Raw Intel

What, pray tell, does one have to have to have a lead role in a FbF? Character. Today, we have the character of a strong, smart women who lived in a period of time when most women were little more than property. Another great woman who we just have a hint of what she was; I give you .Ela, Countess of Salisbury. Ela, only child of Eleanor de Vitre and William, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, from whom she inherited large estates in Wiltshire, was born (date unknown) at Amesbury. The estates, including Chitterne, had been held by Ela’s great- great-grandfather, Edward, after William the Conqueror defeated King Harold. Ela’s grandfather, Patrick, constable of Salisbury, was create…

The Brazilian Army has conducted field acceptance tests on the second prototype of its upgraded remotely operated weapon system, the UT30BR2, according to the Tecnologia & Defesa. The tests were carried out on October 9 and 16 by personnel from the Army’s Manufacturing Directorate (Diretoria de Fabricação, DF) and the War Arsenal of Rio (Arsenal […] The post Brazilian army evaluates new UT30BR2 turret on Guarani vehicle first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering and WSE LLP, part of the Barys Dynamics group, conducted a full-scale demonstration of the new “Terrex – Barys A” amphibious armored vehicle on November 14, 2025, showcasing its firepower, mobility, and domestic weapons integration. The live demonstration took place at the Bereg training center on the banks of the Ili River […]View the full article

Though written from a distinctly Australian perspective, there is a great article from the Australian Naval Institute, Pax Americana to Pax Sinica, that would be a great way to start your week. What I find most useful is that it efficiently outlines why, from Washington, to Brussels, to Canberra, serious people should not simply shrug their shoulders as the U.S. Navy, foolishly, has allowed itself to become the world’s #2 navy, and fading. It should give you a few strong point to respond to people who don’t want to take the time to fully understand what it would mean for the People’s Republic of China to put its stamp on the world’s oceans that have been given a uniquely …

A Taiwan-based security expert has called on Ukraine to apologize for past transfers of military equipment and advanced technologies to China, following recent remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that criticized the flow of Taiwanese electronic components into Russia’s military industry. Mei Fu-hsing, director of the Taiwan Strait Security Research Center and a U.S.-based analyst, […]View the full article

The United States Army briefly published new official images of its Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon system before removing them without explanation, with the photographs quickly spreading online after their deletion. The images, released and then withdrawn within a short period, showed updated views of the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), a trailer-launched strategic strike […]View the full article

A United States F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the Middle East after sustaining damage during a combat mission over Iran, U.S. Central Command confirmed, following reports and footage released by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming a successful strike. The incident comes amid ongoing […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk a $183million contract to conduct maintenance, modernization, and repair work on the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) as part of the ship’s Fiscal Year 2026 Depot Modernization Period. All work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, with completion expected by April 2028. The contract includes options […]View the full article

It has been just about a year since the “new normal” following the defenestration of the divisive and sectarian secular religion of DEI from the Pentagon. Riding on a wave of court cases that continue to take apart decades of sanctioned bigotry, the change was abrupt and— except for the high priests and rent seekers whose entire worldview was bounded by their religion—not really missed all that much. Do not be complacent. It is easy to think that this is a permanent “new normal” but that would be an error. The action in the courts are important. The new leadership’s priorities in the Executive Branch are also important. However, without legislation, the latter is epheme…

The U.S. Navy bought six specialized reconnaissance boats designed by former Australian Navy frogmen, built in North Carolina, and validated through two years of testing with Marine Corps special operations units. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded The Whiskey Project Group USA a $17.5 million contract for six Multi Mission Reconnaissance Craft (MMRC), expeditionary watercraft designed […]View the full article

The United States military risks suffering a “robotic blitzkrieg” if it continues treating autonomous systems as supplements to existing doctrine rather than as the central instruments of a new era of warfare, argues a serving U.S. Army strategist whose Land Warfare Paper published by the Association of the United States Army lays out one of […]View the full article

The Pentagon’s Space Systems Command awarded Rocket Lab USA a $266 million contract for suborbital launch services, according to a Department of War contract announcement, covering 12 confirmed launches with an option for six more, all to be conducted from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska, through the end of 2028. The contract […]View the full article

General Atomics has won a $42.9 million U.S. Navy order for spare parts supporting the electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear on the service’s in-service Ford-class carriers. The order, designated N0001926F1037, was issued against an existing basic ordering agreement, N0001926G1008. It covers insurance spares and rotable pool spares for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as […]View the full article

Americas BAE Systems was awarded a $58 million contract from Boeing. The deal is to start low rate initial production of the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System for the US Air Force. “The start of EPAWSS production marks a critical milestone and is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our industry team,” said Jerry Wohletz, BAE’s VP/GM of Electronic Combat Solutions, in a press statement. “Our technology is cutting-edge, our factories are world-class, and our people are innovative and mission-focused.” The all-digital system EPAWSS enables pilots to monitor, jam and deceive threats in contested airspace and combines multispectral sensors …

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $9.4 million contract modification for HELLFIRE and Joint-Air-to-Ground Missile engineering services. The AGM-114 Hellfire II is an air-to-ground missile developed primarily for the anti-armor role. It is a combat-proven tactical missile system using multiple launch platforms based on air, sea and ground. Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) is an Army led program managed by PEO Missiles and Space, Joint Attack Munitions Systems (JAMS) Project Office. JAGM is a multi-sensor air-to-ground missile that is the successor to the combat proven HELLFIRE Romeo and HELLFIRE Longbow missiles. Work will take place in Florida. Estimated completion date i…

Want to get a more wholistic view of what is and what is not worth the investment of strategic effort, sacrifice, and investment? Follow the money. Pondering a great graphic over at USNIBlog. Come by and puzz'l your nogg'n with me for a bit. 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=M3Aa8mHvcmI:w4kkIfL0PHE:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M3Aa8mHvcmI:w4kkIfL0PHE:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M3Aa8mHvcmI:w4kkIfL0PHE:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=M3Aa8mHvcmI:w4kkI…

Happy New Year everyone on The Front Porch! 2022 will be 18th year that we've been meeting together here at CDRSalamander ... come July my alter-ego will be legal to vote. Damn, time flies. So many of you I see here have been with us from the beginning. I've only had the pleasure of meeting a few of you IRL, but I do appreciate you taking time from your busy lives to visit here, see what I think you might find interesting, and add your flavor to the stew. Some of you I count as friends, and almost all friendly acquaintances. I really do appreciate all of you and enjoy our exchanges here ... even when you tell me I'm wrong. I learn more from you as a collective than anyth…

As we watch another war wage in Europe fueled to a large degree by ethnic hatred and division, we find again people who are trying to promote the same cancerous mindset in our wonderfully diverse nation and Navy. One of the primary ways to inflame sectarian tensions is to encourage separation while at the same time instituting a series of preferences and punishments - unequal treatment - based on what group you are defined as. In the zero sum game that is promotion and desirable billets that impacts income and career prospects - that's just accelerant. The Diversity Bullies' diktat makes you disconnect your critical thinking skills. The fear that the commissariat has in…

Americas The US has agreed to co-produce the Stryker armored fighting vehicle with India in an effort to enhance New Delhi’s deterrence against China. New Delhi recently submitted a letter of intent for the deal to Washington, Nikkei reported citing a US defense official. The US Air Force has announced that its B-21 Raider stealth bomber completed […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin has announced the first-ever launch of a Patriot PAC-3 missile segment enhancement (MSE) interceptor using the Virtualized Aegis Weapon System. Conducted in collaboration with various US Department of Defense components, the test saw the advanced missile engage and neutralize a cruise missile target mid-flight. It utilized a ground-based MK-70 containerized launch platform from […]View the full article