Raw Intel

GBU-12 Paveway II Paveway II kits convert standard Mk 80 family free-fall bombs into laser-guided weapons. Each guidance kit consists of a computer control group (CCG) guidance system with a semi-active laser seeker and pneumatically-controlled guidance canards for the front-end of the bomb, plus an air foil group (AFG) on the back end that provides lift and stability. Once a target is designated, laser guidance is more accurate than GPS, but it can be foiled by obscurants like fog, sandstorms, etc. At the beginning of August 2011, the US government issued a contract worth up to $475 million… “Paveway” is actually a US government designation for laser-guided bombs, b…

Americas Four B-1B bombers left Texas this week, arriving in Guam for Bomber Task Force training missions with allied partners, the US Air Force announced. On the way, the bombers integrated with 16 F-15 and two F-2 planes of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force for training over the Sea of Japan, the Air Force said. They also conducted a training exercise with the amphibious assault ship USS America in the western Pacific Ocean. The visit to Guam comes after the Air Force adjusted its force employment model, enabling strategic bombers like to B-1B to be forward deployed in the Indo-Pacific region from a broader array of worldwide locations. The first AC-130W gunship to reco…

Latest updates: 3rd squadron stands up in the south. Indian Heron UAV (click to view larger) In November 2005, media reports claimed that India was set to purchase some 50 Heron MALE (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) UAVs from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) in a deal worth $220 million. They would be put to use carrying out reconnaissance missions on India’s mountainous borders with China and Pakistan, and along India’s long coastal waters. India was said to have been close to sealing the deal in 2004, but it was postponed due to the change in governments in New Delhi. The Heron’s performance during the December 2004 tsunami apparently clinched the deal. Its perfo…

Are you numb when it comes to news of the maritime power growing on the other side of the Pacific? I hope not, but if you are the numbers are such that it should burn through to what few nerves you have left. We have been at this here for what; Long Game is this ... #90 (and that isn't even the number of China posts we've done over the years) a decade and a half or so? Well, no rest folks. We are well inside the quickening. Don't avert your eyes from the numbers. Let them soak in. Hoist them aboard. Ponder. Plan. Prepare. I'll let our friend The Other Sal warm things up for you; China’s new shipbuilding orders up 182.1% in first four months "China’s newly r…

Americas The US Air Force is proceeding to install the AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) on several F-16s for flight testing. Northrop Grumman was selected last year to deploy a new electronic warfare suite for the F-16. The new contract, awarded on Mar. 10, will allow the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD), Developmental Test/Operational Test (DT/OT), and Operational Assessment (OA) phases to be carried out in early 2023. The US Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Boeing recently completed a critical design review for the Protected Tactical SATCOM Prototype (PTS-P). PTS-P features an on-board processor of the US military…

Americas L3 Technologies won a $20.7 million deal for the Manned/Unmanned Teaming hardware and technical and engineering support for the Apache attack helicopter. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. The US Air Force carried out its first test of the rappelling system on the new MH-139A helicopter on October 6. During the mission, special operators successfully rappelled out of a hovering MH-139A at Eglin Air Force Base. Middle East & Africa Israel’s Elbit Systems announced that that it was awarded a contract valued at approximately $25 million from the Finnish Ministry of Defense to supply radio communications systems to the Finnish Army. The con…

Housekeeping Note: As I mentioned earlier this month, as our British friends might say, this "blogspot" hosted part of the blog is "going in ordinary." The archived posts here back to the beginning in 2004 will remain, but all new posts will be going over to CDR Salamander on Substack. The reasons are simply, really. Google owns blogspot and for some reason has decided to turn it in to a very creator-unfriendly environment. As noted in my earlier post, they are going through and marking all sorts of posts going back over a decade and new as "SPAM" or worse, "dangerous" or a variation of the usual etc. Most of it derives, I believe, from some automated system that looks…

Americas Raytheon won an $80.3 million modification, which adds scope to provide non-recurring tooling, equipment, and associated support required to increase the annual AIM-9X missile production capacity for the Navy. Work will be performed in St. Albans, Vermont; Simsbury, Connecticut; Keyser, West Virginia; Tucson, Arizona; Murrieta, California; St. Petersburg, Florida; Midland, Ontario, Canada; Anniston, Alabama […]View the full article

Americas The dream of equipping the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship with a high-energy laser weapon system has come to an end. The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has officially shelved its Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL) program due to “technical challenges” encountered during integration and ground testing. The AHEL program aimed to provide a […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $21 million contract for in-Service AEGIS combat system baseline sustainment, Baseline 10 System Integration and Fielding, and product documentation. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2024. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington DC, is the contracting activity. The US will receive a weapon next year designed to jam Chinese and Russian satellites in the early stages of a potential conflict, the US Air Force told Bloomberg. The technology — a L3Harris-developed electronic warfare system called “Meadowlands” — was originally scheduled for delivery in 2022. Meadowlands can jam transm…

The U.S. Department of Defense has deployed advanced optic and surveillance systems along the rugged U.S.–Mexico border to improve detection and monitoring in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Ground-Based Operational Surveillance System–Expeditionary (GBOSS-E), the Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3), and the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) are now being […] The post Pentagon deploys high-tech optics to U.S.-Mexico border first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine has released footage of its F-16 fighter jets in combat, marking the new demonstration of their operational use against Russian missile and drone attacks. The Ukrainian Air Force said the aircraft played a decisive role in intercepting cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles during a large-scale Russian strike on September 20. According to the […] The post Ukraine shows F-16s in combat footage first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin an Integrated Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) 2nd Interceptor project agreement to advance the service’s layered air and missile defense network. According to Lockheed Martin, the program will provide an integrated air and missile defense solution to bridge the operational gap between short-range air defense systems and the Patriot […] The post U.S. Army taps Lockheed for new air defense interceptor first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A new United States authorization could further strengthen air-defense cooperation with a key NATO ally. On November 12, the State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Denmark involving AIM-9X Block II tactical missiles and related equipment, with an estimated value of $318.4 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has delivered the required certification […]View the full article

Taiwan’s domestically built Hai Kun submarine experienced a serious hydraulic system failure during sea trials, temporarily leaving the vessel without powered control of its X-shaped stern rudder and forcing sailors to rely on manual steering to avoid an accident, according to an exclusive report by Mirror Media. The incident occurred during the submarine’s second sea […]View the full article

United States Army soldiers conducted HIMARS training with the Lithuanian Armed Forces on January 13 at the General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area in Pabrade, Lithuania, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen NATO’s long-range precision-fire capabilities along the eastern flank. The exercise involved crews from Task Force Pergale, Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery […]View the full article

I like to bring back old FbF from the OB Blog—I’ve been doing them for over two decades…there are a lot—for the thousands of new subscribers (nothumble brag) who have not seen them. As one of the kids and I just finished all three Lord of the Rings movies in the extended director’s cut, I remembered that I did an FbF a dozen years ago about Christopher Lee (who played Saruman). I know there is some controversy about what he did or did not do. All that being said, what was verified was quite enough to deserve an FbF. Of the many reasons I left blogspot for Substack is that google owns blogspot, and at the height of wokeness, they started hiding or putting some of my post…

REGENT Craft announced on March 11 that it has begun its 2026 sea trial campaign for the Viceroy Seaglider prototype and the autonomous Squire Seaglider drone at the company’s headquarters in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The testing program is part of an effort to validate a new category of high-speed maritime vehicles designed for both […]View the full article

The U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground opened its range in March for a week-long demonstration of advanced airdrop and parachute systems, drawing more than 300 participants from the United States and 11 partner nations to Arizona. Hosted by the Yuma Test Center, the event put the Army’s latest air delivery technologies on display, including powered […]View the full article

An Australian-built submarine drone just crossed the Pacific. C2 Robotics commissioned and christened its Speartooth Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle in a formal ceremony marking the first delivery of the platform to the United States. Rather than the traditional bottle of champagne swung by a dignitary, Speartooth was christened by a robotic arm — with a […]View the full article