Raw Intel

A Canadian armored vehicle manufacturer unveiled an image of a new mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle at CANSEC 2026 in Ottawa, revealing the full technical specifications of the Admiral MRAP, a jointly developed platform built in partnership with South African defense firm Panzer following Roshel’s acquisition of the KF411 MRAP design in 2024. The Admiral represents […]View the full article

Estonia took delivery of its first medium-range air defense missile system on June 22, 2026, when the Estonian Air Defence Wing received the IRIS-T SLM at Ämari Air Base, giving a NATO member that shares a 294-kilometer (183-mile) border with Russia the ability to engage aircraft, cruise missiles, and helicopters at ranges and altitudes that […]View the full article

Germany and France just reduced one of Europe’s most ambitious tank programs to a single, carefully worded sentence about “platform-independent technology,” and defense analysts reading between the lines say that sentence effectively confirms the joint program is dead in everything but name, Waldemar Geiger reported for the German defense outlet hartpunkt. The Main Ground Combat […]View the full article

Honeywell Aerospace tested an integrated counter-drone system against simulated aerial threats during EXTiC 26-2, a technology experimentation event run by U.S. Central Command. Honeywell served as lead systems integrator for the demonstration, pairing sensors and effectors with the company’s AI-driven counter-UAS software to detect, track and mitigate simulated drones while defending a simulated airfield. “As […]View the full article

Americas The US Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $9.5 billion contract modification for the construction and test of the lead and second ships of the Columbia Class. The contract modifies a $5 billion deal awarded in 2017. It exercises an option to test the ships and to provide design and engineering support. „This modification to the integrated product and process development (IPPD) contract supports the fiscal 2021 construction start of the lead ship (SSBN 826) and advance procurement, advance construction, coordinated material buys and full construction of the follow hull (SSBN 827) in fiscal 2024“, the Pentagon said in a statement. The original contract w…

Americas Northrop Grumman announced on February 16 that it has carried out the first major design review event for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). The GBSD is being develop to replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The review took place in November, 2020 over a period of three-days by a team from Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force. The US Marine Corps 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit declared that the air wing on board amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) has air operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve from February 13. VMM-164 (Reinforced) is providing close air support operations and defensive counter air sup…

So, you think you've had some memorable cruises, eh? What do you think about this record?DATEVESSEL SUNKAPR 26, 1944T29 Torpedo BoatAPR 29, 1944T27 Torpedo BoatJUN 9, 1944ZH1 DestroyerJUN 9, 1944Z32 DestroyerJUN 24, 1944U971 U-BoatJUN 15, 1944UJ1420/UJ1421 TrawlerJUN 6, 1944M486 MinesweeperAUG 6, 1944SG-3CSEPT 6, 1944VEDETTE Patrol BoatI give to you MHCS Haida, a Tribal Class destroyer who sank all those ships within 13-months of her commissioning. As Jerry Proc so simply put;HAIDA distinguished herself as Canada's most active warship by sinking no less than nine German ships in the period from April to September 1944. She was also involved in numerous other actions resul…

Americas The United States Air Force (USAF) tested a current inventory cruise missile armed with a live warhead as part of the Rapid Dragon program to demonstrate the ability to employ weapons using standard airdrop procedures from cargo aircraft. During the test on December 16, a MC-130J flown by an Air Force Special Operations Command operational flight crew, received new targeting data while in flight which was then routed to the cruise missile flight test vehicle (FTV). Defense and security company Saab inked a contract for multi-role Sea Giraffe AMB naval radar antenna kits, for the upgrade of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigates. The upgrade is based on…

What can just a few Marines do? In March 1982, Thomsen was days from returning home from the small Royal Marine Falklands garrison when he was ordered to take eight men to South Georgia to monitor a group of Argentinian scrap dealers who had landed illegally and raised the Argentine flag, the incident which was to lead to full-blown war in the Falklands. Along with 12 other Marines under Lieutenant Keith Mills they arrived on the desolate island in mid-March. Two weeks later the crisis erupted when the Argentines invaded the Falklands. Section commander Thomsen and his comrades knew a large enemy force would descend on them within hours. With no hope of reinforcements, …

We've been doing "Diversity Thursday" on a regular basis since 2008 or so. Not my favorite topic, not a popular topic among some segments ... but we persist. We covered the military's drift towards racial essentialism earlier, but the "Diversity Thursday" segment really only became a regular thing about 15-yrs ago. We tried to warn everyone ... and here we find ourselves in the thick of it ... but now we are getting real and substantial advocates kicking back against the diversity cadre including out in the open in the Senate and House of Representatives and in the larger culture. You love to see it. One thing the left has always been better at than most is organizing. T…

OK, not really sure what to call this ... and I don't think the Portuguese do either. It is a scientific ship, which will be a kind of base on the high seas, equipped with scientific laboratories, accommodation for 90 people permanently and another 100 if necessary, for example in a situation of emergency evacuation, ramps for boarding and disembarking of vehicles, heliport, runways for aerial drones, a stall for submarine drones and speedboats, various cranes In its candidacy for the PRR, the Navy stressed that "this ship, idealized under a new concept of operation, has no military requirements and is not armed. Its main functions are environmental monitoring, in parti…

Americas Fidelity Technologies won an $18.7 million deal for the design and procurement of a UH-60M flight simulator. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Slovakia, with an estimated completion date of September 13, 2027. UH-60 Black Hawk is a multi-mission helicopter developed by Sikorsky that has been […]View the full article

Americas The US Navy marks a new chapter in multi-engine pilot training with the arrival of its first two T-54A trainer aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi on Apr. 18th. The T-54A, a modified Beechcraft King Air 260 designated for the Navy, replaces the T-44C Pegasus, which has served faithfully since 1977. The […]View the full article

Neither rust nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sleep. They are determined, persistent, and keep the long-term view—especially when it comes to their neo-mercantilist drive to dominate global trade and the ports. Remember when early on in the Trump Administration it seemed that BlackRock was going to buy back some of the critical port infrastructure that the PRC grabbed hold of while the world was distracted and pockets got itchy? Well, don’t think all is taken care of. Via James T. Areddy, Daniel Kiss & Ming Li in last Saturday’s WSJ: When a Hong Kong conglomerate set plans this year to sell its global network of shipping ports to an American-led investment gro…

One of Russia’s largest drone manufacturers, AO Kronstadt, is on the verge of bankruptcy after months of financial turmoil and mounting lawsuits, Russian media reported. According to CNews, the company has faced dozens of debt claims in recent months, with more than 600 million rubles ($7 million) sought since the beginning of summer. The largest […] The post Russia’s leading drone maker nears collapse first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian sources have released images showing destroyed and heavily damaged vehicles from the Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system, indirectly confirming the success of recent Ukrainian strikes. The photographs depict a launcher and several transport-loading vehicles, burned out after a strike on a hangar where the systems had been concealed. At least one launcher and five […] The post Ukraine destroys Russian Iskander missile system in drone strike first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian military-linked Telegram channels have released the first images of what they claim is a new jet-powered glide bomb, marking a rare visual confirmation of a weapon type previously reported in battlefield use but never seen publicly. The release comes amid growing concerns in Ukraine over stand-off munitions targeting critical infrastructure and rear-area positions. For […] The post Russia shows new jet-powered glide bomb first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

So, I’ve watched the two episodes of Ken Burns’s documentary, The American Revolution, in spite of my stated zero desire to do so. Why? If you are not up to speed with the MSNBCification of Ken Burns over the last decade, catch up. Anyway, as Mrs. Salamander knows more about the American Revolution than 99.7% of people out there, she insisted we watch it. I’ve been married for over three decades for a reason, so I sat down with her to watch. FFS. …and…it started with a land acknowledgement. ISYN. It doesn’t get better. By the end of episode two we’ve gotten through the Battle of Bunker Hill, yet there has been no mention of John Locke, Montesquieu, or any of the other phi…

Kenya has taken delivery of an Israeli-made SPYDER air defense system, a move that expands the Kenya Defence Forces’ ability to counter aerial threats ranging from aircraft to uncrewed systems, according to information provided by sources familiar with the acquisition. The Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby, or SPYDER, system was manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems […]View the full article

The United States Army has missed its deadline to field the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile, acknowledging that the first U.S. ground-based hypersonic weapon will not be deployed until early 2026, despite the unit assigned to operate the system already being trained and ready. According to a report by Bloomberg, the Army confirmed this week that […]View the full article