Raw Intel

Britain has now received seven Challenger 3 prototype tanks for trials, with an eighth in the final stages of build, as the British Army works to prove the design of its next main battle tank before full production begins, UK Defence Journal reported. Defence minister Luke Pollard gave the figures in a written answer in […]View the full article

The German Army has received its first heavy-lift cargo drone, with the 131st Supply Battalion in Bad Frankenhausen, Thuringia, taking delivery of an uncrewed aircraft from Portuguese manufacturer TEKEVER to test how drones can haul equipment and supplies to troops in the field. The Bundeswehr in Thuringia announced the handover on Oct. 13, describing it […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force plans to grow its fighter force to 1,509 combat-coded jets by 2035, with the F-35 becoming its most numerous fighter and the new F-47 taking over from the F-22, under a revised force structure plan the service sent to Congress on Oct. 16. Lt. Gen. David Tabor, deputy chief of staff […]View the full article

A French Mirage 2000D ground-attack jet crashed late on Oct. 20 near the village of Rogéville in Meurthe-et-Moselle, in eastern France, as it was returning from a mission, killing at least one of its two crew members, while rescuers continue searching for the second. The French Air and Space Force said the accident happened at […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin is promoting the idea of a special version of the F-16 fighter built around Ukraine’s needs, with longer range, a new AESA radar and stronger air defense capabilities, sources at the company told The Defence Blog. The idea is being floated as the U.S. defense giant expands its work with Kyiv, and it […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has selected Radiant to install its Kaleidos nuclear microreactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane in Indiana, putting a commercial company in charge of the service’s first shore-based advanced reactor, which the Department of War wants running no later than September 2028. Radiant announced the selection on Oct. 20, about six weeks after […]View the full article

Ukrainian drones have destroyed a Russian 9K515 Tornado-S heavy multiple launch rocket system in occupied Kherson Oblast, hitting the launcher with several different kamikaze drones in succession in a strike carried out by the Prymary unit of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), which released the footage on Oct. 20. OSINT analyst Dominik geolocated the strike to […]View the full article

Armored vehicles built by Emirati manufacturer Streit Group have been spotted again in Russian service, this time with Gyurza, the special rapid response unit (SOBR) of Rosgvardia’s Main Directorate for the Moscow region, which was photographed operating a Cobra-LAMV 4×4. The light armored vehicle is built on a Toyota Land Cruiser chassis and marketed by […]View the full article

L3Harris Technologies opened a new solid rocket motor plant in Camden, Arkansas, on Oct. 20 that is built to double its production of motors for the U.S. Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the company said in a statement. GMLRS is the precision rocket fired from HIMARS and M270 launchers, and the new site, which […]View the full article

Britain will send Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones aimed at Saudi cities and critical infrastructure, the UK Defense Ministry said on Oct. 20. CNN reported that the jets will fly defensive counter-air missions over the kingdom, and a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office […]View the full article

Airbus has delivered the third A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport to Spain, completing the three-aircraft order the Spanish Ministry of Defense placed in 2021. The company announced the handover on X, and Spanish media reported that the ceremony took place on Oct. 20 at its plant in Getafe, outside Madrid. The tanker will join the […]View the full article

Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan toured Czech aircraft maker Aero Vodochody on Oct. 20 and said L-39 Skyfox jet trainers will soon be flying with Armenia’s armed forces. The country’s Ministry of Defense published a photo series from the visit showing Papikyan with the new aircraft, which can also fly light attack missions. “These marvels […]View the full article

Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets 442 times between April 1 and Sept. 30, about two-thirds more than the 265 scrambles in the same period last year, according to Joint Staff Office figures reported by USNI News. The rise came as Chinese and Russian military aircraft flew near Japan far more often, and the […]View the full article

U.S. Army infantry soldiers have fired Spike NLOS long-range missiles from a light, air-droppable utility vehicle for the first time, completing 17 engagements in a three-day live-fire demonstration at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, Lockheed Martin said. All of the shots were launched from an Infantry Squad Vehicle – Utility, or ISV-U, a version of the […]View the full article

For those in the business, one of the most triggering phrases you can read or hear is some pogue out there saying, ‘Well, we have wargamed this, and…’ and then you wait to see if you have a reasonable follow-on, or some cringe-inducing abuse of the military art. Way too many people are abusing war games for the wrong purposes. Everyone wants a national security 8-Ball to tell them the future, and some look to war games to hear what they want to hear. When you see that, it’s a tell. That person/institution does not understand what they are talking about. In the latest Naval War College Review, Charles Edward Gehrke has a simply outstanding article everyone needs to take a …

A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast near the ports of Varna and Burgas, a week after Russian drone attacks sank a cargo ship and damaged another in the area, flight tracking data shows. Tracking data published by the flight monitoring Itamilradar, using Flightradar24 data, shows the Boeing […]View the full article

Ukrainian drone operators playing the enemy in a U.S. Army training exercise in Germany caused about 70% of an American armored brigade’s casualties in the first three days, according to an account by the brigade’s own commander and staff. The figures come from an article in Military Review, the U.S. Army’s professional journal, written by […]View the full article

Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave weapon, which knocks out drones by frying their electronics, has been added to the Pentagon’s online counter-drone marketplace, making it easier for U.S. military units and other federal agencies to buy the system. The California-based company said Leonidas met the criteria for inclusion in the Counter-UAS Marketplace run by Joint Interagency […]View the full article

German drone maker Quantum Systems says its Apex Recordhunter, a battery-powered experimental drone, flew at 777 km/h (483 mph) in a record attempt this week, faster than any battery-electric drone has flown before and well above the speed of Russia’s jet-powered attack drones. Martin Karkour, the company’s chief revenue officer, announced the run, saying the […]View the full article

British aircraft maker Skyfly Technologies has raised $10 million to turn its two-seat electric vertical takeoff aircraft into Longbow, a hybrid-electric cargo drone designed to carry 200 kg (440 pounds) more than 640 km (400 miles) and take off from ships, fields or forward bases without a runway. The seed round, announced on Oct. 20, […]View the full article