Raw Intel

Americas The Pentagon launched Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Acceleration (ADA) initiative, goal of which is to rapidly advance data and AI dependent concepts, like joint all-domain command and control. Speaking virtually to the opening of the Defense Department’s Artificial Intelligence Symposium and Tech Exchange, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks said DOD’s operators must come to trust the outputs of AI systems; its commanders must come to trust the legal, ethical and moral foundations of explainable AI; and the American people must come to trust the values DOD has integrated into each of its applications. Northrop Grumman has successfully flight demo…

Thought I would start out this week doing what I forgot to do last week - review the top posts from 2021. I looked over the unique visits at both the OG home at blogspot and the parallel universe over at substack (so places where readers' IT managers block blogger.com can see it) and this is what seemed to get the most interest via sharing and being picked up by large follower accounts. What does this tell us? I'm not sure, but I think it reflects a larger concern and feeling many people have that those we have trusted with the stewardship of our nation's military are not doing a good job. That and everyone is still fascinated by the Japanese Navy. What will 2022 be most …

All it takes is a quick look at a map or a quick read of history to understand that any conflict in the Western Pacific will be dominated by naval forces, logistics, control of the air, and the ability to sustain all three. Extending our conversation on Midrats this summer about the challenge from China, this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern returning to Midrats will be our guest Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute. The starting point for our discussion will be the report he co-authored with Timothy Walton, Regaining the High Ground Against China: A Plan to Achieve US Naval Aviation Superiority This Deca…

Life is short, and people are few. That little cornerstone was pointed out to me yesterday when I found out that Raymond Pritchett, AKA "Galrahn" passed away last week. How do you remember a friend and colleague who passes away too early? Everyone has there own way, mine is to tell a story. Here an outline of the Raymond I got to know. I got to know him like most listeners here did - via the maritime natsec online community. Raymond and I used to have fun talking about "the early days" and that is where I'd like to start the story, as in this corner of the world, that is how we got to know Raymond. While everyone is online and communicating via a huge constellation of met…

Americas Raytheon won a $94.1 million modification for fiscal 2023 Guided Missile Assemblies, shipping containers, and spare parts in support of the fiscal 2021-2023 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Block 2 full rate production requirements. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona; Raufoss, Norway; Edinburgh, Australia; San Jose, California; Mississauga, Canada; Ottobrunn, Germany; Cambridge, Canada; Nashua, […]View the full article

South Korea has completed a major upgrade of its Cheongung-I air defense system, transforming it into the more capable Cheongung-II platform, which can now intercept both aircraft and ballistic missiles, the country’s arms procurement agency announced Monday. According to a press release from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the enhanced system has entered initial […] The post South Korea upgrades air defenses to hit ballistic missiles first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (GUR) has released footage showing its drones destroying two Russian helicopters at Simferopol airbase, along with a strike against a tugboat. The video, published on August 31, corresponds with a drone attack carried out on the morning of August 30 that triggered a large fire at the facility. Earlier, satellite images circulated […] The post Ukraine releases video of strikes on Simferopol airbase first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

One topic I didn’t expect us to dive into on yesterday’s Midrats with Dean Cheng was the growing nuclear capability of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Once the show was over, I figured I needed to pull Rebeccah Heinrichs’s article from Friday up from my ‘read later’ tab. She gives a solid review of the state of play and offers three suggestions, two of which I generally endorse, and the third a firm non-concur. First, let’s review the table she sets. Just three years ago, China denied it was rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal. In 2022, Fu Cong, then the director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s arms control department (now China’s permanent representat…

South Korea’s defense industry is setting its sights on the Middle East as its next major export destination, according to a senior analyst from Korea Investment & Securities. At a seminar hosted Monday in Seoul by Hanwha Asset Management, a firm known for its defense-focused exchange-traded fund PLUS K-Defense, analyst Jung Nam-hyun said the region […] The post South Korea sets sights on Gulf arms market first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, reaffirmed on Sunday that the country’s laws prohibit the transfer of military equipment to nations involved in active armed conflict, responding to reports that Chile may have agreed to supply Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles to Germany for eventual delivery to Ukraine. Van Klaveren did not explicitly […]View the full article

ARX Robotics says it has successfully designed and engineered a fully software-defined land system that can be operated remotely and, if required, autonomously, pointing to a shift in how ground logistics and support vehicles could be used in future conflicts. As noted by the company, the project relies on recent advances in safety-certified drive-by-wire technology, […]View the full article

Royal Navy warships and aircraft were activated to shadow Russian naval vessels during a two-day operation in the English Channel, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed, as Russian forces transited waters near Britain en route to the North Sea. Portsmouth-based patrol ships HMS Mersey and HMS Severn were deployed alongside a Wildcat helicopter from 815 […]View the full article

So, is this the time to make battleships great again? I would be hard-pressed to think of a better guest to help us explore that question than returning guest, Rob Farley. A starting point for our conversation will be his article from December, The Trump-Class Battleship Summed Up In 1 Word. You can listen at this link, subscribe to the podcast, or listen at the Spotify widget below. Show LinksThe Battleship Book, by Robert Farley’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Lawyers, Guns, and Money Dr. Robert Farley’s X Profile Dr. Robert Farley’s Blue Sky Profile My thoughts on SLCM-N SummaryIn this episode, Dr. Robert Farley discusses the concept of b…

An AEGIR-W unmanned surface vessel made by U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corporation was found by civilians off the coast of Ordu, Turkey. Authorities are expected to inspect the vessel before destroying it. The find stands out because the AEGIR-W is a military-grade unmanned surface vessel, or USV, designed for operations in contested environments, including reconnaissance, electronic […]View the full article

The Royal Navy has launched a formal Request for Information (RFI) seeking unmanned aerial systems capable of clearing and monitoring maritime weapons test ranges, Navy Command Headquarters announced on April 14, 2026. The technical scope disclosed in the RFI published on the United Kingdom’s Defence Sourcing Portal and Contracts Finder is expansive. The Royal Navy […]View the full article

Turkish defense company STM has unveiled ALPAGU-B, a larger fixed-wing loitering munition with a 40-kilometer line-of-sight range and artificial intelligence-powered target tracking, making its global debut at SAHA 2026. STM, formally known as STM Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş., describes ALPAGU-B as the newest member of its fixed-wing loitering munition family and a direct […]View the full article

American Rheinmetall is spending $41 million to expand and modernize six manufacturing facilities across Michigan, Ohio, and Maine, accelerating production capacity for some of the U.S. Army’s most important ground combat modernization programs while deliberately avoiding the time and cost of building entirely new factories. The German defense giant’s American subsidiary announced the capital investment […]View the full article

U.S. Marines from III Marine Expeditionary Force were photographed calibrating and evaluating the Medium-Range Intercept Capability system on Mason Range, Guam, on June 24, 2026, as part of Valiant Shield 2026, the biennial U.S.-led exercise that assembles joint and allied forces across the Indo-Pacific to practice the kind of high-end multi-domain combat the Pentagon considers […]View the full article

France’s next long-range strike weapon might get its first real trial on Ukraine’s front line against Russian forces. According to French Aid to Europe, citing an anonymous source, prototypes of THUNDART, the system set to become the French Army’s future deep-strike capability, are expected to be tested in Ukraine. “According to an anonymous source, prototypes […]View the full article

French drone maker Cavok UAS is developing a containerized launch system designed to deploy swarms of its Skydart5 interceptor drones, an effort flagged by Counter Unmanned Systems on X after Cavok UAS described the concept. Cavok UAS, based in Sainte-Menehould in France’s Marne region, posted a schematic image of the dispenser alongside a description of […]View the full article