Raw Intel

The Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) began production of the fourth Pohjanmaa-class multi-purpose corvette and laid the keel for the third vessel at its Rauma shipyard on January 14, confirming that all four ships in the Squadron 2020 program are now under construction. According to RMC, the steel-cutting ceremony officially launched production of the […]View the full article

Australian aerospace company Hypersonix Launch Systems confirmed Feb. 13, 2026, that a launch window has been set for the first flight test of its DART AE hypersonic aircraft, with the mission scheduled to launch no earlier than late February from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. The […]View the full article

The Norwegian Armed Forces scrambled two F‑35 Lightning II fighter jets to intercept and identify a Russian Ilyushin Il‑20M reconnaissance aircraft flying in international airspace off Finnmark in northern Norway. Norwegian sensors detected the aircraft around 09:30 local time, prompting a Quick Reaction Alert mission from Evenes Air Station. The interception occurred as NATO conducts […]View the full article

American Rheinmetall has released new details about the Lynx XM30, its next-generation infantry fighting vehicle developed for the U.S. Army’s XM30 program, as the Pentagon moves to formally transition the program from research and development into full procurement with a $547 million budget request for fiscal year 2027. The Lynx XM30 is being developed by […]View the full article

Turkey’s state-owned defense manufacturer MKE has unveiled the URAN, a vehicle-mounted 105mm howitzer derived from its export-proven BORAN towed artillery system, ahead of the SAHA 2026 defense exhibition. The URAN made its public debut through MKE’s official announcement, with the company billing it as a mobile fire support solution engineered for rapid ground maneuver. Where […]View the full article

Ukrainian investigators have published their findings from the wreckage of a nuclear-capable Russian ballistic missile that struck an industrial zone near Bila Tserkva on the night of May 23-24, and what they found inside the debris tells a story that undercuts several of the claims Moscow has built around its most heavily promoted weapon. Russia […]View the full article

Ukraine’s drone interceptor crews cannot reliably chase down Russia’s new jet-powered attack drones because their aircraft simply are not fast enough to catch them before their batteries run out, a frontline Ukrainian air defense commander has revealed in an interview to Militarnyi. The commander, who goes by the call sign “Ramzes” and leads the anti-drone […]View the full article

The U.S. Army handed Lockheed Martin roughly $439 million to begin building the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, along with the launcher hardware needed to fire it, and once the two sides finish hammering out the final terms, the full agreement is expected to grow to nearly $900 million. ATACMS is a surface-to-surface […]View the full article

What a great weekend for a good old fashioned Midrats Podcast Maritime Melee! Petty domestic political posturing has decided to broach a whole series of our favorite subjects for the last 17 years: carrier shortages, neglect of our auxiliaries in our Combat Logistics Force, leadership at sea, ships adrift…enough for a whole series of shows, but Mark and I promise to keep today’s show to an hour. Join us LIVE from 5--6 PM this Sunday at this link. Jump in the live show chat and share your observations or direct a question to us. DON’T MISS IT! If you’re reading this after the show, check back on the Substack page late Sunday or right before your Monday commute, and we’ll h…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finished dismantling the SM-1 nuclear power plant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the Army’s first nuclear reactor and the first facility in the country to send nuclear-generated electricity into the commercial power grid. The Corps’ Baltimore District completed the last field work this year, closing out a project that […]View the full article

Buntar Aerospace, a Ukrainian maker of reconnaissance drones and battlefield AI software, has raised $16 million to expand production and enter foreign markets, bringing its total funding to $30 million. The round was led by Freedom Fund VC and an international private equity fund that the company did not name. Gardar Venture Capital, Iron Wolf […]View the full article

Philadelphia-based Raptor Defense Company is advancing in two U.S. Army programs with PIT VIPER, a small modular wheeled unmanned ground vehicle the company calls a “Personal Combat Vehicle” and designs to be fielded at the level of the individual soldier, the company announced. Raptor was selected for Phase II of GroundBreaker 1, a joint unmanned […]View the full article

OK folks, today is the day. You know what you need to do. I already voted last week, so I've already checked the block. If you have not, go out and vote today. I won't tell you who to vote for. Every man and woman needs to make that choice themselves ... and anything I may say won't change your mind one way or another. We have issues with our voting here, that is true. Shame on our political class and self-identified "experts" that they - in their cowardice - have not implemented a voting system here that would meet international standards when it comes to voter rolls and vote counting. That is immaterial. Such problems have been with us for decades and is on the marg…

Americas Northrop Grumman has revealed its concept for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) LongShot program to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of employing multiple air-to-air weapons. The company released a conceptual rendering of its proposed design on 10 February, two days after it was awarded a contract alongside General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Martin for the first phase of its LongShot program. “The LongShot program enables us to combine our digital engineering skillset with our extensive knowledge in advanced technology weapons, autonomous systems, and strike platforms to increase weapon range and …

Americas Three US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers returned to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri after a deployment to Keflavik Air Base, Iceland, that included a dozen multinational missions over the past month. The bombers, from the 509th Bomb Wing, left Iceland on Saturday, the Air Force announced. The Marines are moving forward with developing a ship-killing missile that’s central to a long-range restructuring of the military, the Marine Corps said. The Marine Corps Systems Command’s Long Range Fires program has acquired Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, an anti-ship missile that meets military requirements and is being tested. Mid…

Americas Lockheed Martin Aeronautics won a $9.3 million contract modification, which increases the ceiling to partially definitize fiscal 2021 air vehicle initial spares, to include global spares packages, base spares packages, deployment spares packages, and afloat spares packages in support F-35 Lightning II Air Vehicle deliveries for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, non-US Department of Defense participants, and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will take place in Texas. Estimated completion is in December 2021. Raytheon won a $13.9 million deal to procure contractor logistics support maintainers and engineering reach back support of the AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Gen…

Americas The United States aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk headed to a scrapyard in Texas and too large to slip through the Panama Canal, reports MercoPress. The ship must sail around South America. In her 16,000-mile trip this weekend the impressive vessel “rested” for a few hours in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile as she was crossing the Magellan Strait towed by a couple of tugs. Jane’s reported, that the Brazilian Navy is in the process of receiving its seventh and final modernised Skyhawk fighter jet. The acceptance of the AF-1B jet, tail number N-1004, was initiated on March 7 and is expected to take three to four weeks. Five AF-1 single-seat and two AF-1A twin…

In an age of long range sensors and precision guided weapons, do we have the option to, with the exception of the most important, "bypass and haulass" through the Pacific's constellation of small islands between Hawaii and the Western Pacific and Australia like our ancestors did? Generations of American planners have just assumed that the Pacific WWII granted the USA was a birthright. We fought wars and guaranteed peace with certain assumptions that, in real time, are fading away in the presence of a rising power who is serious, focused, and knows what it wants. It wants the Pacific and it seems we are helping them take it without a shot being fired; Kiribati President …

Americas Boeing won a $1 billion order, which procures 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II Update (HIIU) Grade B canister tactical missiles, four RTM-84L-4 Block II HIIU Grade B canister exercise missiles, 411 containers, four blast test vehicles, two Harpoon Weapon System (HWS) Joint Common Test Sets (JCTS), Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS) spares, weapon station […]View the full article

Americas Elbit Systems has unveiled the Air Keeper, a revolutionary airborne system designed to integrate Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities with Electronic Warfare (EW) functionalities on a single platform. The Air Keeper is built with a modular architecture, allowing for compatibility with various business jets and civilian platforms. This flexibility enables customization […]View the full article