Raw Intel

Few people in the maritime space have been thinking, writing, and speaking about counter-piracy more than our friend Claude Berube. As a matter of fact, we discussed just this topic in Episode 2 of the Midrats Podcast back in January of 2010. You can access the audio from the Episode, with the late, great Raymond Pritchard as one of the co-hosts, at this link. He was on a roll that year, the following month he was on a great panel at Heritage that, sadly, is no longer available on the internet. In 2012, my Midrats co-host wrote a nice article about a superb collection he co-edited, Maritime Private Security: Market responses to piracy, terrorism and waterborne security ri…

Take a deep breath, relax, focus, and we’ll get through this together. We don’t have to like what is in front of us, but we do have to accept that it is there. I try to be optimistic, but I’m also a realist. You have what you have, and you have to be an adult about what is placed in front of you. I told you a decade and a half ago, The Terrible 20s were coming. You can only hold back the flood for so long. Math is hard and does not have feelings. Don’t put too much stock in what is said. Look at what is being done. Though most NATO allies have agreed to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, absent a major war, it’s unlikely to happen except in a very few places like perhaps …

Take a break from the heat today to discuss some of the hidden history, and importance, of the Presidential retreat at Camp David with the author of the book, Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David, Charles Ferguson. You can listen at this link, or with the Spotify widget below. After graduating from Georgia Tech and earning his commission, Charles Ferguson served for 11 years in the Submarine force onboard the USS Louisville and as Weapons Officer onboard USS Buffalo with a shore duty at Nuclear Power School in between. He switched to the IRR as Chaplain Candidate while attending seminary at Duke Divinity School and was recommissioned as an Active Duty Chaplain …

Whenever you walk around base, you may not be aware that—should fate call them—you are passing holders of Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and other heroes. Sure, they don’t have it now, but should circumstances allow—their true character will be revealed. When you join the service, you have no idea what will find you in the course of your service, or when just another boring duty day turns into something immortal. In the horrible tragedy over the weekend in Texas, we saw an example of this in the person of USCG rescue swimmer, Petty Officer Third Class Scott Ruskan. Via USA Today’s Lori Comstock Ruskan, a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Oxford, New Jersey, is being credi…

OK, hold on…you might have suffered the same yawn that I did when reading news about our old girl NIXIE… U.S. Navy budget documentation released last week is adding a series of new capabilities to the current AN/SLQ-25 Nixie countermeasures suite, including a new hard-kill capability via deck launchers, set to be deployed to over 168 different front-line ships in coming years. …until you got to the second clause. I know some of you are thinking, “Oh, we can talk about hard kill now?” Then, in the next paragraph by Carter Johnson at Naval News, this sexy little creature wanders on stage, The hard-kill weapon, known as the Mk58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW), is expecte…

Show LinksCoast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan Modern Chinese Maritime Forces, 01JUL2025 Edition. Frontline states say “bye” to the Ottawa Convention on Mines. King's Navy: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897–1947 Heritage DataViz on US Fleet promises v. PLAN Execution MK-58 torpedo SummaryIn this episode, the host discusse… Read more View the full article

Oh, my love and forlorn desire has appeared before me once again to cause me to hope and to think of what might have been. Alas, as with many things you crave too much but never capture, over the years you feel cheated, heartbroken, and perhaps a little bitter…but still, you long for the promise always right out of reach. The railgun. Directly, I first wrote about it on the OG Blog almost fifteen years ago, and indirectly over fifteen years ago. Let’s visit when I addressed it directly: With the advances of technology, computers, and a better understanding of what it takes to destroy a missile in flight - in 15 years and utility and effectiveness of the missile as an offe…

Fourteen years since the announced “Pacific Pivot”, the last month we’ve been subjected to a very public debate about how much support for Ukraine in her war with Russia is impacting our ability to prepare for potential war with China in the Pacific. Though history prefers to throw a curveball more often than not, the one scenario that is seen as the most likely trigger for the next Great Pacific War is Taiwan. Should this war come—and if we prepare properly for it, it very well may not—are we ready to make any attempt to take Taiwan a debacle for People’s Republic of China (PRC) a debacle, or are we under-preparing to the degree that we will slouch our way into a long dr…

CALVIN COOLIDGE30th President of the United States: 1923 ‐ 1929 July 05, 1926 Fellow Countrymen: We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the 4th day of July. Whatever may have been the impression created by the news which went out from this ci…

I am sure that most navalists have had a moment or two in the last few months where they’ve wanted to shuffle down to the basement to get their ready sackcloth and ashes and roll in the doom. The news can lead you that way. Let’s check in with Paul Berger at WSJ; In the first major speech to Congress of his second term, President Trump vowed to resurrect American shipbuilding. Four months later, Trump’s ambitious plans to reverse decades of maritime-industry decline are sputtering. Are they? Maybe sputtering or trying to find their footing in the chaos. It’s the first few months of an administration dealing with a low-boil naval conflict in the Red Sea, year two of the wa…

Coming up on seven months of the second Trump Administration, I think it is time to survey the services’ competition for attention, funding, and prioritization. Navalists need to take a deep breath and take a bite of humble pie…and perhaps try to learn something. Of course, I am talking about the U.S. Air Force. The boys (and girls) in blue are having a hell of a year, and it isn’t by accident. Yes, there is timing—but as the Roman philosopher Seneca reminded everyone a couple of thousand years ago: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" This is more than just bragging rights. People are drawn to success and performance. So is money, influence, and th…

Americas General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) has signed a $580-million deal to maintain the security and readiness of US Army bases. This task order encompasses Integrated Base Defense Sustainment Support tasks required to preserve the operational availability of radars, sensors, and cameras that protect installations, their personnel, and infrastructure. A recent Atlantic Council report has sparked debate on how to prepare for simultaneous conflicts with China and North Korea. Based on tabletop exercises known as Guardian Tiger I and II, the report urges a sweeping overhaul of US command arrangements and alliance coordination. Middle East & Africa Israel’s…

Boxer MRAV (click to view full) Wheeled armored vehicles have become much more common, but the Dutch-German Boxer stands out from the crowd. Its English acronym is “Multi Role Armoured Vehicle” (MRAV), but rather than being a family of different vehicles, the Boxer will use a single chassis, with snap-in modules for different purposes from infantry carrier to command, cargo, ambulance, etc. The base vehicle has a maximum road speed of 100 km/h (60 mp/h) and an operational range of 1,000 km (600 miles). In its troop carrying configuration, it has a crew of 2 and can carry 10 fully equipped troops. The MRAV is fighting for space in a crowded market, but its principal countr…

Americas Telephonics Corp won a $16 million firm-fixed-price deal for maintenance and overhaul of the CH-47 for the interface communication unit. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 27, 2028. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. The US Army has accepted its first of two MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) virtual prototypes developed by Bell Textron, with the second scheduled for delivery later this month to the Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Based on the FLRAA’s digit…

Americas The US Missile Defense Agency has successfully conducted its first flight test of the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) at the Clear Space Force Station in Alaska, around two years after its original schedule. In the Flight Test Other-26a (FTX-26a), the LRDR and the Upgraded Early Warning Radar tracked a live intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) representative target that traveled over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) off Alaska’s southern coast. Saab has selected Anduril to produce solid rocket motors (SRMs) for the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), a system developed in partnership with Boeing. Anduril’s new solid rocket motor will replace t…

Americas A new layer of AI-powered security is coming to US military bases. Texas-based LINEV Systems is deploying its BV6045 Weapons Detection Scanners to spot concealed guns, explosives, and other contraband before they slip past base security. Using dual-energy X-ray imaging and an automated detection process, the system can flag threats in real time, helping security teams respond faster and more accurately. Sierra Nevada won a $471.5 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost reimbursement terms for production, sustainment, and contractor logistics support of Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System units …

Americas A new poll suggests Americans of all political stripes, including MAGA adherents, seek more US leadership on the international stage, not less. “The preference for American global leadership over a more isolationist approach is on the rise, up from 40 [percent] in 2022 to 64 [percent]” this year, the 2025 Reagan Institute Summer Survey showed, according to the institute. “Americans are not retreating from the world; they are rallying around a foreign policy grounded in peace through strength.” Among specific geopolitical issues rated by the poll — which was conducted before the US launched strikes against Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend — it found an overw…

Americas Teledyne FLIR Defense’s Black Hornet 4 drone has been approved for the US military’s Blue UAS List after meeting cybersecurity requirements under the National Defense Authorization Act and passing verification by the Defense Innovation Unit. The listing grants Authority to Operate and allows government agencies to deploy the system for official use. Middle East & Africa There is speculation that Iran might retaliate for the US’s strikes on its nuclear facilities by closing the world’s busiest oil shipping channel, the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, and its most vital oil transit choke point. Bounde…

Americas As Operation “Midnight Hammer” got underway on Saturday, a group of B-2 bombers took off from their base in Missouri and were noticed heading out toward the Pacific island of Guam, in what experts saw as possible pre-positioning for any U.S. decision to strike Iran. But they were a decoy. The real group of seven bat-winged, B-2 stealth bombers flew east undetected for 18 hours, keeping communications to a minimum, refueling in mid-air, the U.S. military revealed on Sunday. As the bombers neared Iranian airspace, a U.S. submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. US fighter jets flew as decoys in front of the bombers to sweep for a…

Americas The US Army has experienced a setback in increasing its artillery munition production by October. In early 2024, the army set monthly targets of 60,000 rounds by October of that year, 75,000 by April 2025, and 100,000 by October 2025, but it currently has a monthly output of around 40,000 rounds. Although it is nearly triple the 14,500 monthly rate before Russia’s “military operation” in Ukraine in 2022, production remains below the pace needed to meet the goal of over a million 155-millimeter howitzer shells next year. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has introduced a new drone designed to back up MQ-9B operations, handling high-risk tasks lik…