Raw Intel

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that several Ukrainian electrical substations critical for nuclear safety were affected by widespread military activity, leading to a temporary loss of external power at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and disruptions to power lines serving other nuclear facilities. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that Chornobyl Nuclear […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded Liquid Robotics Inc., based in Herndon, Virginia, a $25 million contract to supply 20 unmanned surface vehicles under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program supporting Japan, according to a contract announcement released by the U.S. Department of War. The award covers work related to control software, mission payloads, […]View the full article

The United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) issued a Request for Information on March 16, 2026, seeking industry solutions to develop an automated system for extracting geospatial features from imagery and maps as part of its Foundation Digital Twin program. The agency is exploring Automated Feature Extraction (AFE) technologies that can detect, extract, and classify […]View the full article

South Korean defense and aerospace company LIG Defense & Aerospace — known as LIG D&A — announced on April 8, 2026, the establishment of its first American subsidiary, LIG Defense U.S. Inc. The new entity, to be referred to as LIG U.S., will operate as the company’s primary hub for partnership development, technology exchange, and […]View the full article

EagleNXT has sold three eBee VISION unmanned aerial system kits to the U.S. Army’s 7th Army Training Command, the company announced on May 5, 2026, adding to a growing Army-wide adoption of the fixed-wing ISR platform that now totals 34 systems across six distinct organizations. The sale was facilitated by Dronivo, a German UAS integrator […]View the full article

A San Francisco-based maritime technology company’s hydrofoiling electric boat stopped senior U.S. Navy admirals and captains in their tracks at the Sea-Air-Space conference, drawing repeated assessments of ‘game changer’ from operators who work with small naval craft for a living, Navier CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya revealed following the company’s debut at the major naval exposition. The […]View the full article

Poland has signed a contract worth approximately $16 million to purchase American-made V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing drones for its Navy, with the deal set to be completed before the end of 2026, Defence24 reported. The agreement, confirmed by Poland’s Armament Agency, covers one full system set and several aerial platforms, making Poland one of […]View the full article

Anduril just unveiled a helicopter-killer’s replacement: a pilotless attack aircraft built specifically because attack helicopters have become too dangerous to fly. The defense technology company announced Thunder, an autonomous attack rotorcraft designed to fly alongside crewed helicopters like the Apache, absorbing the risk that increasingly cheap drones, loitering munitions, and persistent surveillance systems have turned […]View the full article

Hanwha Defense USA has won a U.S. Army contract to deliver six prototype K9 Mobile Howitzers (MH) for the Army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon program, with an option for 12 more, the company announced Tuesday. It is Hanwha’s first major U.S. Army contract. The award follows a public campaign Hanwha has run for nearly a year […]View the full article

Our Navy needs a 4th USS Aaron Ward. Read all of this and tell me this isn't a name that needs to be active in our fleet. We also need a ship named after her CO, Adam Sanders. I'll just stick with the citations: The Presidential Unit Citation for Aaron Ward reads as follows: For extraordinary heroism in action as a Picket Ship on Radar Picket Station during a coordinated attack by approximately 25 Japanese aircraft near Okinawa on 3 May 1945. Shooting down two kamikazes which approached in determined suicide dives, the USS AARON WARD was struck by a bomb from a third plane as she fought to destroy this attacker before it crashed into the superstructure and spra…

May the Christmas spirit find you where ever you may may be. The US Navy wishes you peace on this day, but if you don't want peace ... well ... in the finest traditions back to George Washington, we can handle that too. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=OMcBgSuXY-Y:gLo1h91AncI:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=OMcBgSuXY-Y:gLo1h91AncI:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=OMcBgSuXY-Y:gLo1h91AncI:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=OMcBgSuXY-Y:gLo1h91AncI:F7zBnMyn0Lo…

Still wondering exactly what "Integrated Deterrence" means? Do you feel comfortable understanding the different deterrence schools of punishment vs. denial? If strategy and resources are aligned, does that necessarily make the results themselves "good?" You're going to know all the above better than most of the people you'll see trying to discuss them after reading today's guest post by our friend Bryan McGrath, returning here to ring the school bell. Simply superb and worth reading twice. Bryan, over to you. There are few more pitiful creatures than seapower/maritime strategists (I will use these phrases interchangeably, pedants be damned), a group of thinkers and advoc…

The Russian Navy HQ in Crimea had a Sunday visitor, China continues to be prickly about its neighbor's guest list, the Navy gets a new oiler (yes, that is sexy), Sal wrote a couple of things that got people's attention, and we are just a couple of months away until winter hits the slogfest in Ukraine. Of course, that is just for starters because in a Midrats Free-For-All, you never know where the conversation will take us - and if you don't like where we're going, you can nudge us your way because the chat room and phones will be open when we are LIVE Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. Join us live if you can, but it not, you can get the show later by subscribing to the podcast. …

Americas American Systems won a $31.4 million modification, which exercises options to provide all required development testing, integration, delivery, and installation, as well as aircrew training and readiness for the P-8A Increment 3 Block 2 mission software integrated into existing P-8A training systems, to include Weapons Tactics Trainer, the new Combat Systems Part Task Trainer, […]View the full article

Americas The Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, recently completed restoring a retired Douglas A-4M Skyhawk to its former glory for static display. This project provided a special opportunity for FRCE’s artisans, many of whom had never worked on an A-4. The last A-4 Skyhawk was retired by […]View the full article

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…

Malaysia has canceled its plan to acquire F/A-18C/D Hornet fighter jets from the Kuwait Air Force, according to a report by Malaysian news site Twentytwo13, citing sources familiar with the decision. The outlet said the cancellation stems from multiple factors that made the transfer complicated and ultimately unworkable. Among the primary concerns were aircraft availability, […] The post Malaysia drops plan to buy Kuwait F/A-18 fighter jets first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Hungarian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania intercepted a formation of Russian military aircraft approaching NATO airspace on September 25, the alliance said in a statement. According to NATO, the intercept took place when a five-ship group of Russian aircraft — including one Su-30, one Su-35, and three MiG-31 fighter jets — was detected flying close […] The post Hungarian Gripens scramble to intercept Russian jets first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Thales Defence announced on October 23 that Australia’s StrikeMaster missile launch system successfully fired an anti-ship missile test munition in Norway. The test involved the launch of Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile (NSM) from a platform based on Thales Australia’s Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV). In a statement, Thales Australia said, “The Bushmaster now has fangs.” […] The post Thales and Kongsberg test new strike system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

INKAS has officially presented its new M1 Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle at Milipol Paris 2025, marking what the company described as a major step in its evolution as a defense manufacturer. The unveiling showcased a platform developed over years of research, engineering, and testing, created in collaboration with the French firm Texelis. According to the […]View the full article