Raw Intel

Americas Raytheon Missiles and Defense won a $35.7 million deal for the procurement of AEGIS modernization (AMOD) kits for Navy DDG 51 Class destroyers and for the government of Japan under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Navy’s Aegis Modernization program provides updated technology and systems for CG 47 Class Aegis guided missile cruisers and DDG 51 Class Aegis guided missile destroyers. The DDG 51 Arleigh Burke destroyers provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups. Work will take place in Massachu…

Arrow test concept (click to view full) In a dawning age of rogue states, ballistic missile defenses are steadily become a widely accepted necessity. Iran is widely believed to be developing nuclear capabilities, and Israeli concerns were heightened after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged that Israel be “wiped off the map” (the fact that America was also placed in that category went largely uncovered). Because missile defenses are so important, states like India and Israel have taken steps to ensure that they have the ability to build many of the key pieces. The Arrow project is a collaboration between Boeing and IAI to produce the missile interceptors that a…

Americas Boeing won a $71.8 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide segregable effort support, unknown obsolescence, Class I change assessments and obsolescence monitoring in support of the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime aircraft Lot 12 production line. Work will take place in Washington, California and Colorado. Estimated completion will be by April 2025. Raytheon won a $40.4 million contract modification. This modification exercises an option to integrate, produce, qualify, test and field 29 Lot Two low-rate production Maritime Strike Tomahawk seeker suites and all subsystems required to provide midcourse and terminal guidance to a modernized Tactical T…

Mk54 HAAWC (click to view full) American maritime patrol aircraft currently carry torpedoes as part of their armament, which serve as key weapons against enemy submarines. As any high-diver of cliff-jumper knows first hand, however, water can feel surprisingly solid after a long fall. Torpedoes still have to be released from low altitude, typically 100 feet or less above the waves. Two recent developments, however, are making this approach less practical for the US military. One is tests of sub-launched anti-air missile systems, using modified short-range air-air missiles that do not require radar guidance. The other is its selection of the 737-based P-8A Poseidon as it…

Are you ready for what is coming? I hope you are, because the diversity industry is tanned, rested, and ready - and in most places already well down their lines of operation. They have the wind at their back. Have you researched the beliefs of the person set to take over the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice? Those who, like me, believe that the most divisive thing you can do to a diverse republic is to set up a spoils system based on race, creed, color or national origin have not been fighting hard enough. Too many of those who should be our natural allies have surrendered high ground after high ground because they convinced themselves that, "it isn…

A top-secret US government body called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) published a formal program announcement on April 7, 2026, launching a new research initiative called the Mathematics of Boosting Agentic Communication, or MATHBAC, which aims to develop the mathematical and scientific foundations needed to make networks of artificial intelligence agents collaborate more effectively […]View the full article

Even though I posted this FbF again 6-months ago I wanted to bring it back just to add something quite special via twitter-friend Simon. From WWI we don't have must contemporary video of the people we read about, but in this case we do. Just 36. Men his age saw the height of Edwardian Empire as young adults leading in to the extinction of their world in WWI, the nightmare of the depression and WWII in their middle-age and then - for those who survived - the poverty and decline of the post-WWII era for Britain. 36 year old Captain Alfred Carpenter, R.N., after being invested with the Victoria Cross by King George V on 31 July 1918. #history pic.twitter.com/3JaPwn8mnG — …

Americas BAE Systems won a $24.6 million deal for the Military Global Positioning System User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 Miniature Serial Interface (MSI) contract. The modification incorporates MSI Engineering Change Proposal-1 into the baseline and provides continued MSI with Next Generation Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Technology Development capabilities. The goal of MGUE Inc 2 is to develop, integrate, and produce M-Code capable, GPS receivers for the service requirements specified in the Joint Requirements Oversight Council approved MGUE Inc 2 Capability Development Document. Work will take place in Iowa. Estimated completion date is August 31, 2025. Th…

At last week’s SNA, an initial concept for DDG(X) was put up on a slide for all to see; Don’t get too excited though; ...the hull form shown in the concept image is not representative of the ship and that the service has not settled on a specific design yet. ...The program office isn’t committed to a specific hull design but presented a swept, angular, bulbous bow design reminiscent of an Arleigh Burke rather than the tumblehome, wave-piercing design of the Zumwalts. “We haven’t actually locked down the hull form, yet. That’s a concept,” Connelly said, referring to the concept drawing the office presented. “It is one of the many options still in play. … We as the de…

Sal and EagleOne are back after July 4th with a full plate of catching up to do on the waterfront from ghosting Afghanistan, Japan & Taiwan's awkward natsec flirting, the INDOPACCOM J2 isn't all that happy with what he's discovered west of Wake, and the ever popular question, how many years is a 30-yr CG good for. Join us live if you can and roll in with your preferred topic in the chat room or call the switchboard number right here on the showpage. If you use iTunes, you can add Midrats to your podcast list simply by clicking the iTunes button at the main showpage - or you can just click here. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://…

Sweden is not an official ally, but as the largest Scandinavian country, she has influence from Finland, through the Baltic and across the sea to Iceland. She also has a long history with Russia that she cannot keep an eye off for too long. This little bit deserves more attention than it is getting; The Swedish parliament has approved an increase of a whopping 40% in the defence expenditure to counter the threat of Russian aggression. This will take the Swedish defence expenditure to USD 11 billion. This is the first such massive increase in the Swedish defence expenditure in the last 70 years. Only last week, the main parties in the Swedish parliament also adopted th…

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation confirmed the new Su-57 prototype’s maiden flight, with test pilot and Hero of Russia Sergei Bogdan at the controls in a sortie described by officials as proceeding normally in accordance with its test plan. Denis Manturov, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, announced the milestone, describing the aircraft as a platform combining […]View the full article

No one really knows for sure what caused the explosion this AM on the Russian Navy's 54-yr old Alligator Class LST Orsk in the Port of Berdyansk. What we do know was the accident/attack was livestreamed. This video captures it best.Time-lapse video showing the events at the port of Berdyansk this morning. Two LSTs left the port, one of them was on fire. pic.twitter.com/5HljSBOhbQ — C O U P S U R E (@COUPSURE) March 24, 2022 Just as a professional side note: BZ to the crews of the two Ropucha Class LSD for getting underway and out of the way - both of which seems to have fires of their own to fight. What we do know is that the Russians liked to store a lot of things on th…

Prince Philip passed today after a long and full life defined by service and duty. I first posted this years ago when he left his official duties, but thought it was the right thing to do to bring it back. As a nod to his service - serving as men of privilege and education should - let's take a moment today to recognize a good XO. Hargreaves was a yeoman aboard the destroyer HMS Wallace on which Philip, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, had been appointed first lieutenant - second-in-command - at the age of 21. In July 1943, engaged in the Allied landings in Sicily, the ship came under repeated bombardment at dead of night and its crew realised that they would probably …

Americas The United States and Britain confirmed a joint declaration Tuesday for the Carrier Strike Group 2021 deployment to be led by Britain’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth Queen. Signed by acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, the joint declaration enables the deployment of US Navy and Marine Corps equipment and personnel as part of the inaugural operational deployment of the Carrier Strike Group. The deployment will include a detachment of US Marine Corps F-35 Lightning II aircraft and the Navy’s USS The Sullivans. Leonardo and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems have announced that they have completed the delivery …

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $97.3 million contract modification, which exercises options to provide continued test, maintenance, logistics and sustainment engineering support for MQ-4C Triton air vehicles, mission control and operator training systems. This modification also provides continued field service representative’s technical support to ensure that the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system (UAS) aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions supporting aircraft early operational capability and initial operating capability. Additionally, this modification provides continued reach-back engineering support for both the Navy …

Americas Raytheon won a $3 billion contract for F-15 Radar Eagle Vision. This contract provides for the production, modernization and support of the F-15 APG-82 radar system to rapidly deliver and stay aligned with the F-15 weapon system program. According To Raytheon, the APG-82(V)1 AESA radar is the latest radar advancement for the US Air Force F-15E fleet and optimizes the F-15E jets multirole mission capability. Additionally, with its extensive range and advanced multi-target track and precision engagement capabilities, the APG-82(V)1 offers enhancement in system reliability over the APG-70 radar. Work will take place in California. Expected completion date is June 8,…

In what history will show was a failed effort, for almost two decades, the most advanced military and police forces in the West tried to build a security force for the people of Afghanistan, an effort that took off with great urgency towards the end of the first decade of the conflict. A cornerstone of that effort was NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan (NTM-A). Our guests Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern to discuss this effort and what lessons it holds for the future will be Dr. Martin Loicano and Dr. Craig C. “C. C.” Felker. Using extensive research and two combined years in Afghanistan, they've documented the 2009-2010 effort in their book, No Moment of Victory: the NATO Train…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $138.8 contract modification, which adds scope to continue the development of pilot training device software to align the F-35 air system with continued capability development. Additionally, this modification provides for testing and continuous re-certification activities for dual capable F-35 aircraft as Block 4 capabilities are developed, matured and fielded in support of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft. Just recently it was reported, that by the end of …

As we see our nation start to emerge from COVID-19 isolation, I have read a bit about "young" people feeling they have lost a year, they can't catch up ... etc. If you are, like my kids, in the young adult category - ignore that crap. Everyone has a headwind right now, but you in other ways don't have time to wallow. You don't have all the time in the world; now is your time. You can do more today than people twice your age. Ignore anyone who says otherwise because of your "limited" experience. Perhaps it was a bit much to move the age to have a beer to 21 from the legal adult age of 18. Perhaps it was a bit off to allow young adults to stay on their parent's i…