Raw Intel

The U.S. Air Force and Anduril Industries completed the first experimental testing of the YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft with the Air Force’s newly stood-up Experimental Operations Unit last week, conducting a series of daily flight operations at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The exercise marked the first time Air Force personnel — not Anduril […]View the full article

U.S. Army soldiers from the Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division conducted Operation Arctic Tech at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, from April 7 to April 10 — a weeklong field exercise designed to fuse unmanned aircraft systems, electronic warfare, and counter-drone capabilities into a single, integrated reconnaissance force operating […]View the full article

United States President Donald Trump said the United States military has launched “major combat operations” inside Iran, describing the action as a response to what he called imminent threats posed by the Iranian government. The announcement came in a video shared on social media, as regional tensions escalated and air raid sirens sounded across Israel […]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

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco shut down operations at its Ras Tanura refinery following a drone strike that triggered a fire at the major Gulf coast facility, an industry source said Monday, as verified video footage later confirmed flames at the site after the incident. According to an industry source cited in reporting, Aramco […]View the full article

The United States Navy, acting through Naval Air Systems Command, has awarded Collins Elbit Vision Systems LLC (CEVS) a $585 million contract for the production and delivery of Lot 18 and Lot 19 F-35 helmet-mounted display hardware, covering U.S. services, international program partners, and Foreign Military Sales customers. The contract, announced on 31 March, covers […]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…

Iran said it had shot down a United States Air Force fighter jet over its territory, and footage released by Iranian channels appears to show the wreckage of an F-15E Strike Eagle from the U.S. Air Force’s 494th Fighter Squadron. Iranian outlets initially claimed the aircraft was an F-35, but a closer review of the […]View the full article

The Swiss Federal Council confirmed on March 6, 2026, that Switzerland will proceed with the acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets but will no longer pursue the originally planned fleet of 36 aircraft due to financial constraints. Instead, the government intends to purchase the maximum number of aircraft possible within the financial framework approved […]View the full article

UK Defence Innovation has launched a market engagement activity seeking novel technologies capable of detecting and defeating fibre-optic controlled drones, opening a formal call to industry that closes on April 21, 2026. The solicitation marks the first public acknowledgment by the UK Ministry of Defence that fibre-optic drone control has become a sufficiently pressing operational […]View the full article

American Rheinmetall and electric vehicle startup Harbinger announced a partnership on May 27 to develop and field a family of robotic and uncrewed ground vehicles for the U.S. Department of War, pairing a combat vehicle integration specialist with a commercially derived hybrid-electric chassis designed from the ground up for autonomous operation. The teaming, announced from […]View the full article

BAE Systems has won a $33.5 million U.S. Navy contract to carry out maintenance, repairs, and modernization work on the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Augusta (LCS 34), keeping the vessel on track for future fleet operations. The award, issued to BAE Systems’ Maritime Solutions unit in San Diego, covers the ship’s Fiscal 2026 Docking […]View the full article

Indian drone manufacturer Hoverit has completed vehicle-mounted launch trials of its Divyastra Mk-2, a long-range one-way attack drone in the same class as Iran’s Shahed series. The ground trial milestone follows an earlier high-speed taxi trial, with the company confirming in its announcement that vehicle-based launch has now been completed. “After successful High Speed Taxi […]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

A Spanish defense firm has completed live flight testing of its BANDIT-X drone interceptor before military operators in Slovakia, demonstrating the full operational cycle of the system in what the company’s co-founder described as a validation milestone that separates real capability from the concept renders and commercial presentations that dominate the counter-drone industry. ARMMO Defense […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian forces have resumed offensive operations across several front-line sectors. The statement follows reports of increased battlefield activity as weather conditions improve in eastern Ukraine. The renewed offensive activity reflects a continuation of Russia’s military objectives, with Ukrainian officials warning that Moscow is maintaining its operational tempo. According to […]View the full article

Turkey unveiled its first domestically built mini-submarine at SAHA Expo 2026, a milestone that Istanbul Technical University-based defense company Datum Submarine Technologies announced after completing the vessel’s first dive tests off the coast of Karamürsel on April 14, 2026. The Multi-Purpose Mini Submarine, developed with support from Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries, completed assembly at […]View the full article

Türkiye has signed a definitive procurement contract for its KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet, committing to the delivery of 20 aircraft to the Türkiye Air Force between 2028 and the end of 2030. The contract covers 20 KAAN aircraft in the Block-10 configuration, with the first delivery planned for 2028 and the full batch scheduled for […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin has received an $850.4 million Navy contract modification to continue work on the Trident II (D5) Life Extension 2 program. The award, announced April 15, goes to Lockheed Martin Space of Titusville, Florida, under a cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to an existing contract. It covers advanced design and development work for the Strategic Systems Programs’ […]View the full article