Raw Intel

Canada unveiled a new self-propelled artillery system at its premier defense exhibition this week that can fire a 155mm shell while moving at speed, reload automatically without a gunner exposed outside the vehicle, and hit targets up to 70 km (43 miles) away, all operated by a crew of three from inside an armored hull […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has hired four civilian cargo ships capable of driving military vehicles directly onto beaches and island piers without fixed port infrastructure, chartering them for operations out of Naha, Japan, starting July 30, 2026, in a $37 million contract that tells a precise story about how seriously American military planners are taking the […]View the full article

France’s Air and Space Force announced that its sixth major long-range air power deployment, code-named PEGASE 26, will launch in early September 2026, sending four Rafale fighter jets built to the latest F4 operational standard across three strategic regions the French military considers critical to its global posture: the Arctic, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle […]View the full article

Voyager Technologies said domestic production of tactical solid rocket motors is not keeping pace with Department of War demand, and detailed how the company is scaling manufacturing to close that gap. Solid rocket motors combine fuel and oxidizer in a pressure vessel with a single nozzle exit point, producing thrust as soon as they are […]View the full article

Israeli surveillance systems maker ESC BAZ demonstrated a new line of patrol and assault vehicles for the Israel Defense Forces’ 96th Division, the company said in a LinkedIn post. The vehicles are built for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, security missions and first-response operations, and the demonstration included counter-drone technology developed with Israeli firm SmartShooter. ESC BAZ […]View the full article

A Raytheon-Rafael joint venture in East Camden, Arkansas, has delivered the first Tamir interceptor for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system built and assembled entirely in the United States, the Israeli Ministry of Defense said. The missile was handed over at a ceremony at the plant run by R2S, the joint venture between Raytheon and […]View the full article

Chinese Type 08 infantry fighting vehicles fitted with anti-drone roof cages and side grilles carried assault troops during Karakoram 2026, the first joint army training between China and Pakistan, now under way in Korla in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Oct. 21. The exercise has moved into its main drill […]View the full article

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lo0Cr35ltBM/VbIvaIF-7_I/AAAAAAAAKDk/Mc_0Q7hSJYA/s320/1p1.jpg Most of your people slaughtered. In front of you is the land of your ancestors, a land you do not know, mostly desert and waste. You are surrounded by large numbers of a well armed enemy on the march. You have the option of going home, or to ride off to war in a cheap copy of an outdated weapon. Of course, you gather around you fast friends, and head to the sound of rolling tanks. WWhen Lou Lenart was growing up in a Pennsylvania mining town, he endured beating after beating because he was Jewish. After he took a Charles Atlas bodybuilding course, he joined the Marines and fought in t…

This FbF I'd like to take a moment to recognize someone who is, in my mind at least, fullbore. He did not do anything exceptional in war or other usual benchmarks to make FbF ... but he did something more. He brought to life to a huge audience the great deeds of others in the naval service. He did it in a way that made people think about the example set and the lessons that could be useful for today and the future. Brain cancer took him this week, too soon, but he left behind a legacy generations will benefit from. Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, Neptune's Inferno, Ship of Ghosts, A Fleet at Flood Tide and more. Regulars here know these books and their author, Ja…

I joke now and then about “Make Auxiliary Cruisers Great Again” – but I am only partially joking. What were Auxiliary Cruisers? On the surface, they were somewhere between pirates and commerce raiders, but they were also a way to get more armed ships with your flag on them in the mind of your enemy's planners, disrupting their Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) (aka supply chains), and complicating their attempts to secure their seas. Turning merchant ships in to warships is an imperfect act, but until your enemy achieves complete sea control, they have a good to acceptable track record of bringing more capability to the fight from the South Pacific to the Indian Ocean and…

Every time I access Google Earth or other open source imagery/mapping service, I am reminded what an amazing time we live in. As early as the 1990s for something as unclassified as hunting, you had to make extraordinary efforts to find good maps. I remember taking pictures with a film camera in the early 90s from a plane window that just happened to be flying over an area I duck hunted ... so I could see where the out of the way wood duck ponds were. Now, a click. On the much more serious note, the efforts made on the military side of the house to get overhead photographs or even good maps cost billions of dollars and the lives of unknown numbers of intelligence assets an…

What do you need tp know to make sure you have all the right talking points around the Thanksgiving table? If someone brings up the Navy, China, Ukraine, inflation, or supply chain issues - well, we know Midrats regulars are already up to speed - but now's your opportunity to make sure all your talking points are up to date! No guests, no set agenda, just open phones, open minds, and open chat room for those who are with us live Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. Don't be stuck talking about twitter or Taylor Swift this Thanksgiving! Join us live if you can, but it not, you can get the show later by subscribing to the podcast. If you use iTunes, you can add Midrats to your podcas…

Americas The US State Department has cleared the transfer of 24 F-16s from Denmark to Argentina. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security in the State Department, Mira Resnick, delivered the letter approving the transfer to Jorge Argüello, Argentina’s ambassador to United States on October 11. Also cleared was the transfer of four P-3 maritime patrol […]View the full article

All together now… (click to view full) Britain’s practice of “contracting for availability” for key equipment, rather than paying for spare parts and maintenance hours, may be its most significant defense procurement reform. In a world where older air, sea, and ground vehicle fleets are growing maintenance demands beyond countries’ available budgets, it’s an approach […]View the full article

No, neither that pic above nor the one below is the F/A-XX, but it’s the closest we’ve got. However, let’s review the decades-long Salamander Requirements List we have set out for the next Navy tactical aircraft. All hail the return of the heavy fighter to the airwing: Range: It has to fight in the Pacific and engage other enemies from a distance. Payload: It must be able to carry at least a half-dozen AIM-174B Gunslinger, with a minimum of four of them internally. As the drone wars over Israel have proven its utility again, it must have an internal gun. Flexibility: Must perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions like the Super Hornet it will replace.. Two Engines:…

Anduril Industries says it has completed the first successful test of its prototype surface-launched Barracuda-500 missile. “To be blunt, existing solutions are too expensive, too exquisite, and too hard to produce,” the company stated in its announcement. “To deter our adversaries, the U.S. and our allies need an affordable, mass-producible way to project power over […] The post Anduril successfully tests surface-launched Barracuda-500 missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Lockheed Martin has secured a $233 million contract to deliver its IRST21 Block II infrared search and track systems, along with initial spares, to the U.S. Navy and Air National Guard. The award supports deployment across multiple fighter platforms and follows the Navy’s recent declaration of Initial Operational Capability for the sensor. The IRST21 Block […] The post Lockheed wins $233M deal for advanced IRST sensors first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has opened a new propulsion manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, aimed at accelerating production of its Spartan family of turbojet engines to meet growing U.S. defense demand for affordable, high-volume air power. The 22,500-square-foot facility includes office space, production lines, assembly areas, and a multi-station test cell designed […]View the full article

Ukraine has signed a series of new defense agreements with German partners worth more than €1.2 billion ($ 1.4 billion), expanding cooperation on air defense, artillery production, drones, and electronic warfare, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Wednesday. According to Shmyhal, the agreements were concluded following arrangements reached between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and […]View the full article

South Korea has begun deploying its Hyunmoo-5 surface-to-surface ballistic missile to frontline military units, military officials said Sunday, confirming that the country’s most powerful conventional strike weapon has entered operational service as part of efforts to deter North Korea. According to South Korean military officials, the missile began entering frontline units in late 2025 and […]View the full article