Raw Intel

Oh, my love and forlorn desire has appeared before me once again to cause me to hope and to think of what might have been. Alas, as with many things you crave too much but never capture, over the years you feel cheated, heartbroken, and perhaps a little bitter…but still, you long for the promise always right out of reach. The railgun. Directly, I first wrote about it on the OG Blog almost fifteen years ago, and indirectly over fifteen years ago. Let’s visit when I addressed it directly: With the advances of technology, computers, and a better understanding of what it takes to destroy a missile in flight - in 15 years and utility and effectiveness of the missile as an offe…

Russia has carried out a naval drone attack against Ukraine’s Simferopol reconnaissance ship in the Danube delta. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the strike was carried out by naval drones believed to have been launched from occupied Crimea or pre-positioned at the mouth of the river. The ministry did not release further details on […] The post Russian naval drones strike Ukraine’s recon ship first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian assault units fighting in Ukraine are increasingly resorting to improvised methods to survive on the battlefield, modifying civilian vehicles with makeshift armor to protect against Ukrainian FPV drone strikes. Images and battlefield footage show small cars crudely reinforced with welded steel rods, wire mesh, and scrap metal — a style of improvised protection that […] The post Russia turns civilian cars into “Mad Max” war machines first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A new photograph circulating on Chinese social media shows what appears to be a next-generation 155mm self-propelled howitzer—believed to be the PLZ-051B—covered in camouflage netting and being transported on a flatbed trailer. The image, reportedly taken in China and posted on Weibo, offers a rare glimpse at one of the People’s Liberation Army’s most advanced […] The post New Chinese self-propelled gun caught on camera first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A new Chinese road-mobile ballistic missile system, believed by observers to be connected to China’s long-range DF-27 hypersonic program, has appeared on social media after being photographed during a relocation move. The image, posted on Weibo earlier this week, shows a large transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) covered in camouflage netting and mounted on a heavy 6-axle chassis. […]View the full article

Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited has secured a new order worth $21 million for its R400 Remote Weapon System, expanding the company’s international defense footprint and lifting its contract backlog above $400 million. According to a company announcement, the order covers the supply of R400 Remote Weapon Systems to a customer in North America. The […]View the full article

Pakistan’s Navy confirmed plans to expand its fleet to 50 ships during a 2021 address by then–Naval Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, formally outlining one of the country’s largest long-term naval force development programs, according to defense analyst Zarvan Ali. Abbasi stated that the Pakistan Navy intends to induct 20 major surface combatants, including corvettes, […]View the full article

BAE Systems announced successful trials of its Autonomous Tactical Light Armour System (ATLAS) uncrewed ground vehicle, confirming testing of a combat-capable autonomous platform designed to support main battle tank and combat reconnaissance operations. The trials evaluated the ATLAS Collaborative Combat Variant (CCV), a fully functional prototype demonstrator first introduced at the Land Forces exhibition in […]View the full article

The United States Army’s 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was spotted using a sniper rifle equipped with a futuristic muzzle device during a validation exercise at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Indiana. According to the official caption accompanying the image, “Green Berets with the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) provide security from […]View the full article

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has unveiled a new counter-drone combat vehicle being prepared for Ukraine, combining the Ukrainian-made Inguar-3 armored vehicle with the Norwegian company’s latest counter-UAS technology. The vehicle was presented during a visit to Norway by a Polish delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. People familiar with the […]View the full article

Otto Aerospace has completed a flight-test campaign for an unmanned aircraft built around laminar-flow aerodynamics, validating in actual flight the drag-reduction performance the company has been modeling for years and generating data with direct implications for long-endurance drone design. The tests were conducted at Spaceport America in New Mexico, within White Sands Missile Range airspace, […]View the full article

With so much else going on, it is easy to forget that the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022 is still ongoing. It has always been true that if you want to better prepare your nation for its next war, watch closely what works or does not work in other people’s wars. We’ve seen a cottage industry build around this concept when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine. Some of it gets rather tiresome as people try to directly translate what works on the Ukrainian steppe to a potential Taiwan conflict, for just one example. Much of this pontificating and projecting is firmly where most people are comfortable, the Tactical level. We’re not going to do that today. Recently, breaking above…

Polish, Lithuanian, and French troops are conducting a large-scale military exercise in northeastern Poland focused on defending one of NATO’s most vulnerable geographic chokepoints, deploying unmanned ground robots alongside tanks, artillery, and infantry fighting vehicles in scenarios designed to test whether allied forces can hold a 65-kilometer (40-mile) land corridor that military planners have identified […]View the full article

As regulars here know, there are two defining cultures that shaped who I am. First, both sides of my family are Old Line Southern families who have been in the South for four centuries. Second, I grew up in Florida with the children of Cuban and Iranian refugees. The former, especially, shaped my view of the greatest cancer on this planet in the last two centuries—Communism. As a fellow Floridian of the same age, I just nodded and smiled when Secretary of State Marco Rubio's State Department published, Cuba: the Capital of 21st Century Communism. It pulls it all together. It is a document that serves as a marker, a Ref. A, and a testament. I encourage you to put it on you…

The U.S. Navy launched an Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle Six (ARAV-6) target from Pacific Missile Range Facility, Hawaii, on August 6 as part of Pacific Dragon 2026, according to U.S. 3rd Fleet. Pacific Dragon is a biennial exercise hosted by U.S. 3rd Fleet in the Hawaiian Islands Operating Area, designed to improve how participating forces […]View the full article

GM Defense delivered its first batch of PAC-3 MSE missile-housing components to Lockheed Martin on Sept. 16, just 22 days after the two companies signed a formal production contract, Lockheed Martin said in a post on X. “The message is clear: we’re moving at the speed of relevance,” Lockheed Martin said. “The future of defense […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has put the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) into dry dock at Navantia’s shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, the first time one of its Europe-based destroyers has been dry-docked in the region since the Navy began stationing them in Spain more than a decade ago. The ship entered the dock on Oct. […]View the full article

X-Bow Systems will build the solid rocket booster that launches CoAspire’s ground-based cruise missile under the U.S. Navy’s CHAOS program, an effort to give allied nations a low-cost weapon for striking ships and land targets. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, company said Tuesday that CoAspire, the prime contractor, selected it to develop and produce the ground-launched […]View the full article

Oh, he's only a 20-yr BM1. Didn't even graduate from High School. Snuck in to the Navy at 16 even.Really? Define "only."What more can I say but what is in his Medal of Honor citation? JAMES E. WILLIAMS BOATSWAIN'S MATE FIRST CLASS UNITED STATES NAVY U.S. Navy, River Section 531, My Tho, RVN Mekong River, Republic of Vietnam 31 October 1966 for service as set forth in the following Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. BM1 Williams was serving as Boat Captain and Patrol Officer aboard River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 accompanied by another patrol boat when the patrol was su…

Americas Honeywell International won a $72.9 million deal for the repair of six weapon repairable assemblies in support of the V-22 aircraft. The V-22 Osprey aircraft, made by a joint venture between Boeing and Bell, is a multirole model designed for both vertical and short takeoff and landing. The V-22 operates as a helicopter when taking off and landing vertically. The nacelles rotate 90° forward once airborne, converting the aircraft into a turboprop aircraft. The Navy will use its annual working capital funds to finance task orders under the contract, as work runs through November 2025. Work will take place in California and Arizona. Estimated completion will by by No…