Raw Intel

The Hellenic Navy has signed a contract to procure ship-based CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) for deployment aboard its new Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention (FDI) Belharra-class frigates, according to a February 13, 2026 announcement by manufacturer Schiebel Group. Under the agreement, the rotary-wing unmanned aircraft will operate from three French-built frigates — HS […]View the full article

The United States Army concluded the xTech|Edge Strike: Ground competition on March 13 in Vilseck, Germany, where three autonomy technology companies tested unmanned ground systems built on tactical vehicles from Polaris Government and Defense. The event evaluated autonomous vehicle technologies designed for military logistics, reconnaissance, and casualty evacuation missions. The competition is part of the […]View the full article

If everyone can, push to the side any political comments about Starmer or Trump. These are temporary players on a stage with a play going on for well over a century: that of the special relationship in national security matters between the United Kingdom and the United States. We have not always supported each other with vigor. From the Suez Crisis to the Vietnam War—nations have agency and these things happen. Once these spots of bother pass one way or the other, what was a constant was that, though a shadow of her height in the first half of the 20th Century, the UK was still a serious military power. It was a power that her friends and allies baked into their plans and…

This week, we start another chapter in the Iran conflict. Might as well start with the primary source. What does this actually operationalize into? Let’s see how CENTCOM outlines it. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin supporting Project Freedom, May 4, to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The mission, directed by the President, will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor. A quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the strait. “Our support for this defensive mission is…

Lithuania will purchase 936 Patria 6×6 armored vehicles from Finland in a landmark procurement approved by the State Defence Council on Wednesday, with President Gitanas Nausėda confirming that 300 of the vehicles are expected to arrive by 2030 and that part of the production process will take place inside Lithuania itself. The decision makes Lithuania […]View the full article

A surveillance drone that needs no runway, no catapult, and no dedicated launch infrastructure lifted off from the deck of a U.S. Navy warship in the South China Sea on June 17, 2026, and in doing so illustrated exactly the kind of warfare that keeps Chinese military planners up at night. Marines and Department of […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has told its biggest missile maker to build thousands more long-range weapons than it planned even a week ago, and the jump says a lot about how worried the Pentagon has become about running out of precision missiles in a real war. An amended government notice posted Wednesday raised the planned […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has opened a Sources Sought notice for production of the T901-GE-900 turboshaft engine, the next-generation powerplant set to replace the T700 series across the service’s Black Hawk and Apache helicopter fleets. The notice, posted August 14 by the Army’s Aviation Turbine Engines Project Office, asks industry to identify companies capable of executing […]View the full article

Romania has signed a contract for 12 Airbus H225M Caracal military helicopters, the first step in replacing the Romanian Air Force’s aging fleet of locally built IAR-330 Puma helicopters, Airbus Helicopters said on October 7. The deal was concluded through France’s defense procurement agency, the DGA, and is financed under the European Union’s Security Action […]View the full article

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has opened a tender to buy Skydio X10D small drones, the American-made reconnaissance quadcopter already ordered by the thousands by the U.S. Army, with an estimated budget of £120,000 (about $160,700) excluding VAT, according to a notice on the Defence Sourcing Portal. The tender was issued by Navy Commercial, the Royal […]View the full article

USA’s Nimitz Class & UK’s Invincible Class (click to view full) Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t, while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at just 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s excellent new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and …

An encore FbF because, well ... it sings to me ... and it is always good to see the Navy-Marine Corps work together as designed. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3589/3522978114_d92fd9321c_m.jpg One. Hundred. Feet. Then pull closer. The two steam cutters were fitted out as mini-gunboats to provide the sailing launches with covering fire and pin down the Spanish soldiers firing from the rifle pits along the beach and from the surrounding hills. For this purpose, each of the steam cutters, in addition to its crew of five, carried a sergeant and six Marines to act as sharpshooters. To supplement the Marines and provide greater firepower, additional armaments were added. A one-…

Americas BAE Systems has finished a successful test of its APKWS laser-guidance kits, showcasing the weapon’s versatility and accuracy in engaging a broad set of targets. The rockets went “three on three against fortified targets,” firing direct shots and defeating well-armored targets such as a steel plate and an armored military vehicle. “We’re giving our customers more in-mission options for precision strikes against tougher targets,” BAE program manager Sam Kirsh said. The US Air Force has contracted Northrop Grumman to outfit two more E-11A Bombardier business jets with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) system. The service already operates three su…

Americas Brazilian Defense Minister Jose Mucio has announced plans to travel to Sweden next month to negotiate a potential sale of Embraer’s C-390 Millennium military cargo aircraft to the Nordic nation. The move comes as Brazil explores the possibility of selling three to four C-390 aircraft to Sweden, while Sweden expresses interest in increasing its […]View the full article

Americas The US Navy’s transition to the CMV-22B Osprey for its long-range and medium-lift aerial logistics missions took a significant step forward on April 5, with the arrival of the first tiltrotor aircraft assigned to the East Coast at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 40, nicknamed “Mighty Bison,” received the first […]View the full article

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…

Ukraine’s largest private weapons manufacturer, Ukrainian Armor, has begun mass production of new VOLS military buggies in response to battlefield demand for a low-cost, versatile vehicle designed for logistics and frontline support. According to a report from Oboronka, the company identified a gap in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ equipment compared to Russian units, which employ […] The post Ukraine’s private company begins mass production of VOLS buggy first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps has operated the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) in Japan during Resolute Dragon 25. According to the Marine Corps, the system was employed after a notional fire mission on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, on September 21, 2025. The exercise marks another step in strengthening bilateral defense cooperation between U.S. forces and […] The post U.S. tests unmanned launcher vehicle in Japan drill first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Lockheed Martin has introduced its newest unmanned aerial system, Vectis, at the 2025 ADEX defense exhibition in South Korea. Developed by the company’s Skunk Works advanced projects division, the Vectis platform is intended to operate as part of a Family of Systems alongside fifth-generation aircraft, including the F-35. According to the company, the new drone […] The post Lockheed Martin debuts Vectis combat drone at ADEX 2025 first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

XTEND, an Israeli robotics firm, says it is pushing a new model for battlefield robotics in which human supervisors set intent while AI-driven “pilots” execute dangerous tasks — a design the company argues will allow small air and ground robots to operate in GNSS-denied, electronic warfare environments and scale from squad-level missions to larger maritime […]View the full article