Raw Intel

The United States has continued elevated air and maritime military activity in the Caribbean region following Saturday’s U.S. operation in Venezuela, with fighter aircraft and naval assets operating near Venezuelan borders, according to local reports. Residents of Puerto Rico, where one of the United States’ operational military bases in the region is located, reported sustained […]View the full article

Russia has publicly released footage of its Zubr automated counter-drone system operating for the first time, showing the weapon detecting, tracking, and engaging aerial targets with minimal human involvement. The release came alongside confirmation from Rostec, Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate, that the first batch of Zubr systems has already entered active duty protecting critical infrastructure […]View the full article

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that several United States Air Force combat aircraft crashed during morning hours, stating that all aircrews survived and were safely recovered following emergency search and rescue operations, according to an official government statement identified as Statement No. 7. In its official announcement, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense spokesperson said: “This […]View the full article

The United States Army on March 2, 2026, issued a notice for follow-on Technical Assistance and Field Service Representative support for the PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, Defense System covering program years 2027 through 2029. The notice, published by Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, calls for industry capability statements by March 17, 2026. The […]View the full article

Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern has unveiled a new portable reconnaissance-strike system that closely copies Israel’s Hero-90 loitering munition, according to images and specifications released ahead of the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia. The system, designated RUS-PE, is scheduled to be formally presented at the World Defense Show in Riyadh from Feb. 8 to Feb. 12. […]View the full article

Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A Talon Blue autonomous combat aircraft completed its first taxi test on May 14 at Mojave, California, moving under its own power for the first time and bringing the Air Force’s third designated drone wingman prototype within striking distance of its first flight. Crane Aerospace and Electronics, part of Connecticut-based Crane Company, supplied […]View the full article

It was a dozen years ago that...we thought—really thought—that with the X-47B we could move from crawl to walk with large unmanned systems. From the OG Blog in July, 2017: I'm interested in how many can I physically wedge on to a carrier deck and/or hangar bay. I'll waive the flight control issue etc - but once you know how many you can actually pack in your helmet bag and carry (given tradeoffs for other aircraft etc) - then we can start to plan orbits, sorties, loss-rate mitigation, etc. Now, if there were a way to stack them like so many Pringles ..... Ponder. Of course, by the end of the year, the usual suspects killed it for all the worst reasons. We could have had…

Great news via Matt White at T&P. A Marine who single-handedly destroyed a major bridge in Vietnam, swinging hand-over-hand across its steel girders to plant explosive charges even as an enemy tank fired at him, now appears set to receive the Medal of Honor. Marine Capt. John Ripley’s three-hour, one-man assault on the Dong Ha Bridge in April 1972 has long been a hallowed story in the Marine Corps. Fellow Marines, friends, and advocates have pushed for decades to see the Navy Cross he was awarded for the battle upgraded to a Medal of Honor. Those efforts appear to be nearing success, after the Senate approved special legislation that cleared the way for the award to b…

The French Army’s 54th Artillery Regiment has begun tactical trials of interceptor drones built to take down hostile unmanned aircraft, as the service moves to strengthen its defenses against threats similar to the Shahed and Lancet systems seen in Ukraine. The evaluation has been running for several months under a tasking from the Commandement du […]View the full article

A report published by the Chinese newspaper Global Times says China is seeking to expand exports of military aircraft following what the publication described as the first combat success of the export-oriented J-10CE fighter jet during an overseas air battle in 2025. The report indicates that the aircraft’s performance generated increased international attention toward Chinese […]View the full article

Ukraine’s General Staff said early on January 13 that Defense Forces carried out an overnight strike on the Atlant Aero industrial facility in Taganrog, Rostov region, hitting a site involved in producing Molniya strike-reconnaissance drones and components for the Orion unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the General Staff, explosions and a fire were recorded across […]View the full article

United States Army soldiers conducted HIMARS training with the Lithuanian Armed Forces on January 13 at the General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area in Pabrade, Lithuania, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen NATO’s long-range precision-fire capabilities along the eastern flank. The exercise involved crews from Task Force Pergale, Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery […]View the full article

I like to bring back old FbF from the OB Blog—I’ve been doing them for over two decades…there are a lot—for the thousands of new subscribers (nothumble brag) who have not seen them. As one of the kids and I just finished all three Lord of the Rings movies in the extended director’s cut, I remembered that I did an FbF a dozen years ago about Christopher Lee (who played Saruman). I know there is some controversy about what he did or did not do. All that being said, what was verified was quite enough to deserve an FbF. Of the many reasons I left blogspot for Substack is that google owns blogspot, and at the height of wokeness, they started hiding or putting some of my post…

The United States Navy has awarded a $19.5 million contract modification to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works to continue engineering and technical support for the Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyers, according to a contract announcement. Most of the work will take place in Bath, Maine, and is scheduled to run through March 2027. The contract allows the […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has begun early market research for the remanufacture of a key defensive electronic warfare component used on the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. A sources sought notice published April 10 by DLA Aviation in Oklahoma City identifies the requirement as the B-2 Receiver Countermeasure. Responses are due by April 17, making this […]View the full article

ARX Robotics is expanding its deployed fleet in Ukraine to five times its initial size, the European unmanned ground vehicle maker announced in May 2026, securing a new contract to supply several hundred additional GEREON uncrewed ground vehicles to Ukraine’s Defense Forces and cementing its position as the largest supplier of Western UGVs to Ukraine. […]View the full article

The United States Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command announced plans on March 16 to pursue a sole-source contract with Boeing for software updates to the Harpoon missile support system, according to a presolicitation notice. The effort focuses on updating the Common Munitions BIT/Reprogramming Equipment Mission Application Program, a system used to support and maintain Harpoon […]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

San Diego drone startup Firestorm Labs has secured a $30 million contract under the Pentagon’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies program to deploy its 3D-printed Tempest Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and the containerized microfactories that produce them into the Indo-Pacific, the company announced in an exclusive release to Tectonic. The APFIT award, […]View the full article

India successfully flight-tested an advanced Agni ballistic missile equipped with Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) capability on May 8, 2026, launching from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha and striking multiple separate targets with a single missile. India’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the test through its official social media account, […]View the full article