Raw Intel

Hanwha Aerospace and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems flew the Mojave short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) drone from a South Korean Army airfield, landed it on a tank maneuver route, and flew it back again during a demonstration at the 2026 Defense Drone Technology Exhibition in Pocheon. The maneuver was meant to show the aircraft can operate from short, […]View the full article

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a $24.3 billion deal that would make the kingdom just the second country in the Middle East, after Israel, cleared to fly the stealth aircraft. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the potential sale on Sept. […]View the full article

GM Defense delivered its first batch of PAC-3 MSE missile-housing components to Lockheed Martin on Sept. 16, just 22 days after the two companies signed a formal production contract, Lockheed Martin said in a post on X. “The message is clear: we’re moving at the speed of relevance,” Lockheed Martin said. “The future of defense […]View the full article

Latvia’s government decided on Sept. 15 to buy Czech-made 155mm wheeled howitzers for the National Armed Forces, choosing the Morana system from Excalibur Army after Sweden’s competing Archer howitzer proved too costly and slow to deliver under the country’s current defense budget. The Cabinet of Ministers based its decision on the cost of the offers, […]View the full article

I mentioned @Schizointel’s graphic from last month on the last UNCLAS Read Board Podcast, and it keeps popping into my mind. Only the paying subscribers get access to the UNCLAS Read Board Podcast, so I thought I’d bring it to the Substack, chat about it a bit, and then perhaps it will get out of my head. Probably not, because it is one of the best representations of a regular topic of ours here: we have too small of a Navy. It is also a good representation of what it takes to conduct a blockade and deal with the threat of the once-3rd-rate and now-4th-rate-power of Iran and her proxies. So, here it is. How many ships do you need? Today, let’s just look at our Aegis ships…

Hanwha Aerospace and Lockheed Martin UK unveiled a Redback infantry fighting vehicle armed with a British-built 40mm turret at the British Army’s DVD 2026 exhibition, pairing an already fielded vehicle hull with a weapons system developed for a different British Army program. The turret carries the CTA International 40mm cannon and, for the first time, […]View the full article

Jaguar Land Rover unveiled three variants of a new military vehicle called the Defender Wolf Series II at the British Army’s DVD 2026 exhibition in Bedfordshire on Sept. 16, aiming to replace the Land Rover that has served British forces for more than 70 years. The event, held at the Millbrook proving ground, is where […]View the full article

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation said its Su-57 stealth fighter flew to an air show in Egypt this month using fuel tanks built into its internal weapons bays instead of the external drop tanks fighters typically carry on long ferry flights. UAC said the aircraft made the trip to the El Alamein International Airshow with one […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin is pitching the U.S. Air Force on a new version of the F-16 fighter, designated the F-16G, as a way to replace aging Fighting Falcons faster than the F-35 production line can keep up. Multiple people familiar with the aircraft told Aviation Week that the F-16G builds on the current Block 70 F-16, […]View the full article

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces struck a Russian military airfield in Rostov-on-Don overnight into Sept. 17, destroying one An-12 and two An-26 transport aircraft along with three helicopters. Zelensky said Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, carried out the airfield strike as part of a broader overnight operation that also hit the Slavneft-YANOS oil […]View the full article

The Missile Defense Agency wants industry to build a new mobile radar that can be flown into a war zone aboard a C-17, set up within hours and torn down again in minutes, according to a pre-solicitation notice posted September 16. The program, called Forward Based Mode Radar Next, is meant to replace or supplement […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has ordered the first production run of a new long-range radio system designed to keep ships and units communicating even when satellites are jammed or unavailable. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, New Jersey, awarded MaXentric Technologies a $9.6 million firm-fixed-price order for 12 low-rate initial production kits of the […]View the full article

ARX Robotics UK and General Dynamics Land Systems-UK are launching a collaboration to explore turning the British Army’s Ajax armored vehicle into a command hub for robotic ground “wingmen,” the companies announced Sept. 16, 2026, in London. The initial work will focus on integrating ARX’s Hector uncrewed ground vehicle with Ajax, testing whether crews inside […]View the full article

Houthi forces shot down a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jet over Marib governorate on Sept. 16, 2026, using a locally manufactured missile, according to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree. Houthi military media released images and video of the wreckage, showing armed fighters standing on a large piece of tail section bearing a Saudi […]View the full article

Alarms have been going off for well over a decade about the neglect of the island nations and territories in the Southwest Pacific where tens of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Japanese died fighting during the last great Pacific war, WWII. Regulars here are familiar with previous articles from 2022 through 2025, in addition to her 2024 visit to the Midrats Podcast, by our friend Cleo Paskal, all demonstrating her consistent advocacy in the area. If you’re new to the topic and want to catch up on the recent history, read the links above and come back. You can set up the podcast for a listen on your next commute. We have a nice bit of supporting fires o…

Flensburg Technology Systems and Germany’s Special Forces Command unveiled the first pre-series TAHR light airborne combat vehicle on Sept. 15, 2026, at the opening of the 10th KSK Defence Symposium in Altensteig-Wart, Germany. FTS presented the vehicle to Brigadier General Andreas Kühne, commander of the Special Forces Command, known by its German acronym KSK. The […]View the full article

The first Kaplan APC, an armored personnel carrier Turkish manufacturer FNSS is building for Indonesia, has completed its pre-delivery acceptance tests in Turkey. FNSS and Indonesian state defense manufacturer PT Pindad ran the tests under their Kaplan APC Development and Production Agreement, signed in October 2024 to meet an Indonesian Ministry of Defense contract for […]View the full article

Swarmer, an Austin, Texas-based defense technology company, has agreed to buy Ratel Robotics, one of Ukraine’s largest makers of combat ground robots, in a deal that could be worth up to $224 million. Alexander Kamyshin, a former advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on strategic affairs, first laid out the deal’s structure on X, writing […]View the full article

The U.S. Army is putting another $818 million into production of the vehicle meant to replace its Vietnam-era M113 troop carriers, part of a contract with BAE Systems that has now grown past $3.3 billion. The Department of War said the $818 million award is a modification to BAE’s existing contract for the Armored Multi-Purpose […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin $1.21 billion to keep developing an upgraded version of its long-range strike missile, work that comes as the Army tries to rebuild a stockpile it drained fighting Iran earlier this year. A Department of War announcement said the contract funds early operational capability work on the Precision Strike […]View the full article