Raw Intel

The U.S. military’s V-22 Osprey program office and manufacturer Bell Boeing have brought 14 new companies into the tiltrotor’s supply chain as they work to keep the aircraft flying past 2055, after years of gearbox failures, fatal crashes and flight restrictions that have kept large parts of the fleet on the ground. The new suppliers […]View the full article

Spanish drone maker ARMMO Defense Technologies and General Dynamics European Land Systems’ Spanish unit, Santa Bárbara Sistemas, launched and flew ARMMO’s Bandit-X interceptor drone from an ASCOD Heavy Mission Carrier tracked armored vehicle during the ATLAS 26 counter-drone exercise in Huelva, Spain, turning the heavy vehicle into a mobile launcher for drones that hunt down […]View the full article

(click to view full) In an exclusive June 2006 interview, Israeli Air Force (IAF) chief procurement officer Brigadier-General Ze’ev Snir told Israeli media that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was a key part of their IAF recapitalization plans, and that Israel intended to buy over 100 of the fighters to replace their fleet of over 300 F-16s. Since then, however, the expected cost of that purchase has more than doubled. Israel’s F-35 contract had to deal with that sticker shock, with issues like the incorporation of Israeli technologies and industrial work, and with major schedule slips in the core F-35 program. Israel was even contemplating delaying its purchase, which wo…

The Front Porch got some nice top-cover to start the week off. This is good. As we covered here and on Midrats, sadly, the US Navy’s uniformed and civilian leadership over the last decade left a record of a serial inability to plan for the future of our Navy and worse, clearly define its importance to the security of our republic. Compounding the errors at the dawn of this century in the Age of Transformationalism, in the middle of the last decade it became clear to me in stark relief that the key to avoid further compounded errors lies in Congressional action. We need to identify and support Representatives and Senators of all parties (remember, there are (I) in the …

This really is an amazing video if you have a historically focused mind. Fresh from her modifications to fly F-35B, the Izumo is bringing the Japanese Navy back in the carrier business again … with some friends via United States Marine Corps F-35B. The Japanese will be buying 42 F-35B and maybe more, so soon we will see the Izumo and her sister ships with the first Japanese fixed wing airwing at sea since the end of the Second World War. I’d like more, faster – along with the South Koreans … and if we could get the Australians to play at some point that would be nice too … but this is all good news for navalists in the West. Though not a “Western” nation, Japan is part o…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $324.1 million contract modification, which exercises options to support calendar year 2022 modification and retrofit activities for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to include the procurement of material modification kits as well as program management, non-recurring engineering, aircraft induction, contractor field, depot site and laser shock peening site support. The modification adds scope for the procurement of material kits as well as special tooling and test equipment necessary to support F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft retrofit and modification efforts for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-US Department of Defense partici…

Great men cannot do great things without a great staff. Educated people know who Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton is, but who knows who Frank Worsley is? Anyone who has been responsible for navigation should; When the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance was found nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea in March 2022, it was located just 4 miles from its last known position, as recorded by the Endurance’s captain and navigator, Frank Worsley, in November 1915. At the bottom of the world. No GPS, just math, the stars, and a bit of instinct ... and any hope of survival was riding on you. When the Endurance was crushed, the crew had to get themse…

Americas Triumph Gear System won a $24.3 million contract action for the procurement of one item used on the V-22 aircraft. All work will be performed in Park City, Utah, and is expected to be completed by July 2024. Fiscal 2022 working capital (Navy) funds will be used and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. Work will take place i…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $33.8 million contract modification for the procurement of four test controller processors and ten infrared receivers in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. All work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and work will be completed by November 2025. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. The US Air Force’s Tyndall Air Force Base is equipping aircrew with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) gear for enhanced combat readiness. All current and new pilots of the 325th Operations Support Squadron Aircrew Flight Equipment Flight (AFE) will be fitted and trained …

Show LinksCoast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan Modern Chinese Maritime Forces, 01JUL2025 Edition. Frontline states say “bye” to the Ottawa Convention on Mines. King's Navy: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897–1947 Heritage DataViz on US Fleet promises v. PLAN Execution MK-58 torpedo SummaryIn this episode, the host discusse… Read more View the full article

Ukrainian military intelligence has taken delivery of a U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, purchased through a nationwide crowdfunding campaign organized in the Czech Republic. The handover marks the culmination of a year-long effort led by the volunteer initiative Dárek pro Putina (“A Gift for Putin”), which raised more than 72.6 million Czech crowns—about $3.2 million—from […] The post Czech volunteers buy Black Hawk for Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has passed a major milestone in its 33-year history, surpassing nine million cumulative flight hours across its unmanned aircraft fleet. The achievement coincides with ongoing flight operations of the company’s newest combat drone, the YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, which is being tested for the U.S. Air Force. GA-ASI has […] The post GA-ASI surpasses 9 million flight hours across drone fleet first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Right before I first posted this six years ago, after I once again lamented that we no longer have a ship with the name USS Shangri-La, Bill Schultz reminded me that there is a simply awesome video available of a unique and under-appreciated time in naval aviation; the early 1960s. What an incredible time of change and advancement ... and a time yet warped by the war that would dominate the rest of the decade. So, let’s take a moment to give tribute to those Sailors of the early-60s ... in glorious technicolor, on the USS Shangri-La (CV 38), circa 1962, somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Crusaders, Skyrays, Skyhawks, Skyraiders, Marines doing PT on deck ... just glorious…

A Hokkaido-based company has presented a stratospheric aerostat system with emerging defense uses at the annual “Technology Symposium 2025,” hosted by Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) in Tokyo on November 11–12. In this context, aerostat refers to a high-altitude platform kept aloft by lighter-than-air gas, capable of long-duration observation, communications support, or scientific […]View the full article

UAE-based EDGE and Spain’s EM&E Group have signed a technology transfer contract that will allow the FEROX 6×6 armored vehicle to be manufactured in Spain. According to a statement dated December 19, 2025, the agreement is structured between EM&E Group and EDGE entity NIMR, a producer of wheeled military vehicles. Under the contract, EM&E Group […]View the full article

The United States State Department has approved a possible $2.316 billion Foreign Military Sale to Singapore for P-8A maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, MK 54 lightweight torpedoes, and associated systems, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said as it formally notified Congress of the decision. According to the certification delivered to lawmakers, the Government of Singapore […]View the full article

Swarm Aero announced the opening of its Advanced Manufacturing Center on Feb. 17, 2026, at Drake Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas, marking the launch of an 80,000-square-foot facility designed to produce large uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, the company said during a ribbon-cutting event attended by Congressman Steve Womack. According to the company, the Arkansas facility […]View the full article

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force confirmed it supported the first flight of a new stand-off electronic warfare aircraft, known as the EC-2, developed in cooperation with the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. The development comes as Japan moves to strengthen its ability to operate in the electromagnetic domain and support air operations without entering contested […]View the full article

DFA Systems, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based startup, said Monday it will bring its Precision Flying Grenade to ISOF Range 2026, a live-fire defense event set for April 14–15 at the Nevada Test and Training Range. The showcase gives the company a chance to put its flagship system in front of a wide audience that includes […]View the full article

DARPA flew a hybrid-electric unmanned experimental aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base in April 2026, marking the first flight milestone for a propulsion architecture the agency believes could fundamentally change how military aircraft are designed and what they can do. The aircraft, designated XRQ-73, was developed through DARPA’s Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration program, […]View the full article