Raw Intel

Turkish Aerospace’s Aksungur long-endurance drone has completed its mission with Aselsan’s aselBUOY 100P underwater acoustic listening system during the Turkish Naval Forces’ TURNAs-2026 unmanned maritime systems exercise, the company announced on X on Oct. 24, adding a new capability to the drone’s set of maritime missions. “With this integration, which offers an important capability for […]View the full article

CH-53K concept (click to view full) The U.S. Marines have a problem. They rely on their CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships. But the helicopters are wearing out. Fast. The pace demanded by the Global War on Terror is relentless, and usage rates are 3 times normal. Attrition is taking its toll. Over the past few years, CH-53s have been recalled from “boneyard” storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, in order to maintain fleet numbers in the face of recent losses and forced retirements. Now, there are no flyable spares left. Enter the Heavy Lift Replacement (HLR) program, now known as the CH-53…

Americas Rolls-Royce won a $97 million delivery order for C-130J propulsion long-term sustainment. This order provides funding for Option IV. The Lockheed Martin C-130 is the US Air Force’s principal tactical cargo and personnel transport aircraft. The C-130J Hercules is the latest model, featuring a glass cockpit, digital avionics and a new propulsion system with a six-bladed propeller. Work will take place in Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and is expected to be completed on January 31, 2022. Northrop Grumman Systems won a $7.8 million task order under the ground subsystems sustainment contract for the Minuteman III Launch Control Center Block Upgrade production for th…

Americas With a backorder for 128 jets, the Lockheed Martin F-16 could be flying in 2070s, Air Force Magazine reports. The last aircraft in this order is not expected to be delivered until 2026, with a service of more than 40 years, this last aircraft could be flying well into 2070. To be manufactured at Greenville, South Carolina, these aircraft are destined for Bahrain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Taiwan and an unnamed customer. These customers have indicated they are keen to follow on with new orders. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is the first to deploy the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System from the East Coast, a Marines statement said. The amphibious attack unit, re…

It was just another hot, process filled day for a mid-grade LCDR in Bahrain when the brief flush of the post-Cold War peace ended and the world we know today was rebuilt from the rubble. I would not have expected thing to be where they are today, 20-yrs later. For the first few months in theater before I returned home to a very different America, we were focused on what a more direct culture would call a "punitive expedition" - not what it became. In late 2001 and through 2002, we could see what was forming in DC, Brussels, think tanks, and faculty lounges in The West that became the complete disaster of pet theories and projects thrown on to the backs of the dead in New …

Americas The 40th Flight Test Squadron had the rare opportunity to fly five different types of aircraft assigned to the unit all together for one time on January 31. The F-15EX, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, and A-10 were all at Eglin Air Force Base for testing of upgraded systems. The formation represented for the first and last time, all five fighters in the 96th Test Wing inventory. Speaking at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on March 14, the US Pacific Air Forces commander said new weapon systems such as the F-15EX are required in order to prepare for Indo-Pacific conflict. Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said the aging F-15C, now based in Japan, needs to be replaced wi…

It is a beautiful place today when you drive by it, but then you notice a curious red dragon facing a wood. The Welsh soldiers were just seven months out of training when they entered into combat at Mametz Wood. Many had never fired a round in combat, and used broomsticks rather than rifles at drill practice. In sharp contrast they faced the elite Lehr Regiment of Prussian Guards - highly-trained professional soldiers who were deeply entrenched in the dense woods. Their trenches were dug into chalk and thick wire stretched through the battleground, while the wood was heavily fortified with machine guns.As part of the Battle of the Somme was the Battle of Mametz Wood; Ma…

With all its inefficiencies, bloat, and error; with all its problematic revolving door issues between government/military and civilian sectors – there is no greater existential requirement for a mature nation than to have its own military-industrial sector. In peace it is easy to forget that in times of war – times that will always come with our warlike species – the vanities of peace can soon become a bleeding ulcer at war. While small nations simply cannot sustain the full spectrum of military equipment due to overhead and development costs, medium to large nations have options. You may on occasion have to partner with friendly nations, but what strings come with those …

If you don’t wake up every morning cursing those responsible for defense and China policy in the 1990s … the gobsmackingly short sighted arrogance of it all – then what use are you, actually? With a few exceptions, from partially completed CV rusting in Ukraine to teaching the Communist Chinese how to MIRV ICBM warheads, to opening up our best research institutions to spies an assets, the USA was beset internally by unserious people with the attention span of a hamster and the historical perspective of a newborn in serious jobs requiring long-term thinking and decision making. The harvest of this decade of frivolity continue to ripen, and via Jeremy Bogaisky, at Forbes – …

Americas Oasis Systems won a $19 million deal for Sea Hunter and Seahawk operations and sustainment. This award includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this delivery order to $37,435,818. Work will be performed in San Diego, California; Ventura, California; Rockville, Maryland; Burlington, Massachusetts; and various locations across the US. Work […]View the full article

American and South Korean troops carried out counter-drone training at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, on August 20, 2025, as part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. The training, conducted by the ROK-U.S. Combined Division’s 652nd Air Defense unit in coordination with the U.S. Army’s 5-17 Air Cavalry Squadron, focused on detecting and suppressing hostile […] The post U.S. and South Korean forces train to counter drone threats first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine’s new Inguar-3 armored vehicle has entered service with the National Guard and already faced a battlefield test, surviving a direct strike from an FPV drone. Video circulated on social media showed the vehicle continuing its mission after the attack, with the crew unharmed. Reports said the drone impact caused a fire at the point […] The post Ukrainian Inguar-3 survives FPV drone hit first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Aerospace giant Boeing has been awarded a series of multiyear contracts valued at approximately $2.7 billion to manufacture more than 3,000 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) seekers through 2030, the company announced. The seekers are built by Boeing for Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the PAC-3 interceptor, and play a central role in enabling the […] The post Boeing boosts PAC-3 production in $2.7B deal first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Navy’s last Independence-variant littoral combat ship has reached Florida ahead of its commissioning ceremony next week. According to the Navy, USS Pierre (LCS 38) arrived in Panama City, Florida, as preparations continue for its formal entry into the fleet on November 15. Pierre is the nineteenth and final Independence-variant LCS constructed for the […]View the full article

Chinese military pressure around Taiwan intensified again this week after a People’s Liberation Army Navy warship used politically charged language during a radio exchange with a Taiwanese aircraft, prompting a firm response from Taiwan’s Air Force and drawing widespread attention online. According to reporting by Taiwanese media and recordings shared by the long-running military monitoring […]View the full article

United States Air Force personnel released a photo of an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 431st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron on January 13, showing the aircraft positioned inside a shelter at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea. The Air Force said the squadron’s presence reinforces U.S. commitment to security on the Korean Peninsula and provides a […]View the full article

U.S.-based iRocket announced the successful completion of a test flight of its iRX-100 missile integrated with a launcher supplied by Arnold Defense, confirming the system’s compatibility and operational performance. The company said the missile reached Mach 2 and traveled approximately six kilometers during the demonstration, validating its use with Arnold Defense’s launcher platform. According to […]View the full article

The 75th U.S. Army Reserve Innovation Command has completed a structured research effort aimed at shaping the next version of the Army’s robotic load-carrying vehicle, gathering feedback from soldiers across all three Army components to inform requirements for the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport Increment 2. The study was led by Lt. Col. Vikram Mittal and […]View the full article

The U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll visited U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach in Germany on April 30, where commanders from the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and 12th Combat Aviation Brigade briefed him on counter-unmanned aerial systems tested and implemented over the past year, and among the systems on display was the Merops AS-3 Surveyor counter-drone […]View the full article

An Israeli satellite company announced on May 26 that its RUNNER satellite can now detect and track moving objects from orbit around the clock, including at night, a capability the company describes as the first of its kind in persistent space-based surveillance. ImageSat International said the new capability uses onboard artificial intelligence to autonomously detect, […]View the full article