Raw Intel

We are not a direct combatant in the Russo-Ukraine War, but we and our NATO allies are not neutral parties either – we are somewhere in between. We are feeding weapons to the Ukrainians to defend themselves from Russians and their allies. Even more than material aid, we are shaping the information space, economic environment, and diplomatic terrain as it relates to Russia. Let’s look at the last part. Why diplomatic? That is because the diplomats are the ones who can help end this war sooner more than later. The longer a war goes on, the longer there are opportunities for error or design to spin a small war in to a larger war. Even putting the recent evidence of generali…

Warfare History Network has a great article outlining allied merchant marine sacrifice in WWII to support the Soviet Red Army. The whole thing is worth a read, but let me just pull the story of convoy PQ-17; In late June 1942, the 37-ship convoy PQ-17, the largest and most valuable convoy to date, formed at Hvalfjord, Iceland, and began to make its run to Murmansk and Archangel. Crammed into the holds of the cargomen were tanks, trucks, aircraft, boxes of ammunition, and other vital supplies destined for the hard-pressed Red Army. The Germans were determined that PQ-17 would not pass and instituted Operation Rösselsprung that would add surface ships—the Tirpitz, Scheer, …

Americas On October 28, NASA’s C-130 Hercules successfully touched down at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, completing a crucial leg of its journey to deliver the Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO). This observatory is part of NASA’s Astrophysics Explorers Program and will be launched on a scientific balloon mission in December 2023. The mission’s journey […]View the full article

Americas The Pentagon has once again grounded its entire fleet of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. This comes after a worrying incident at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico on November 20, where a CV-22 Osprey experienced a near-crash shortly after takeoff. Initial investigations suggest that weakened metal components in a critical part may have been a contributing factor. The decision to pause all Osprey flights came as a recommendation from Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, the head of Naval Air Systems Command, which oversees the Osprey program for the military. This incident bears a striking resemblance to a fatal crash off the coast of Japan in November of the previous year. In…

It has taken a while, mostly because of the memories of their grandfathers, but after years of hard work by people you may never hear of, one of the most powerful, important, and natural alliances in the Pacific is growing closer together—that of Japan, Australia, and the U.S. Senior U.S., Australian and Japanese flag officers agreed today to further enhance logistics interoperability among their maritime forces. Their intent is to enable deeper maritime cooperation among the three nations, building upon their enduring commitment to stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. Official seal of the Department of the Navy. Note: 18 United States Code, Part 1, Chapter 47, Sec…

The U.S. Army has begun production of the second tranche of its Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Unmanned Aircraft Systems, pushing forward efforts to modernize battlefield intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities. The Army announced that Teal Drones and its Black Widow system are among the vendors selected to manufacture the SRR platform, which will equip the service’s […] The post U.S. Army expands production of short range recon drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

This post has expanded far beyond what I thought it would be when I picked the title. I was just going to focus on F/A-XX as an avenue to argue, again, that it must be a two-seat heavy fighter with an ability to do what the MiG-31s above are doing. I think that is self-evident, but we are talking about NAVAIR here. So, as I dug around on the topic, I opened the aperture a bit to look at options that might work for the existing air wing as well. What I will do is focus on a specific capability that has proven its utility at war recently. Remember, you can get an idea of what will be needed in the next big war, and a big war will always come as they have for thousands of y…

AeroVironment, Inc. announced on October 22, 2025, that it has been selected to deliver the U.S. Army’s Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM). According to a company press release, AeroVironment (AV) was also awarded a $95.9 million contract for the U.S. Army’s Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor (LRKI) program. This contract was awarded through the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities […] The post U.S. Army taps AV for new drone interceptor missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

SummaryIn this episode, Sal discusses various pressing global issues, including the evolving role of Saudi Arabia, the ongoing drug cartel crisis in the Americas, and the ethical responsibilities of military personnel in politics. He also addresses the challenges within the military-industrial complex, a recent surge in aircraft mishaps, and the importa… Read more View the full article

Airbus has been awarded a €30 million ($35 million) framework contract by the European Maritime Safety Agency to provide remotely piloted aircraft system services using the Flexrotor uncrewed aerial system, expanding Europe’s maritime surveillance capabilities ahead of operations scheduled to begin in 2026. According to a press release from Airbus, the contract will support multipurpose […]View the full article

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that several Ukrainian electrical substations critical for nuclear safety were affected by widespread military activity, leading to a temporary loss of external power at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and disruptions to power lines serving other nuclear facilities. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that Chornobyl Nuclear […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded Liquid Robotics Inc., based in Herndon, Virginia, a $25 million contract to supply 20 unmanned surface vehicles under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program supporting Japan, according to a contract announcement released by the U.S. Department of War. The award covers work related to control software, mission payloads, […]View the full article

The United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) issued a Request for Information on March 16, 2026, seeking industry solutions to develop an automated system for extracting geospatial features from imagery and maps as part of its Foundation Digital Twin program. The agency is exploring Automated Feature Extraction (AFE) technologies that can detect, extract, and classify […]View the full article

South Korean defense and aerospace company LIG Defense & Aerospace — known as LIG D&A — announced on April 8, 2026, the establishment of its first American subsidiary, LIG Defense U.S. Inc. The new entity, to be referred to as LIG U.S., will operate as the company’s primary hub for partnership development, technology exchange, and […]View the full article

EagleNXT has sold three eBee VISION unmanned aerial system kits to the U.S. Army’s 7th Army Training Command, the company announced on May 5, 2026, adding to a growing Army-wide adoption of the fixed-wing ISR platform that now totals 34 systems across six distinct organizations. The sale was facilitated by Dronivo, a German UAS integrator […]View the full article

A San Francisco-based maritime technology company’s hydrofoiling electric boat stopped senior U.S. Navy admirals and captains in their tracks at the Sea-Air-Space conference, drawing repeated assessments of ‘game changer’ from operators who work with small naval craft for a living, Navier CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya revealed following the company’s debut at the major naval exposition. The […]View the full article

Poland has signed a contract worth approximately $16 million to purchase American-made V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing drones for its Navy, with the deal set to be completed before the end of 2026, Defence24 reported. The agreement, confirmed by Poland’s Armament Agency, covers one full system set and several aerial platforms, making Poland one of […]View the full article

Anduril just unveiled a helicopter-killer’s replacement: a pilotless attack aircraft built specifically because attack helicopters have become too dangerous to fly. The defense technology company announced Thunder, an autonomous attack rotorcraft designed to fly alongside crewed helicopters like the Apache, absorbing the risk that increasingly cheap drones, loitering munitions, and persistent surveillance systems have turned […]View the full article

Hanwha Defense USA has won a U.S. Army contract to deliver six prototype K9 Mobile Howitzers (MH) for the Army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon program, with an option for 12 more, the company announced Tuesday. It is Hanwha’s first major U.S. Army contract. The award follows a public campaign Hanwha has run for nearly a year […]View the full article

The U.S. Army is spending $18 million to repair and refit equipment as one of its cavalry regiments transforms into a heavy brigade combat team, trading in lighter reconnaissance vehicles for the tanks and armored fighting vehicles that define the Army’s most heavily armed formations. Army Contracting Command awarded the contract modification to Akima Facilities […]View the full article