile […]View the full article

A giant Russian robotic system known as “Chelnok” has been spotted on the battlefield, where it appears to be supporting logistics operations in dangerous sections of the front line. The new version of a large drone was spotted on the Kharkiv direction. The sighting is notable because the Chelnok first drew public attention in 2024 […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy is upgrading the communications suite on the E-6B Mercury, an airborne nuclear relay aircraft, even as the service moves forward with the E-130J Phoenix II, the platform eventually set to replace it. Naval Air Systems Command published a presolicitation notice on May 1, 2026, announcing its intent to award a sole-source delivery […]View the full article

Every cruise missile, every fighter jet, every missile defense interceptor, and every military helicopter flying today depends on a class of magnets so powerful and so small that the weapons systems built around them would be unrecognizable without them. For most of the past two decades, almost all of those magnets came from China. Two […]View the full article

A mystery military aircraft draped entirely in white fabric was spotted at Japan’s Gifu Air Base on June 18, 2026, triggering immediate speculation across defense-focused social media about what the shrouded airframe might be and why it was being kept hidden in plain sight on an active flight line. The sighting was first posted by […]View the full article

The next major shift in military technology might not look like a stealth fighter or a hypersonic missile. It could look like a laboratory full of scientists trying to control particles so small and so strange that they can exist in two states at once, and the U.S. Air Force just paid one of its […]View the full article