Raw Intel

Airbus and Saab are in early talks to develop an unmanned combat aircraft, according to company executives who spoke with Reuters during a recent European defense industry event. The discussions reflect both the rising interest in drone systems and shifting alliances across Europe’s fragmented defense industry. The project would explore drone aircraft designed to support […]View the full article

The United States Navy has awarded Raytheon a $29 million contract modification to expand production tooling and test equipment for the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) program. According to contract details released by Naval Sea Systems Command, the award covers new supplier special tooling and special test equipment needed to increase output of the SM-6 All Up […]View the full article

Being that we know that the Constellation Class FFG is going to stop at just two ships and we’re waiting to see what the plans are for the “smaller than an Arleigh Burke Flight III” warship to displace water before the end of the decade, what other designs are close to displacing water that might be fun to argue about? The end of last week saw some speculation that we could just “grey hull” the Legend Class USCG cutter, AKA National Security Cutter. Well, I don’t know if that would look that good given recent news on Hull-11; The Department of Homeland Security cancelled the stalled production of a 11th Legend-class National Security Cutter for the Coast Guard, citing a y…

Those who follow me on X know that every couple of months I remind everyone that we are gleefully training those whose life’s work is to defeat this nation. If you have been to a major top-shelf university or research institution’s graduation ceremony in the last two decades, one thing that dramatically stands out is how many People’s Republic of China (PRC) nationals are receiving not just undergraduate degrees, but master’s degrees and PhDs in the most highly skilled STEM fields from biostatistics to quantum physics. From aerospace engineering to industrial design—PRC nationals are overrepresented to an outlandish degree. Don’t forget, these are the places basic researc…

Japan’s Board of Audit revealed in January 2026 that military equipment worth approximately 1.1 trillion yen ($6.9 billion) purchased from the United States under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program has not been delivered to the Japan Self-Defense Forces despite more than five years passing since contracts were signed. The finding is detailed in an […]View the full article

Germany’s national parliament has approved a procurement order for Dutch defense manufacturer Defenture to deliver 49 mobile battlefield platforms to the Bundeswehr’s Special Forces Command, known as Kommando Spezialkräfte, or KSK. The vehicles are scheduled to enter service starting in 2027, according to information released on December 18, 2025. The order covers two variants developed […]View the full article

I don’t know about you, but in the arch from Ukraine to Israel, the Red Sea, and Venezuela to the First Island Chain (OK, that is less of an arc than a Nike Swoosh), it is getting hard to keep up on the natsec front. It is fun, and exciting, to keep track of the flashing objects—it is real, you can see it, and it is what we are most comfortable with. If you are looking at the long-term, there are the things in the background, the machine inside the skin, that really matter. It has been a busy year, and the new Pentagon team—younger and more vigorous than its predecessor—is moving fast across a whole host of fronts when it comes not just to people, but process, organizatio…

Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed that Russian forces used a Zircon hypersonic missile during a recent overnight strike, marking another documented combat employment of the advanced weapon against targets on Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian Air Force Command said the missile was launched from the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea, likely from a ground-based launcher. According to […]View the full article

In both comments and via a couple of email/DMs yesterday, there were some sincere questions about why no one is talking about installing the “newer” design MK-57 VLS cells that we see in the three ships of the Zumwalt Class. In isolation they appear to be fine VLS cells, but are creatures of the time and place in which they were designed. Let’s go back to their first name: the MK-57 Peripheral Vertical Launch System (PVLS). They are a custom solution for the DDG-1000 Class designed in the Age of Transformation™ in the first decade of this century. It is an evolutionary dead-end riding on a white elephant. The MK-57 has a common problem found on most designs from this dec…

Germany has reached a new milestone in loitering munition development after a successful live-fire test combining the LION STRIKE 110 warhead with the VIRTUS drone, according to statements released by TDW and STARK. As noted by the companies, the demonstration marked the first time the LION STRIKE 110 (LS110) warhead was fired live from the […]View the full article

U.S. Marines from III Marine Expeditionary Force were photographed calibrating and evaluating the Medium-Range Intercept Capability system on Mason Range, Guam, on June 24, 2026, as part of Valiant Shield 2026, the biennial U.S.-led exercise that assembles joint and allied forces across the Indo-Pacific to practice the kind of high-end multi-domain combat the Pentagon considers […]View the full article

China has carried out a flight of a third prototype of its heavy next-generation fighter-bomber known as the J-36, signaling steady progress in a program of future Chinese combat jets. Photos showing the aircraft in flight alongside a J-10C fighter were published on December 25. The images depict an airframe that differs in visible details […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded aerospace manufacturer Boeing a not-to-exceed $61,5 million contract for the replenishment of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator weapon system, according to a contract announcement released by the service. The work will support production of key components for the heavy bunker-penetrating bomb and will be carried out in St. […]View the full article

The Boeing Company has released new details on a major Apache helicopter agreement with Poland, confirming that the U.S. Army has awarded the company a Foreign Military Sales contract valued at nearly $4.7 billion to produce AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for international customers. According to Boeing, the order includes 96 aircraft for the Polish Armed […]View the full article

Saudi Arabia carried out an airstrike on Yemen’s Mukalla Port after determining that ships carrying armored vehicles and weapons for UAE-backed separatist forces were present at the facility, according to a report by Clash Report. The strike targeted vessels described as transporting military equipment from the United Arab Emirates intended for the Southern Transitional Council, […]View the full article

United States Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet reported Sunday that Navy sailors aboard USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) took part last week in a live-fire maritime gunnery exercise in the Arabian Gulf, with close air support provided by U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, commonly known as the Warthog. According to the […]View the full article

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Russia has warned of potential military action in the Baltic Sea, with senior Kremlin official Nikolai Patrushev stating that the Russian Navy could be used to break what Moscow describes as a possible maritime blockade, according to reporting by Militarnyi. Patrushev, an assistant to the Russian president and a central figure in Russia’s security establishment, […]View the full article

The Department of the Air Force announced on April 8 that it has chosen Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana as preferred locations to host nuclear microreactors under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program — a milestone that could bring on-site atomic power to two of the […]View the full article

Canada’s Defence Investment Agency has awarded Colt Canada a contract to deliver up to 65,402 assault rifle systems under the Canadian Modular Assault Rifle (CMAR) program. The rifles will replace the Canadian Armed Forces’ current C7 and C8 service weapons, which have been in use for more than 35 years. The CMAR program is part […]View the full article