Raw Intel

Ukrainian military have found a Russian Shahed-type one-way attack drone equipped with a man-portable air-defense system, marking the first confirmed observation of such a configuration. Serhii Beskrestnov, known by the call sign “Flash,” said the modified drone was identified on January 4. He reported that Russian forces mounted the portable surface-to-air missile system on the […]View the full article

The United States Army has awarded Textron Systems Corporation a prototype agreement for the Low Altitude Stalking & Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program, the company announced last week. The agreement supports the Army’s effort to provide Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) with an organic precision strike capability designed to engage armored vehicles, hardened targets, and concealed […]View the full article

The United States is building a new training facility for the nuclear missile that will replace the country’s aging intercontinental ballistic missile force, awarding a $114 million construction contract for a dedicated school at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California where airmen will train for Sentinel maintenance and operations. Korte Construction Co., based in St. […]View the full article

The United States Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $1.27 billion contract modification for continued engineering and design support for the Virginia-class submarine program, adding to a recent string of major investments across the service’s undersea fleet. The award, issued by Naval Sea Systems Command, covers lead yard support, development studies, and design […]View the full article

The United States Commerce Department has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have imposed new restrictions on Chinese-made drones, according to a government notice posted Friday. The reversal ends a months-long review process and comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing this April. According to documents published on the federal website, Commerce […]View the full article

An Iranian ballistic missile strike late Thursday heavily damaged the production facility of Israeli drone manufacturer Aero-Sentinel, hitting just meters from the company’s site in Petach Tikva and disrupting part of its manufacturing operations. In comments shared with Defence Blog, the company said the site was struck by an Iranian missile but stressed that the […]View the full article

British radar manufacturer Blighter said on March 9 that it signed a contract to supply its ground surveillance radar systems and AI-assisted software to an undisclosed Eastern European army for border protection missions. The agreement will see the company deliver its B400 series ground surveillance radars together with the BlighterNexus AI-assisted software platform, which will […]View the full article

Aerostat platforms—often seen as an archaic technology that many readers associate with the Second World War—are gaining renewed relevance on the battlefield in Ukraine as they combine with drones and modern reconnaissance systems. In a war shaped by unmanned aircraft, electronic warfare, and rapidly evolving battlefield technology, these tethered platforms are finding a new role […]View the full article

Turkey’s ASELSAN unveiled two new unmanned naval systems at SAHA 2026 in Istanbul on May 5, expanding the country’s autonomous warfare portfolio into both underwater strike and surface vessel domains with platforms designed for swarm operations, covert missions, and asymmetric combat at sea. The company introduced the KILIÇ family of autonomous underwater strike systems and […]View the full article

Palantir’s Shyam Sankar continues to offer some of the clearest and most precise ideas on how we need to shift our mindset if we want to set the foundation for the next big war. I’m not going to ask too much of your time today. Nope, just a bit over a minute to ponder Shyam’s four Sputnik moments. The 1 minute and 19 seconds is an incredibly powerful boil-down of what should drive a lot of our thinking. Really, we should already be well down the road in acting on it. Here’s the video that starts the bit I’d like folks to ponder on today starting at the 41:05 moment, but if you have time on your commute, give the full interview from the Hudson Institute’s 11 March upload a…

German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall conducted a live-fire demonstration of its 120mm Ragnarok mortar system and a new Mortar Mission Module during a multinational event in Norway, the company said, showcasing the system under Arctic conditions. The demonstration comes as European militaries seek mobile, rapidly deployable indirect fire systems that can operate in harsh environments while […]View the full article

Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones struck two major aviation facilities in Russia in recent days, targeting the Aviastar aircraft plant in Ulyanovsk and the 123rd Aircraft Repair Plant in Staraya Russa. The attacks come as Ukraine continues efforts to disrupt Russia’s military aviation production and maintenance capacity, focusing on facilities linked to transport aircraft and […]View the full article

The U.S. Army is buying a Draganfly commercial, heavy lift drone system for Fort Drum, New York, with the Mission Installation Contracting Command posting a combined synopsis and solicitation on May 6, 2026, for a complete unmanned aerial system package that includes communications hardware, a ground control station, delivery box, batteries, and a sensor gimbal. […]View the full article

Russia used Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers to launch a salvo of heavy Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles toward the Kyiv region on January 24, marking the first recorded use of these weapons against targets near the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian air defense forces reported that Russia fired 12 Kh-22 or Kh-32 missiles toward a target on the outskirts of […]View the full article

Turkish defense company STM has unveiled ALPAGU-B, a larger fixed-wing loitering munition with a 40-kilometer line-of-sight range and artificial intelligence-powered target tracking, making its global debut at SAHA 2026. STM, formally known as STM Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş., describes ALPAGU-B as the newest member of its fixed-wing loitering munition family and a direct […]View the full article

No need to force yourself to head outside in this horrible weather—unless you are in the Free State of Florida where the high is expected to hit 80F or so. Let not your heart be troubled—we’ve got you covered. Catch up on all your maritime and national security concerns this Sunday afternoon from 5-6pm Eastern with a LIVE Midrats Podcast. From Davos to the Friday Defense Strategy dump to whatever comes over the transom, we’ve got you covered. You can join LIVE at this link. If you are reading this after the show, no problem. Just refresh the Substack later Sunday night for the podcast upload. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, con…

The U.S. Army has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $44.4 million contract modification to continue upgrading its Stryker Double V-Hull A1 vehicles. The award, announced by the Department of War, provides $44,394,688 to the Sterling Heights, Michigan-based manufacturer under modification PZ0004 to contract W912CH-25-D-0025. The work is scheduled to continue through Feb. 20, 2030, […]View the full article

Russian military aviation influencer Ilya Tumanov, who administers the widely followed Fighterbomber Telegram channel, has released the first photograph of Tu-160 serial number 8-04, named Deynekin, following its upgrade to the “M” standard. Previous imagery had shown the Deynekin undergoing modernization at the Kazan Aircraft Production Association plant as far back as 2020, making the […]View the full article

Mark Felton is a treasure. He has produced an enviable series of historical videos over the years. Pretty much everything he puts out is a must-watch. He also covers current issues, and this episode, to me, was a patriotic act for a British subject, and an important review that should concern everyone in the West. It is a good follow-on to yesterday’s post. Next to the U.S. Navy, the West has always assumed that the Royal Navy would be there to help preserve the assumptions the rest of the planet has about the access to the high seas. In 2026, the first question is not ‘will’ but ‘can’ they Royal Navy be of use. Too many people who should don’t know the state of the Royal…

Ethan Gossrow over at Naval News did a detailed look at the carrier portion of the 30-year shipbuilding plan that gives some texture for those who, like myself, are concerned about the slow approach to bringing new carriers online. Even though today is no different from any other day over the last half decade, there are those who will continue to try to explain why the USN’s CVNs are “obsolete” and not worth the investment. However, reality continues to get in their way, as he quotes from the Plan: “Underpinning Expanded Maritime Maneuver (EMM) the CVN serves as a persistent, survivable, mobile sea base that enables the Navy to dominate contested environments and deliver …