Raw Intel

The New Zealand Defence Force has signed a contract with UK–New Zealand company SYOS for a package of autonomous uncrewed land, sea, and air systems, the company announced, marking a step in the country’s effort to expand experimentation and operational development of unmanned technologies. The agreement includes delivery of multiple autonomous platforms alongside technical services, […]View the full article

The United States Army on March 20 awarded a production contract to AV for its P550 Long Range Reconnaissance unmanned aircraft systems. The systems were procured through the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Marketplace Basic Ordering Agreement, a contracting mechanism designed to speed up acquisition timelines. Officials said the program is intended to provide commanders with organic […]View the full article

King Felipe VI of Spain visited the Spanish Army’s Third Tactical Experimentation Campaign — known as TEC 3 — at Base Álvarez de Sotomayor in Viator, Almería this week, where aerospace company Destinus conducted a live container-launched interception demonstration with its Hornet B1 counter-drone system and displayed its Ruta platform on static exhibit. The King, […]View the full article

Austria scrambled Eurofighter jets twice in two consecutive days after U.S. military aircraft entered Austrian airspace without proper clearance, the Austrian Ministry of Defence confirmed. Austrian Ministry of Defence spokesperson Michael Bauer confirmed both incidents publicly, posting on X that the first interception involved a Priority A alert and the deployment of two Eurofighters after […]View the full article

With millions of soccer fans heading to the Seattle area for the FIFA World Cup this summer, the Washington National Guard gathered federal agents, police officers, and military units at a desert training range in June to rehearse a threat that barely registered on public safety radar a year ago: drones. Representatives from federal, state, […]View the full article

A Norwegian defense giant just bet on Ukraine’s homegrown robot army, with KONGSBERG, one of Europe’s largest defense manufacturers, and Ukrainian robotics company DevDroid signing a Memorandum of Understanding on June 30, 2026, in Kyiv that lays groundwork for large-scale, long-term cooperation to produce existing systems and develop new remotely operated combat robots together. The […]View the full article

To start off with—usual caveats apply. Yes, this is Axios, but Barak Ravid is a serious reporter that I have no evidence that he has a history of making stuff up. I also know that the Trump administration is pretty good at message control and minimizing leaks…especially on national security issues. I also know that is DC, which is leaky for both official and unofficial reasons. As such, I’ll put forward an opening bet that this is 51% close to right. If I had to place the odds: 10% this is fake news; 20% chance this is an unofficial leak; 70% it is an official leak. Ambient noise and transmission loss of about 30%…so we’re seeing something—good chance—but not quite what h…

Spain’s first two S-80 Plus class submarines put to sea together for the first time this week, the Spanish Navy said. The Isaac Peral (S-81) and the Narciso Monturiol (S-82) represent what the Navy described as another step in Spain’s strategic autonomy and its submarine force’s deterrent capability. Isaac Peral, the lead boat of the […]View the full article

Americas Raytheon and Pratt and Whitney Military Engines won a $642 million deal, which provides for the procurement of performance-based logistics activities including maintenance of support equipment, common program activities, unique and common base recurring sustainment, repair of repairables, field service representatives, common replenishment spares, conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant F135 unique maintenance services and short take-off and landing F135 unique services in support of the F-35 Lightning II F135 propulsion system for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. Pratt &…

Thinking and planning are easy. Words can have flexible meaning and an artful planner can devise all sorts of trap doors, detours, and branches to allow their ideas a certain degree of flexibility. Math, however, is hard. Budgets are even harder. They are math with personality. We have reviewed the challenges of what we’ve come to call “The Terrible 20s” for over a decade. Now that we find ourselves here, what does this upcoming decade hold now that we no longer see the 20s dimly through the haze, but can see its details in sharp relief? The first step in solving a problem is to admit it. That is easy for individuals as it only takes one entity to take the step – it is…

We live in an era where in the blink of an eye we've gone from flip-phones to smart phones with the capabilities of both supercomputers a generation ago and entire movie studios in your back pocket. In that same time frame, what happened to the promised integration and operational utilization of aircraft carrier based drones - or Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or whatever we are calling them this week? This Sunday we are going to dive deep in to the topic and problem with our guests Trevor Phillips-Levine, Noah Spataro, and Andrew Tenbusch. We will use as the starting point for our conversation their recent article in War on the Rocks, "Winged Luddites: Aviators are the Bigge…

Americas Sierra Nevada won a $34 million contract modification for the MC-130J Airborne Mission Networking program low rate initial production. This order provides for the procurement of production kits, spares, interim contractor support and weapon system trainer support. Work will take place in Colorado. Estimated completion date is January 19, 2023. Boeing won a $16.3 million deal for the E-3 Replacement Studies and Analysis. This contract provides for studies and analysis for the replacement of the E-3. Work will take place in Oklahoma. Estimated completion will be by July 31, 2022. Middle East & Africa The US Army is considering acquiring the Spike FireFly tact…

Networks, local knowledge, human terrain, and even gossip. It does not matter if you are a tourist, a diplomat, or an invading army – if you come into a foreign nation you need local knowledge, a guide – someone who can not just tell you where the head is, but the important parts of the intangible nature of any culture that simply does not come from a briefing book. And it needs to be someone you trust. Likewise, as social animals, from the middle school lunchroom to the United Nations, we have our “in-group” and the “out-group.” Friendly, hostile, or aggressively neutral, out-group people are racked-n-stacked based upon their perceived threat or value. Do they have powe…

Americas Boeing has been awarded a $271-million deal to produce six “remanufactured” MH-47G Block II Chinook helicopters for the US Army. Boeing said the updates to the chopper answer the US Army Special Operations Aviation Command’s need for battle-ready heavy-lift helicopters capable of adapting to increasingly complex missions. The contract brings the total number of Block […]View the full article

Americas Detyens Shipyards Inc., located in North Charleston, South Carolina, has been awarded a $21.1 million fixed-price contract to perform maintenance and dry-docking on the Military Sealift Command’s fleet replenishment oiler, USNS John Lenthall (T-AO 189). The project will last 180 days, starting March 23, 2025, and ending September 18, 2025. The contract includes additional options that could increase its total value to $21.8 million. The funding for this work comes from the Navy’s fiscal year 2025 budget and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was specifically set aside for small businesses, and three proposals were submitted. Military Sea…

Poland has signed an executive agreement with South Korea to deliver 180 K2 main battle tanks to the Polish Armed Forces, marking a pivotal step in the reestablishment of tank manufacturing within the country after more than a decade. According to Poland’s Ministry of National Defense, the agreement includes the first batch of tanks in […] The post Poland signs K2 tank localization deal with South Korea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that deployment of the upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile will be accelerated, with the first ground-based units to be stationed in Kumamoto before the end of this fiscal year. The Ministry said on August 29 that both ship- and aircraft-launched variants of the improved Type 12 will now enter service […] The post Japan to field new missile systems earlier than planned first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian forces released new footage showing an operation to destroy a disabled Ukrainian M2A2 Bradley ODS-SA infantry fighting vehicle — a task that required seven explosive-laden FPV drones, highlighting the vehicle’s durability and battlefield survivability. According to the Voennyi Osvedomitel Telegram channel, the Bradley lost mobility following the initial attack but remained intact after its […] The post Russia uses seven FPV drones to destroy one Bradley first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

French technology company MERIO has announced the development of a new unmanned system designed to guide precision weapons using a laser beam, a capability aimed at improving strike accuracy while keeping human operators safely out of harm’s way. The system enables a drone to “illuminate” or mark targets with a laser designator, allowing heavier strike […]View the full article

EUROATLAS, the German advanced defense technologies company, has announced the launch of its new GREYSHARK family of autonomous underwater vehicles, introducing two multi-mission platforms designed for long-range underwater intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The company says the new Bravo and Foxtrot AUVs will provide militaries and critical-infrastructure operators with persistent underwater awareness at a time when […]View the full article