Raw Intel

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has selected Odon, Indiana, as the site for a new mid-tier coupled arc jet and laser facility, the company announced, marking a concrete step forward for Project Helios. The site selection followed what Kratos described as an extensive, multi-state competitive review. Michael Johns, Senior Vice President at Kratos, confirmed the […]View the full article

In 2026, could UPS run all their ground delivery operations using 1965 Dodge A100 vans? Sure they could. They could hire a whole new cadre of specialized mechanics to maintain the old girls. They’d need some place in the desert to keep a bunch of non-roadworthy A100s for spare parts, since many of those parts have not been manufactured in decades. For those parts that cannot be found, they can pay someone exorbitant prices to build replacement parts no one else but UPS needs. They could then create entire facilities where every so-many-thousands of miles, the A100 will be stripped down to the frame and rebuilt so they’d be, “as good as a new build” and go right back out t…

British aerospace company Rotron has successfully fired its SkyLance long-range one-way effector, validating the propulsion and system performance of a loitering munition platform that its new American parent company Ondas Inc. is positioning as a sovereign UK strike capability for NATO’s eastern flank and allied export markets. The firing milestone, announced by Rotron Aerospace, follows […]View the full article

AM General on March 24 unveiled a next-generation Unmanned Ground Vehicle at the Association of the United States Army Global Force Symposium & Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama. The company said the platform introduces a new direction for its light tactical vehicle portfolio, combining autonomous capability with a redesigned powertrain intended for future military systems. The […]View the full article

Latvia has begun transferring batches of CVR(T) armored vehicles to Ukraine, with deliveries already underway, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov said following a meeting with Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds. The vehicles are being supplied to reinforce Ukrainian battalion-level units. “Met with Latvia’s Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds. We discussed the development of joint […]View the full article

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth concluded the first phase of the Department’s nationwide “Arsenal of Freedom” tour on Feb. 27, 2026, with visits to defense industry facilities operated by General Dynamics and L3Harris in Camden, Arkansas, where he delivered remarks focused on expanding production capacity and accelerating weapons manufacturing. The tour, organized by […]View the full article

An Iranian missile and drone attack on March 27 struck Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, wounding multiple United States service members and damaging several aircraft, including an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft and aerial refueling planes. According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, citing people familiar with the matter, […]View the full article

The French Navy will become the first operator of Airbus’ Aliaca vertical take-off and landing uncrewed aerial system after France’s Directorate General of Armament ordered a new VTOL configuration under the SMDM program, Airbus Helicopters said on February 3, 2026. According to Airbus Helicopters, the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) approved an amendment to the […]View the full article

North Korea has launched serial production of a new generation of high-precision guided missiles, according to a statement published by state media, confirming the start of large-scale manufacturing for a modern anti-tank missile complex. The announcement was released by Korean Central News Agency, which said the guided missiles are now entering mass production and form […]View the full article

Wreckage found near the city of Saveh in central Iran does not belong to a downed U.S. Air Force F-16, despite claims aired by Iranian television. The debris appears to be from an Iranian liquid-fueled ballistic missile, likely a Ghadr or Emad, that crashed after a malfunction. Images from the site show a large cylindrical […]View the full article

The Naval Air Systems Command confirmed that it awarded a contract to Rockwell Collins to repair and reconfigure TacNet 1.0 datalink radios used on the Joint Standoff Weapon and Harpoon Block II+ missile systems. The delivery order was issued on September 30, 2025 and listed in a federal award notice published March 6, 2026. The […]View the full article

Russia has announced a record increase in its export weapons portfolio, with First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov stating on Friday that Moscow now holds $70 billion in signed defense contracts. Manturov delivered the figures during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, marking the largest reported volume of foreign military orders in Russia’s history. According […]View the full article

Israeli Steadicopter announced on March 9 that it signed a services agreement with the U.S.-based company flyAlchemy to support operational deployment and evaluation of its Black Eagle 50E rotary unmanned aerial system in the United States. The agreement is intended to enable flight demonstrations, customer evaluation programs, and mission development activities aimed at introducing the […]View the full article

Anatolii Maksymov, an expert at the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre and Middle East analyst, said Iran’s asymmetric military strategy is placing growing pressure on the United States and its regional partners as the conflict spreads across the Persian Gulf and surrounding energy infrastructure. In a published analysis of the ongoing confrontation, Maksymov argues that […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.34 billion contract modification to support the development of the E-7A Rapid Prototype Airborne Mission Segment, part of the service’s effort to field the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. The modification exercises an option under a previously awarded contract and supports continued […]View the full article

Russian forces have mounted a North Korean-supplied Type 75 107mm multiple launch rocket system directly onto the hull of a Courier unmanned ground vehicle. The integration represents the latest expansion of the Courier’s weapons family and introduces a crewless rocket artillery capability to Russia’s growing inventory of armed ground drones operating in Ukraine. The Type […]View the full article

A Lithuanian drone company has unveiled a purpose-built interceptor designed to destroy Shahed-class attack drones in flight, adding a new kinetic counter-drone weapon to the growing arsenal of small nations that have turned four years of front-line experience in Ukraine into exportable defense technology. Granta Autonomy announced the Black Wasp on June 24, 2026, describing […]View the full article

I know it is just a little bit more than a week after my last post on the outstanding performance of the under-appreciated Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB)—by the way, can we get this class of ships a proper classification? We have other options. However, they are doing the heavy lifting again in the post-Maduro takedown. Here we have U.S. forces capturing the tanker VERONICA III in the Indian Ocean. The tanker is linked to the illegal transportation of crude oil from Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. She could run, but could not hide from the yet-to-be named U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke destroyer. And as Sal Mercogliano let us know over the weekend, in the background of the pictur…

DARPA flew a hybrid-electric unmanned experimental aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base in April 2026, marking the first flight milestone for a propulsion architecture the agency believes could fundamentally change how military aircraft are designed and what they can do. The aircraft, designated XRQ-73, was developed through DARPA’s Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration program, […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk a $183million contract to conduct maintenance, modernization, and repair work on the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) as part of the ship’s Fiscal Year 2026 Depot Modernization Period. All work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, with completion expected by April 2028. The contract includes options […]View the full article