Raw Intel

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is continuing its evaluation process before making a final decision on whether to acquire surplus F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets from Kuwait, despite reports claiming the deal had been abandoned. RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Muhammad Norazlan Aris, in comments to the New Straits Times, rejected speculation that the plan […] The post Deal not dead: Malaysia still assessing Kuwaiti F/A-18s first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine is ramping up its use of helicopters as part of its air defense network, after frontline units proved their effectiveness in intercepting Russian long-range drones, according to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. As Militarnyi reported, Syrskyi highlighted that helicopter crews have become a critical element of Ukraine’s layered air defense strategy, often outperforming expectations in drone […] The post Ukraine deploys more helicopters to hunt Russian drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

French airborne forces deployed a wide range of unmanned aerial systems during the recent FURY 25 exercise, emphasizing the role of low-altitude drone operations in high-intensity combat scenarios. The 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (1er RHP) shared a detailed account of the drill, highlighting both operational capabilities and experimental systems. In a statement published by 1er […] The post French paratroopers test combat drones at FURY 25 first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Kraken Technology Group has secured an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement from U.S. Special Operations Command to design and prototype advanced uncrewed maritime platforms. On November 21, 2025, Kraken Technology Group announced that it has been awarded an OTA agreement by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The agreement supports the rapid development and prototyping […]View the full article

Korea Aerospace Industries has signed two new contracts to deliver Surion multirole helicopters to South Korean government agencies, extending the platform’s role in public safety, disaster response, and maritime security missions. According to K-DEFENSE NEWS, KAI signed separate agreements on December 15 and December 17 to supply one Surion helicopter each to the Korea Coast […]View the full article

Those who are selling a short, fast, and successful war are selling a lie. It seems every generation thinks they have found a way to fix the problem. Over and over, from Europe in 1939 to Europe again in 2022, the quick and successful war that was briefed devolved into a consuming slog. You can win a consuming slog, but you have to be able to mobilize and industrialize your way through it—and you need to start doing that years before the war starts. The fleet that showed up in 1943 did not start in 1941—it began in 1936, 1938, and 1940. A decade and a half after President Obama’s “Pacific Pivot”, we still talk a big game about being ready for the next Great Pacific War w…

The United States Air Force has awarded Boeing a $13 million contract to upgrade infrared countermeasure systems on C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft operated by Canada and Australia under a Foreign Military Sales program, according to a contract announcement released Feb. 18, 2026. The award covers upgrades converting existing Block 10 defensive systems to the […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has awarded BAE Systems a contract to support and modernize the AN/ALQ-221 Advanced Defensive System installed on the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft. According to BAE Systems, the contract was issued by Robins Air Force Base in Georgia and includes ongoing field service support, system repairs, and software updates designed […]View the full article

Turkish Bayraktar KIZILELMA unmanned combat air vehicle successfully detected a passenger airliner at a range of 110 kilometers during a performance validation test of the ASELSAN KARAT Infrared Search and Track system. The result was disclosed through ASELSAN’s monthly publication, a-Bülten, confirming that one of the KIZILELMA’s three primary sensor systems has cleared a significant […]View the full article

U.S. Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum have begun training with the Bumblebee V1, a first-person-view counter-drone system that its users are already discovering does considerably more than shoot down enemy unmanned aircraft. The training brought together soldiers from different units across the division to operate a system that Joint Interagency Task […]View the full article

The U.S. military fired more than 1,000 Patriot interceptors during the Iran conflict but received only 172 new ones in return, according to a Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis, leaving American air defense stockpiles in a deficit that won’t be replenished until 2029 at the earliest. That gap has driven a search for […]View the full article

The U.S. government has awarded Lockheed Martin a $35 billion contract to quadruple production of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor, the missile system that forms one of America’s most critical layers of protection against ballistic missile attack, committing to a seven-year procurement that represents one of the largest missile defense contracts in American […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force wants to install a network of microphones at one of its most secretive bases in England, built specifically to hear enemy drones coming before anyone ever sees them. A newly published Air Force solicitation reveals that the 352nd Special Operations Wing at RAF Mildenhall is seeking a passive acoustic drone detection […]View the full article

Footage has emerged showing the rollout of a new Il-78MK-90A aerial refueling tanker, apparently built in export configuration, according to posts circulating on Russian social media and aviation channels. Social media users have claimed the aircraft was built under an export contract to supply 20 Il-78 tankers to China, but The Defence Blog could not […]View the full article

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation said its Su-57 stealth fighter flew to an air show in Egypt this month using fuel tanks built into its internal weapons bays instead of the external drop tanks fighters typically carry on long ferry flights. UAC said the aircraft made the trip to the El Alamein International Airshow with one […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy plans to have Boeing redesign parts of the computer that controls weapons and external stores on its F/A-18 and EA-18G fleet, after concluding that the current unit can no longer be supported because key components are no longer available. Naval Air Systems Command’s PMA-265, the program office for the F/A-18 Super Hornet […]View the full article

Two satellites from Russia’s Rassvet broadband constellation, the country’s answer to SpaceX’s Starlink, are expected to fall back into the atmosphere and burn up within the next day or two after failing to raise their orbits, Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell said, while most of the other Rassvet-3 satellites have now settled into […]View the full article

Mark Steyn is painfully hilarious as always in his take down of the Secret Service and the general culture of entitlement to taxpayer money that is killing us. Unlike the government of the United States, I can’t claim any hands-on experience with Colombian hookers. But I was impressed by the rates charged by Miss Dania Suarez, and even more impressed by the U.S. Secret Service’s response to them. Cartagena’s most famous “escort†costs $800. For purposes of comparison, you can book Eliot Spitzer’s “escort†for $300. Yet, on the cold grey fiscally conservative morning after the wild socially liberal night before, Dania’s Secret Service agent of…

Click on this link (right click, save as) to see the actual signed memorandum by SecDef Hagel. Here is the text. Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Distinguished Warfare Medal The Department of Defense announced on Feb. 13 the establishment of the Distinguished Warfare Medal to recognize the achievements of a small number of service men and women who have an especially direct and immediate impact on combat operations through the use of remotely piloted aircraft and cyber operations. I agree with my predecessor Leon Panetta that such recognition is justly warranted for these men and women and thank him for raising the level of awarenes…

Our Navy would be such a more powerful force if we had kept with the mindset of the Aegis and Standard Missile evolution. Bit by bit, step by step, increment by increment, baseline by baseline, we got a stronger, more effective Navy. A few hiccups like in any long running program ... but the success is undeniable. The latest example; In a first-of-its-kind test, the United States has successfully used a small ship-fired missile to intercept a target Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), according to the Missile Defense Agency. The successful test shows the U.S. military now has another missile defense system capable of defending against North Korean ICBM’s…