Raw Intel

A helicopter maker and an electric aircraft startup just proved they can bolt cutting-edge autonomy software onto a brand-new aircraft in under two weeks, a pace that would have sounded absurd for military aviation programs just a few years ago. Sikorsky, the helicopter manufacturer owned by Lockheed Martin, announced at the Farnborough International Airshow that […]View the full article

Houthi media released footage this week showing a Rajum quadcopter dropping a munition onto a Royal Saudi Land Forces M1A2S Abrams main battle tank at a forward position in Marib, Yemen, followed by an explosion and a fire that engulfed the vehicle. The video has not been independently verified, and neither the Saudi-led coalition nor […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has ordered the first production run of a new long-range radio system designed to keep ships and units communicating even when satellites are jammed or unavailable. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, New Jersey, awarded MaXentric Technologies a $9.6 million firm-fixed-price order for 12 low-rate initial production kits of the […]View the full article

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched Japan’s newest attack submarine, Shogei, at its Kobe shipyard on Oct. 8, the seventh boat of the Taigei class built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The 3,000-ton diesel-electric submarine was named and floated out in a ceremony at the yard in Kobe’s Hyogo Ward. MHI will now complete outfitting of […]View the full article

Ethiopia has taken delivery of its first 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets and will also receive four batteries of the S-400 long-range air defense system, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on social media on Oct. 28. Abiy said the jets arrived under an earlier agreement with the Russian government and a year ahead of the […]View the full article

(click to view full) Northrop Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye is a carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft, designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973. They fly from USN and French carriers, from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan; and in a drug interdiction role for the US Naval Reserve. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced. The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 n…

Americas Lockheed Martin won an $8.3 million deal to exercise an option for Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. Under this contract, the Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) develops, integrates, tests and delivers computer program baseline Advanced Capability Builds (ACBs) and supports Technology Insertions – a replacement and/or upgrade of combat system computing hardware and associated middleware/firmware. The Aegis CSEA also develops engineering products to support ship integration, supports developmental test/operational test events, develops training and l…

Today we return to the subject of the addition to the CNO's reading list of a book that openly calls for the most sectarian view of race. Worse, it calls for the official application of racism in to official policy. For those who have not read his book, let me pull out how Ibram X. Kendi defines things in his book, "How to be an Antiracist," the book in question. Words mean things, and when people redefine words, you need to pay special attention; Now operationalize that concept in your mind every time in our Navy you hear, "equity." From Flight Surgeons to Nuke Power School - operationalize the above concept and how, once people read this CNO recommended book,…

“Divest to Invest” is the lie a declining power tells itself when temporary leaders decide to shrug the hard work today to enable a more secure tomorrow, in order to have a comfortable and pleasant tour for themselves today – forcing others to have to play catch up later. It is that, or it is just plain wrong. We’ve seen this play before in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it failed so well last time, it is back again. The Terrible 20s does not have to happen, but it is. Decline is a choice, and one we seem to be making … but it is reversible if a nation and its leaders have the will to stand athwart the declinist drive and yell, “Stop!”. While it is easy to become fr…

Listen to this story and think ... today's challenges are not really that great ... are they? We posted this shortly after Jim's death nine years ago. I think he deserves a replay. You can get some nice visuals to the above interview at the 7:34 point in the video below. First posed Feb 2013.View the full article

This was only a matter of time given the events and personalities in the last couple of years. The foundation has been built over the last decade for something much larger to be built. It is a cliché, but it is true; nations don't have friends - they have interests. Saudi Arabia is rich in two things; hydrocarbons and problems. They have a human capital problem, a religious problem, and a Persian problem - not to mention their troublesome neighborhood. All both support and threaten the power of thee House of Saud. They need good friends who will help them on the outside with trade and military assistance, but will not interfere with their delicate domestic concerns. In p…

Trident II D5 Test Launch (click to view full) Nuclear tipped missiles were first deployed on board US submarines at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, to deter a Soviet first strike. The deterrence theorists argued that, unlike their land-based cousins, submarine-based nuclear weapons couldn’t be taken out by a surprise first […]View the full article

MiG-21 ‘Lancer’ (click to view full) The MiG-21 is reaching the end of its service life, but it can still be effective for a little while. India’s refurbished MiG-21 ‘Bisons’ combined Russian, Indian and Israeli technology to excellent effect in the COPE India 2004 and 2005 exercises with the USAF, and there’s even a Russian-Israeli […]View the full article

Americas General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $108 million contract for Canada MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft systems hardware. This contract provides the necessary Foreign Military Sales (FMS) hardware and components to support Canada’s MQ-9B Direct Commercial Sale program. This contract involves FMS to Canada. This contract was a sole source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $12,890,775 will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems has received a $68 million in contracts to manufacture 44 additional Beowulf Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicles …

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet system suffered a major global disruption Thursday, knocking tens of thousands of users offline for more than two hours and affecting critical military communications across active warzones. According to Downdetector, the outage began on Thursday at approximately 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), with more than 61,000 user reports flooding the crowdsourced […] The post Starlink breakdown reveals frontline weakness first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian forces have claimed their successful strike against a launcher of Ukraine’s Neptune coastal defense missile system. According to reports, Russian reconnaissance drones operating near the village of Liubytske in the Zaporizhzhia region identified a Neptune launcher as it prepared to fire. Within minutes, Russian forces directed a 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missile with a fragmentation […] The post Russia hits Ukraine’s Neptune missile launcher first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded Knight’s Armament Company of Titusville, Florida, a $21 million contract for the production and delivery of M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper Systems (SASS), with deliveries expected to be completed by January 30, 2027. The contract, issued under the Ukraine Security Initiative and Building Partner Capacity funds, will support ongoing U.S. efforts to […] The post U.S. Army orders M110 sniper rifles for Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Chinese turbojet engine has been recovered from the wreckage of a new Russian glide bomb used against Ukrainian positions, confirming that Russia is actively modifying its air‑dropped munitions to extend their stand‑off range. The discovery, first reported by Militarnyi, provides direct physical evidence of turbojet integration into the latest Russian bomb designs. According to […] The post Russia’s new glide bomb uses Chinese-made turbojet engine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Ukrainian soldier serving in the 1020th Air Defense Missile and Artillery Regiment has set a record by destroying 24 Shahed-type kamikaze drones during a single night. The report was published by Militarnyi, which stated that the achievement was made by a serviceman with the call sign “Miguel.” As noted by Militarnyi, “a soldier of […]View the full article

L3Harris Technologies has been selected to provide assured communications support for the U.S. Air Force’s E-4C fleet as part of the Survivable Airborne Operations Center program, extending the company’s role in one of the military’s most sensitive command-and-control missions. According to a press release, L3Harris Technologies will serve as a subcontractor on the SAOC effort, […]View the full article