Raw Intel

RENK Group AG recorded its highest-ever order intake for an opening quarter in company history, the German propulsion manufacturer announced on May 6, 2026, with approximately $657 million in new orders and a total backlog that has climbed to an all-time high of approximately $7.8 billion. The Augsburg-based company posted first quarter 2026 revenue of […]View the full article

Russian media published footage of a Geran-4 kamikaze drone striking a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 as the aircraft prepared for a mission at an airfield in southern Ukraine, destroying it completely. Ukrainian sources confirmed the aircraft was lost but said no personnel died in the strike. Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force Command confirmed in an […]View the full article

For almost two years, the war on the Continent had been raging. The Battle of Verdun has already happened, but the real bloodshed had not even started yet, with the Battle of the Somme only a month away. While the European land armies have been fighting on a scale not seen since Napoleon a century earlier, major conflicts at sea were rare in spite of the major belligerents having great and powerful fleets. Like two heavyweight boxers wary of each other, the surface fleets of the Royal Navy and the Kaiserliche Marine stared at each other across the North Sea, throwing a jab here or there, but not committing for a hard fight. Then, in the early morning hours of May 31st, Vi…

More than once, mostly on the Midrats Podcast, I have said something to the effect, “Bravo Zulu to the Iranian engineering team who developed the Shahed. Everyone is copying them left, right, and sideways. Even the Americans are trying to steal their engineering valor.” Well, belay my last: I was not just wrong, but mind-numbingly wrong. Let’s set the record straight. The Shahed drone is as American as apple pie—OK, perhaps apple strudel! The Dornier Drohne Anti-Radar (DAR) was an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Dornier GmbH to detect and destroy enemy radar installations, especially those used for air defense, within a defined target area. The development project w…

Ukraine has received and fielded RapidRanger short-range air defense systems, with at least one unit observed during a recent visit by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov alongside Lithuania’s Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas to positions of mobile air defense groups. The system, previously announced as part of United Kingdom military assistance in 2025, was seen […]View the full article

Ukraine’s military intelligence confirmed the delivery of a newly developed armed patrol boat to the Main Directorate of Intelligence on January 1, describing it as a New Year’s transfer to support maritime operations. According to a statement released by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, the specialized vessel was purchased and handed over by […]View the full article

A senior Russian lawmaker and general claimed that the United States military lacks the operational experience and planning capabilities demonstrated by Russia’s armed forces, according to public remarks made by Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee. In his remarks, Kartapolov said: “Today, the leaders in the military sphere, without a doubt, […]View the full article

A rocket booster that has flown to space and back seven times carried a classified American spy satellite into orbit before dawn last week, the latest and least publicized entry in a launch campaign the National Reconnaissance Office has been quietly running at a pace unlike anything the agency has attempted before. SpaceX launched the […]View the full article

Ukrainian drone forces have struck a Russian naval vessel in the Caspian Sea for at least the third time in recent months, publishing footage on May 17 showing a Fire Point FP-1 attack drone successfully locating and hitting a Project 10410 Svetlyak-class patrol boat in the port area of Kaspiisk, Dagestan, more than 1,500 kilometers […]View the full article

French defense-electronics firm Thales announced on April 21 that Denmark has signed a contract for the SAMP/T NG long-range air and missile defense system — the first export deal ever signed for the next-generation Franco-Italian platform. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2028, and the agreement makes Denmark the third country to operate the system, […]View the full article

A U.S. Marine Corps amphibious vehicle that can swim ashore from a warship still can’t stop a hobby-store drone from watching it do it, and the Marines just confirmed the fix, and the company they intend to buy it from, without opening the job to competition. The Marine Corps’ Program Manager Advanced Amphibious Assault, part […]View the full article

A small Brooklyn knitwear company just landed one of the biggest apparel contracts the Pentagon has put on the table this year. Karlas and Emmas Knits LLC, based in Brooklyn, New York, has been awarded a maximum $763 million contract to supply physical fitness gear to every branch of the U.S. military. The contract runs […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin opened 2026 with flat revenue but a notable earnings drop, reporting first-quarter sales of $18.0 billion and net earnings of $1.5 billion — down from $1.7 billion in the same period a year ago — as production problems on the F-16 and CH-53K programs weighed on results across two of its four business […]View the full article

AimLock and FN America unveiled a joint counter-drone weapon system at SOF Week 2026 in Tampa on May 19, combining AimLock’s artificial intelligence targeting technology with one of the most widely deployed remote weapon stations in the Western military market to create a system capable of detecting, tracking, and automatically calculating firing solutions against small […]View the full article

The U.S. Marine Corps awarded a $9.5 million contract to a British defense company to procure compact radio frequency jammers capable of neutralizing small drones — and the urgency language attached to the award signals that this is not routine procurement. Marine Corps System Command in Quantico, Virginia, awarded the $9,515,508 firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement […]View the full article

Canada broke ground on two major military construction projects in Latvia on May 19, laying foundation stones for a rotary-wing helicopter facility at Lielvārde Air Base and accommodation buildings at both Lielvārde and Riga in a combined investment of €64 million, or approximately $70 million. The ceremony marked the latest installment in what has become […]View the full article

Russian Su-35 and Su-27 fighter jets repeatedly and dangerously intercepted an unarmed Royal Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft operating in international airspace over the Black Sea in April 2026, the UK Ministry of Defence revealed on May 20, 2026, releasing images and video of the encounters. In the most serious incident, a Russian […]View the full article

Every few years I repost this little bit from 2005. It has been a half decade. It is time again, with some slight improvements. In a culture where more often than not, all your neighbors are really just transients - they move in and out every few years, chasing whatever opportunity or ambition pulls them next. Their families are scattered hither and yon; few really related to anyone. I've wondered for a while what impact the reality of the rolling, self-imposed Internally Displaced Persons has had on our nation - perhaps causing us to miss something. Is it a net gain, or a net loss? Well, perhaps I’m projecting; I have always thought I was missing something. Sure, p…

Oshkosh Defense is rolling two significant platforms onto the Modern Day Marine exhibition floor this week — including an autonomous ground vehicle armed with anti-ship missiles that represents one of the Marine Corps’ most consequential doctrinal shifts in a generation. The company will exhibit at Modern Day Marine from April 28 through 30, 2026, showcasing […]View the full article

Russian forces dropped nearly 8,000 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine in March, Ukrainian defense officials said. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian troops used 7,987 guided aerial bombs, known as KABs, during the month. The total was more than 1,500 higher than in February, which had previously been the highest […]View the full article