Raw Intel

RENK Group AG recorded its highest-ever order intake for an opening quarter in company history, the German propulsion manufacturer announced on May 6, 2026, with approximately $657 million in new orders and a total backlog that has climbed to an all-time high of approximately $7.8 billion. The Augsburg-based company posted first quarter 2026 revenue of […]View the full article

Poland and Britain are building artillery shells together at scale, and their governments and chambers of commerce have just given that partnership a formal award recognizing it as one of the most consequential industrial collaborations between the two countries. The British Embassy in Warsaw and the British Polish Chamber of Commerce jointly presented the British-Polish […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new hypersonic glide body designed from the ground up to be manufactured cheaply and at scale, announcing a weapon it calls the Next Generation Glide Body that promises greater range and speed than existing American hypersonic designs while costing significantly less per unit to produce. The announcement, made June 24, […]View the full article

Russian engineers have turned one of their most common military helicopters into a flying jammer built specifically to blind Ukraine’s long-range strike drones, Militarnyi reported, after a Russian propaganda Telegram channel accidentally revealed the previously unknown system in its own footage. The outlet identified the aircraft as a Mi-8, a twin-engine transport helicopter the Soviet […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force is seeking industry information on building a full training package for its incoming E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, including a flight simulator, two maintenance trainers and a support center, according to a Request for Information published August 19. The RFI, issued by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Simulators Division at Wright-Patterson […]View the full article

Fewer carriers are deploying more even as repeated warning lights have been going off that we are expending in peace what we will need in war when it comes to personnel and materiel in carrier aviation. How did we get here, where are we, and where are we going? Using her article, No Margin Left: Overworked Carrier Force Struggles to Maintain Deployments After Decades of Overuse, as a starting point and diving it to some of the additional insights she gained while writing it, Megan Eckstein from USNINews will be joining us along with Sam LaGrone this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. Megan Eckstein is the deputy editor for USNI News. She previously covered Congress and the …

If you're on active duty or a civilian employee, you're going to have to go through a struggle session. The best thing you can do to prepare for it is to know what you are going to be subjected to ahead of time. That way you can better get through it. This training isn't as great as supporters say it is, nor is it as bad as it could have been. There is still a lot of problematic items in here - mostly because of who wrote it and the climate to anyone doing anything but saying, "Looks great!" Because it wasn't properly edited, yes, it is political. Anyone who watched the events of the summer of 2020 and have made an objective review of what happened in January (NB: …

China is interested in a lot more than just the first or second island chain. In the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean, the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are critical to the sea lines of communication for the economic powerhouses on both sides. From the Age of Discovery to today, their importance rises to the top of any power who wished to influence the area. To look at this area of returning importance with us for the full hour from 5-6pm Eastern this Sunday will be Alexander B. Gray. The starting point for our conversation will be the issues he raised in two recent articles; How the US Can Protect the Sovereignty of the Smallest Pacific Island i…

Americas General Electric Aviation won a $131.6 million deal for the repair, upgrade or replacement; inventory management; and required supply response times of two T-700 engine components in support of the Navy’s H-60 Seahawk and the Marine Corp’s AH-1 Cobra helicopters. The Navy sought the services from a single vendor in accordance with defense acquisition regulations and will use its annual working capital funds when issuing delivery orders. Work will take place in Massachusetts and Kansas. Estimated completion will be by September 2026. The US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory recently purchased several SMASH 2000 fire control systems , through its Rapid Capabilit…

Americas Boeing won a $57.7 million order, which provides for the procurement of various initial spares and repair equipment in support of the MQ-25A Stingray air vehicle for the Navy. Work will take place in Missouri and Indiana. Expected completion is in July 2025. Four Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16s have flown for the last time in the United States on July 29. The flights took place at Morris Air National Guard (ANG) Base and it also marks the end of Dutch F-16 training in the United States. Middle East & Africa Dyncorp International LLC won a $56 million contract modification for maintenance support services for the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Co…

Americas Systems Planning and Analysis won a $7 million modification to exercise fiscal 2025 options to provide support services for the Trident II Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Strategic Weapons System. Tasks to be performed include technical services, program support, assessments, and special studies and systems engineering. Work is expected to be completed September 30, 2025. This contract was awarded as a sole source acquisition with the authority of 10 US. Code 3204(a)(1). SSP, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $48 million modification to exercise an option for continued sustainment of the French Air Force …

Take a break from the heat today to discuss some of the hidden history, and importance, of the Presidential retreat at Camp David with the author of the book, Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David, Charles Ferguson. You can listen at this link, or with the Spotify widget below. After graduating from Georgia Tech and earning his commission, Charles Ferguson served for 11 years in the Submarine force onboard the USS Louisville and as Weapons Officer onboard USS Buffalo with a shore duty at Nuclear Power School in between. He switched to the IRR as Chaplain Candidate while attending seminary at Duke Divinity School and was recommissioned as an Active Duty Chaplain …

The U.S. Army has officially fielded the newest version of its Soldier Borne Sensor reconnaissance drone, earning high praise from Soldiers who trained with it for the first time this month. The system, developed under Program Executive Office Soldier, is designed to give troops real-time intelligence while keeping them out of direct danger. Officials said […] The post U.S. Army fields new pocket-sized recon drone first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $198 million deal to extend the service life of its F/A-18 Block II Super Hornet fighter jets and integrate advanced Block III avionics capabilities, the Pentagon announced. The new contract increases the overall ceiling for a program aimed at modernizing and sustaining one of the Navy’s most widely […] The post U.S. Navy extends Super Hornet’s service life first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Ukrainian special operation has targeted Russian troops stationed in the city of Stavropol, deep inside the Russian Federation, resulting in the elimination of at least three servicemen from the Russian Airborne Forces. The strike took place near Military Unit No. 54801, located at 533 Serova Street in central Stavropol, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence […] The post Ukraine blows up Russian troops at home base first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. soldiers are conducting joint training with Polish and Romanian forces on a counter-drone system deployed urgently to NATO’s eastern flank following a recent series of unmanned aircraft incursions across Europe. According to U.S. and NATO officials, the program reflects lessons drawn from the war in Ukraine, where cheap drones have repeatedly challenged traditional air-defense […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has carried out a second strike in recent days against Russia’s Belbek air base in occupied Crimea, destroying Russian military aircraft and damaging critical airfield infrastructure, according to the SBU press service. In a statement, the SBU said its unmanned systems hit the Belbek facility, resulting in the destruction […]View the full article

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) confirmed on January 20, 2026, that it has taken delivery of a newly developed small unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) designed for underwater defense missions. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Defense’s JMSDF public affairs office, which stated that the domestically developed UUV has now been formally inducted into […]View the full article

Sweden ranked third worldwide in military assistance to Ukraine in 2025, both in total contributions and as a share of national GDP, according to data cited by the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine based on a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The embassy said Sweden’s support reflects a clear political commitment despite […]View the full article

It is always a great day when an alumnus of The Midrats Podcast assumes another position to advance our Navy. A decade after joining the faculty at the Naval War College, Captain Sam Tangredi, USN (Ret.), PhD, has a new line on his CV. From the Summer/Autumn Edition of the Naval War College Review, On a personal note, it is a tremendous honor for me to relieve the watch as editor in chief of the Naval War College Review from Dr. Jon Caverley. Over many years, the Review frequently published my research and analyses. My writing benefited from the assessments and recommendations of great Review editors—including Bob Laske, Frank Uhlig, and Tom Grassey—along with their succ…