Raw Intel

Zeebrugge. If you have been there, or visited its inner city of Bruges, you know what a beautiful and peaceful place it is - as most all of Belgium is today once you get out of the large cities like Brussels, Liege, etc. In 1918, though, Belgium was a nightmarish slaughterhouse where the bodies of millions were blended into the beaten earth—where like Okinawa and Iwo Jima over a quarter century later—the living earth would move with a blanketed mass of maggots. In one of history's subtle hints she will give you early if you wish to listen, Britain found herself on the edge of starvation due to a threat few understood or even knew of at the beginning of the war - the su…

Lockheed Martin plans to open a dedicated maintenance facility in Poland for Patriot PAC-3 interceptors, the company announced Tuesday. The PAC-3 Missile Maintenance Facility is being set up in coordination with the U.S. government and will serve NATO allies that operate the interceptors. The site will repair and recertify the missiles. According to the company, […]View the full article

We think we know the future, we don't. We thought our leadership would learn from killing 17 Sailors in the summer of 2017, but it didn't. We thought our Navy would be ready for war sometime this decade, but we've decided to taunt fate and push two decades down the road. Pray for peace. Details over at USNIBlog. 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=flW-Dl9MOso:AI-vtm2PjHA:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=flW-Dl9MOso:AI-vtm2PjHA:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=flW-Dl9MOso:AI-vtm2PjHA:…

If a nation is at peace where do you draw the line from a risk management point of view if you should meet a scheduled underway period? Where is a good example of when to decide it is just best to stay pierside? I think we have a good example from an unexpected ally. Details over at USNIBlog. 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=6hc7TIVQ-RY:YREjStQHk6I:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6hc7TIVQ-RY:YREjStQHk6I:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6hc7TIVQ-RY:YREjStQHk6I:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.…

If you are going to call something a presence mission, then it needs to actually be present where it matters. If we are trying to make a point about Ukraine ... is the Ionian Sea really where we need to be? I'm pondering over at USNIBlog. Come join the pondering. 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=DgM0iuqOfao:asacLhbOZm8:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=DgM0iuqOfao:asacLhbOZm8:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=DgM0iuqOfao:asacLhbOZm8:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/F…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $74 million contract modification for the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ground equipment to support the US government. Under this contract modification, Lockheed Martin will provide six launchers, THAAD Fire Control and Communication (TFCC), and associated Peculiar Support Equipment (PSE) under firm-fixed-price and fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract line items. The THAAD terminal (formerly theatre) high-altitude area defense missile system is an easily transportable defensive weapon system to protect against hostile incoming threats, such as tactical and theatre ballistic missiles, at ranges of 200km a…

As we started with Japan this week, let's stick with the topic - but this time on a more positive note. Even more than the USA, Japan is a maritime and aerospace power. That is where her geography and technology give her the comparative advantage. As the USA struggles to increase her forces to meet the challenge west of Wake, we rightfully look to our close ally in the region that has an impressive combo of GDP and population - Japan. Even though she limited herself for decades to 1% of GDP on defense, with the size of her economy, she still has an impressive military. As those who have worked with her know, what she does have is quality in both personnel and material. Ke…

Americas The US Army is testing the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle-mounted Modular Turreted Mortar System (MTMS) prototype. Trials have been ongoing since January to ensure the expected performance from the system before an upcoming demonstration at Fort Moore, Georgia, in September. “We are diligently verifying its advertised capabilities and making sure it is safe for the […]View the full article

Americas General Dynamics Land Systems won an $18.9 million modification for Abrams system technical support. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of February 27, 2025. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea early Sunday in “an apparent case of friendly fire,” the American military said. Both pilots were recovered alive but “initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” the United States Central Command said late Saturday local Florida time – where CENTCOM is headquartered. Middle East &…

CALVIN COOLIDGE30th President of the United States: 1923 ‐ 1929 July 05, 1926 Fellow Countrymen: We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the 4th day of July. Whatever may have been the impression created by the news which went out from this ci…

Footage released by Russia shows a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flying over the Black Sea equipped with a rarely seen intelligence-gathering system. The video, filmed from the cockpit of a Russian Su-35S fighter, highlights the Poseidon carrying the AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS), one of the Navy’s most secretive radar pods. The […] The post Russian fighter intercepts U.S. spy plane with secret sensor first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A British-designed air defense system developed specifically for Ukraine has successfully intercepted four Russian cruise and guided missiles, including Kh-59 and Kh-101 types, Ukrainian forces said. The Raven system, assembled from existing UK defense components in a four-month accelerated program, continues to exceed expectations in operational use. According to a public statement from Ukraine’s Air […] The post UK-built Raven downs Russian four cruise missiles in Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

I mentioned this on the paid-subscriber-only UNCLAS Read Board Podcast earlier this week, but I wanted to bring it up for everyone in a different kind of FbF. I can’t stop thinking about this letter from the Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll. It is one of the best things I have read from a civilian or uniformed leader in a very long time. It is worth a bit of your time as we head into the weekend, and approach the holiday season. One of the most difficult things for a man is to accept that he needs help. It can be one of the hardest things to do, so to do it and save yourself and prevent a tragedy to those around you who care is, in itself, fullbore. Share Leave a comme…

Japan has signed a new follow-on contract with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to acquire additional Joint Strike Missiles for its F-35A fighter aircraft. According to information released on December 19, 2025, the agreement marks Japan’s fifth follow-on contract for the Joint Strike Missile, or JSM. The contract is valued at more than NOK 800 million […]View the full article

Hyundai Rotem is in active discussions to export its K2 main battle tank to multiple countries beyond Poland, according to a report published on January 22 by South Korean brokerage Kiwoom In a research note, Kiwoom Securities analyst Lee Han-gyeol wrote that Hyundai Rotem is holding export talks with Iraq, Peru, Romania, and Saudi Arabia […]View the full article

The United States Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $33.8 million contract to provide ground and flight test support for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) integrated with the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system, according to a contract announcement released Feb. 18, 2026. The contract was issued by Army Contracting Command at […]View the full article

The United States Army has received its first AH-64E Apache helicopters for the 1st Armored Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas, with the aircraft arriving on February 12, 2026 as part of an initial delivery to modernize the unit. The deployment comes as the brigade transitions into a Heavy Combat Aviation Brigade, a […]View the full article

German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall and European aerospace and defense company Destinus have agreed to establish a joint venture focused on the production of advanced cruise missiles and ballistic rocket artillery, with the new company set to be operational in the second half of 2026. The venture, to be named Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems, will be […]View the full article

F-22 Raptors from Alaska and Virginia have arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan, the latest rotation of America’s premier air superiority fighter through the island base that sits at the geographic center of U.S. air power in the Western Pacific. The aircraft come from two squadrons: the 90th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, […]View the full article

Britain has ordered hundreds more Lightweight Multirole Missiles from Thales to rebuild stockpiles and reinforce the air defense of British forces in the Middle East, with the contracts worth a combined £36 million, roughly $48 million, George Allison of the UK Defence Journal reported June 1. The two contracts were placed by the National Armaments […]View the full article