Raw Intel

A new variant of China’s ZBD-04 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) equipped with an advanced active protection system (APS) has surfaced online, raising questions about the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) evolving approach to vehicle survivability and defensive countermeasures. Photos of the vehicle—reportedly the ZBD-04B—were released by the open-source monitoring group The Dead District. The images show […]View the full article

Turkish defense company ASELSAN has completed the integration and live-fire testing of two combat systems for Indonesia’s elite special forces. According to a statement published by ASELSAN Indonesia, the ASELSAN SARP 12.7 mm Remote Weapon Station and the ASELSAN SEDA Gunshot Detection System were successfully integrated on their designated platform and tested with live ammunition. […]View the full article

United States missile manufacturing is failing to keep pace with the tempo of modern warfare, raising concerns about how quickly the military can replace precision weapons in a high-intensity conflict. To examine where the bottlenecks lie and how they affect readiness, Defence Blog sought comment from John Borrego, Senior Vice President of Aerospace and Defense […]View the full article

Ukraine carried out a long-range strike overnight on February 21 targeting Russia’s Votkinsk Machine Building Plant in Udmurtia, a key facility tied to Moscow’s ballistic missile production program. Explosions were reported shortly before midnight local time, followed by a large fire inside the industrial complex located roughly 1,400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The attack […]View the full article

Ukrainian military personnel reported that a Russian combat helicopter was struck by a first-person-view (FPV) drone on the Pokrovsk axis, with the incident supported by released photos and video showing burning wreckage at the crash site. The hit was attributed to fighters of Ukraine’s 59th Separate Assault Brigade, who said the strike occurred during ongoing […]View the full article

The U.S. Army gave its most ambitious rotorcraft program a name to match its ambitions on April 15, officially designating Bell Textron’s MV-75 tiltrotor aircraft the Cheyenne II during the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual Warfighting Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. The naming honors two federally recognized nations: the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and […]View the full article

Helsing, a German AI defense company, has conducted the first launch of its HX-2 strike drone from a coastal vessel in the waters off Plymouth, UK, the company announced, marking a new operational environment for a system it has been developing and deploying on the battlefield in Ukraine. The trial took place off a fast […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy is doubling down on what it considers its most capable air and missile defense radar at sea, committing $516 million to keep the system integrated, tested, and ready across the fleet. Raytheon Missiles and Defense, the Marlborough, Massachusetts-based defense arm of RTX Corporation, secured a $515.8 million contract modification this week to […]View the full article

With the first operational B-21 Raiders scheduled to arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $44 million construction contract to build the permanent outdoor shelters that will protect America’s most advanced stealth bomber from the harsh South Dakota winters, extending its service life and keeping […]View the full article

BAE Systems announced at the Farnborough International Airshow that it has signed a licensing agreement with an unnamed strategic defense partner to support local manufacture of the Light Gun artillery system inside Ukraine, giving Kyiv’s defense industry direct access to the technical know-how behind a weapon British and Commonwealth forces have relied on for half […]View the full article

Kongsberg has signed a contract worth NOK 1.1 billion, about $118.4 million, to supply additional PROTECTOR RS4 Remote Weapon Systems to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for the Canadian Army’s Armoured Combat Support Vehicle program. The Norwegian defense company said the deal is a follow-on order building on previous RS4 deliveries for the same program. Kongsberg […]View the full article

M3A3 Bradley CFV: Charge! (click to view full) In the 1970s, middle eastern wars demonstrated that tanks without infantry screens were vulnerable to infantry with anti-tank missiles. Unfortunately, armored personnel carriers were easy prey for enemy tanks, and sometimes had trouble just keeping up with friendly tanks like America’s 60+ ton, 50+ mph M1 Abrams. In response, the Americans rethought the armored personnel carrier, taking a page from the Soviet book. They created a more heavily armored, faster “Infantry Fighting Vehicle” named after WW2 General Omar “the soldier’s general” Bradley, and gave it an offensive punch of its own. M2/M3 tracked, armored IFVs can car…

Americas Sikorsky won a $73.2 million modification, which adds scope to procure 362 spare parts and support required for the repair and maintenance of the CH-53K low rate initial production configuration aircraft. The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. The Super Stallion can be fielded from amphibious assault ships for the transportation of personnel and equipment. It will also be used to carry external cargo loads. Work will take place in Connecticut, Canada, Washington, Pennsylvania, the UK, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Iowa, Texas and Massachusetts. Estimated completion date will be in December 2026. Raytheon won a $17 m…

Barely six-weeks old, our retreat and national humiliation in Afghanistan for many of us has been I wrote the below almost exactly six years ago when we left a base that in my professional swan song, I had a lot invested in. Yep, that's my picture to here put as a reference point in time in late '08/early '09. Intersting to read how my feelings were in 2014 almost a warm-up for the feelings I continue to have about what we did to the effort as a whole in AFG. I'm still not fully settled on the issue. Anyway, if you are so inclined, join me in a quick return to OCT 2014. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ErLLFCOOnLU/VFNtzLmfaCI/AAAAAAAAI0k/dH0yHFqt6Vk/s320/IMGP1114.JPGI will be,…

If you recall, the "Arab Spring" started with increases in food prices going in to winter. The Kazakh government seems to have collapses due to civil disorder resulting from increasing LPG prices gong in to winter. Don't think inflation and supply chain issues are a national security issue? You're wrong. I'm pondering over at USNBlog. Come on by and bring a wheelbarrow of Papiermarks. 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=vsbpjpYdZoU:aDOK3unvZrA:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=vsbpjpYdZoU:aDOK3unvZrA:-BTjWOF_D…

Americas General Dynamics Land Systems won a $99.8 million deal for M1 Abrams tank sight units with containers. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. The M1A1/2 Abrams main battle tank is manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems. Work will take place in Alabama. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2029. The US Navy has carried out a demonstration of the MQ-8C Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept during Exercise Resolute Hunter. The exercise took place at San Clemente Island from June 21 to July 1. HSC-23 flew the unmanned rotorcraft for 23 hours during this period. It had taken off from Point Mugu and flown to San Clem…

Americas Bell Textron won a $48.3 million deal, which provides for the installation of Structural Improvements and Electrical Power Upgrades Phase II Part 3 kits, as well as ground and flight test for one AH-1Z and one UH-1Y aircraft for the Navy. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland; Fort Worth, Texas; and Amarillo, Texas, and is expected to be completed in August 2025. The AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter based on the AH-1W SuperCobra that features a four-blade rotor system, uprated transmission, and a new target sighting system. It has upgraded avionics, weapons, and electro-optical sensors designed to find targets at long ranges and attack …

US Army HH-60Ms (click to view full) In July 2012, the US military signed another huge contract with Sikorsky. With production of the Army’s HH/UH-60M, and the Navy’s MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters, all in full swing, there’s no question about the need for future orders. In that environment, multi-year contracts allow efficiencies in purchasing, and […]View the full article

Americas Raytheon won a $333.2 million contract for Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) full rate production requirements, spares, and round design agent. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $908,144,803. Work will will continue through September 2030. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. General Dynamics won a $188 million modification for Construction Spares associated with the Virginia Class …

Thailand has captured a contested hill along its border with Cambodia amid intensifying fighting between the two countries, Thai media reported on Saturday. Thai troops took control of Phu Makkhuea hill, a ridge in the long-disputed frontier zone near the ancient Preah Vihear Hindu temple. The operation reportedly took place early on July 26, with […] The post Thailand captures strategic ridge in border clash first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article