Raw Intel

Getting a piece of critical equipment out of an aircraft is only half the battle. Getting it to land exactly where troops need it, without a pilot flying dangerously low or slow over hostile territory, is the harder problem, and a Virginia-based company just demonstrated a system built to solve both at once. Onyx Industries […]View the full article

Raytheon has won a $22.9 billion, seven-year contract to accelerate production of Tomahawk cruise missiles for the U.S. Navy, the RTX business announced Monday. The award was made under the Department of War’s Arsenal of Freedom initiative and follows framework agreements Raytheon signed with the department in February. Those earlier agreements set a target of […]View the full article

Lost in the 25th Anniversary remembrance weekend of 11 SEP 2001 was the fact that there were significant changes on the ground in the festering sore on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Persian Gulf, Yemen. Bridget Toomey at FDD’s Long War Journal has a good summary. On September 10, the Houthis seized the strategic port city of Mocha on Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast. The next day, the Iran-backed group pushed south, culminating with the capture of the remaining Red Sea coast and Perim Island in the middle of the Bab al Mandeb Strait, the strategic chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Houthis also seized the Hanish Islands, an archipelag…

SummarySal discusses current geopolitical tensions, the state of Iran, the importance of reindustrialization, and the resilience of Western systems, providing insights into global security and policy strategies. Key TopicsGaza conflict and its implications Iran’s strategic trajectory towards Cubanization Reindustrialization efforts in the US, especially n… Read more View the full article

Fighters from a local armed group in Myanmar have destroyed several Chinese-made ZSL-92 infantry fighting vehicles belonging to the Myanmar Army using first-person-view (FPV) drones, open-source analyst Jesus Roman reported on Oct. 24, attributing the strikes to Monywa Scout, a resistance group named after Monywa, the main city of Myanmar’s Sagaing Region in the country’s […]View the full article

The 2020 election is over … well, mostly over. Though there are a few threads to clean up, the fabric the next few years natsec policy will be sewn from is pretty well known – so where does that lead us? We’ll get to that – but once again we need to invest some time to talk about Midrats’s contribution to NavyCon! EagleOne presented a segment for NavyCon2020A, we we’re going to talk about that a bit … and then we’ll pick up where our pre-election left off. Come join us for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern as we discuss this and more with an open chat room and open phones if you want to join in. It will be an open topic, open phones free for all ...…

I am happy we are talking more about wargames, but I am losing confidence in our ability to understand what they are and how to properly use them. The fact they are being used to justify further divestment from our hard won - yet still rump - fleet of smaller warships only adds to my concerns that we are making a huge mistake. Quotes and more thoughts over at USNIBlog. Come by and wonder what in the wide world of sports is going on over there. 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=ok0wOryRI68:sp61AB0UM0g:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner…

Americas Oshkosh Defense won a $10 million contract modification for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Family of Vehicles. The JLTV Family of Vehicles (FoV) is the Marine Corps and Army partial replacement for the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) fleet. Work will take place in Wisconsin. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2022. Raytheon Intelligence & Space has introduced a lightweight, affordable AESA radar in its lightest form factor ever. In addition to being a third of the weight of most modern AESA radars, the new compact radar also costs about half as much as typical fire control radars. Gallium Nitride technology is combined with an in…

JASSM-ER from B-1B (click to view full) The 2,000 pound AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is intended to be a stealthy, inexpensive GPS/IIR (Global Positioning system/ Imaging InfraRed) guided cruise missile. It’s designed to attack well-defended targets without putting its carrier aircraft in the crosshairs of new long-range surface to air missile systems. JASSM has experienced a rocky development history, due to long-standing reliability issues. In 2005 it was threatened with cancellation following a series of poor test results. The program went through 2007 on an ongoing roller coaster of ups and downs, and by May 2009 it appeared the program was …

Americas The US Marine Corps will acquire eight MQ-9A Extended Range (ER) unmanned air vehicles (UAV) for VMU-3 as part of the ARES Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (ID/IQ) contract. The fleet is expected to standup in late summer 2023 at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. VMU-3 will operate these MQ-9A ERs to support training for the Marine Littoral Regiment. Insitu won a $160 million deal, which provides training, test and engineering, development of engineering change proposals, operations support, organizational level maintenance, field service representatives, land and ship surveys, hardware site activations, hardware installs, repairs, and development of noncommercia…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $97 million modification by the US Army for the PAC-3 Missile Field Surveillance Program and missile post-production activities. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 19, 2023. The US Army tapped General Dynamics with a §146.7 million deal for flat-bottom hull Stryker vehicles. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of November 30, 2024. Middle East &am…

Americas Stratolaunch, LLC, a leading aerospace company, has announced a significant partnership with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to support the upcoming maiden flight test of their second reusable cutting-edge Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle, TA-3. The Talon-A vehicles, when launched from “Roc,” the world’s largest flying aircraft, serve as rocket-powered, autonomous testbeds. They […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won an $88.3 million Captains of Industry contract for the overhaul of B-2 digital receiver and legacy defense message system. This contract provides for overhaul, management, and material lay-in. Work will be performed at Owego, New York, and is expected to be completed by April 16, 2034. This contract was a sole […]View the full article

Americas According to Defense Post, L3Harris Technologies has received a $999-million contract to deliver critical radio solutions for the US and allied forces. Under this indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity award, the company will provide Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System Terminals, modern, software-defined communication radio devices compatible with ground, air, and maritime vehicles. The radio applies Link 16 technology, a common tactical data standard found across international militaries, including NATO members, that features a secure and fast exchange of voice, text, and imagery among users. The US Air Force (USAF) has …

Show LinksReforming the promotion system in DOD Australian Missile Canister Loading Equipment (MCLE) USNS Oscar V. Peterson (T‑AO 206) SummaryIn this episode of the Commander Salamander UNCLAS Read Board Podcast, the host discusses various topics related to national security, military developments, and the challenges faced by the Navy. Key themes include t… Read more View the full article

Senior U.S. Army sustainment leaders visited the Powidz Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 (APS-2) site in Poland on August 18 to review logistics capabilities and strengthen cooperation with Polish partners. According to the Army, top leaders from the 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade and the 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade conducted a site tour and held discussions […] The post U.S. Army reviews prepositioned stocks in Poland first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

India’s defense exports received a boost this month as BrahMos Aerospace signed cruise missile contracts worth ₹4,000 crore (approximately $455 million) with two foreign countries, according to Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The announcement coincided with the ceremonial dispatch of the first batch of BrahMos missiles from the new BrahMos Integration and Testing Facility in […] The post India signs $455M BrahMos missile export deals first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Chinese aerospace startup has begun offering a low-cost loitering munition closely modeled on the American Switchblade drone for just $13,000, excluding the warhead, according to promotional materials and technical documentation reviewed by Defence Blog. ShenZhen SkyWing UAV Technology Co., a private Chinese drone company, has released details of its unnamed system, which it claims […]View the full article

Ukraine has sharply increased the daily supply of interceptor drones used to counter Russian Shahed-type uncrewed aerial vehicles, with average deliveries reaching nearly 950 units per day in December, according to information released by the Ministry of Defense. The drones are contracted by the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense and are intended […]View the full article

Japan’s Board of Audit revealed in January 2026 that military equipment worth approximately 1.1 trillion yen ($6.9 billion) purchased from the United States under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program has not been delivered to the Japan Self-Defense Forces despite more than five years passing since contracts were signed. The finding is detailed in an […]View the full article