Raw Intel

Americas Bell-Boeing won a $7.9 million contract modification, which provides for additional post-production repairs and related system engineering and program management support for the MV-22B Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization retrofit program. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft. The Marine Corps variant, MV-22B, provides reliable and safe transportation of personnel, supplies, and equipment. Work will take place in Pennsylvania and Texas. Estimated completion will be in March 2023. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is underway for a patrol of the Indo-Pacific and this deployment notes a number of firs…

Americas The US Air Force (USAF) has told Congress it could use additional dollars for more F-35 Lightning II fighters, hypersonic weapons testing, and munitions if the funds are available in fiscal year (FY) 2023, according to the service’s unfunded priority list. The service said it could use an additional $921 million to buy seven more Lockheed Martin F-35A conventional variant fighters to add to its official request for 33 fighters. Balfour Beatty Construction LLC won a $697.8 million deal or design and construction of East Campus Building #4 and a 1,186,000 square-foot parking structure at Fort Meade. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work wi…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $10.4 million contract modification to convert six AGM-158B missiles to test assets and nine weapon systems simulators. Work will be performed in Orlando and is expected to be completed October 31, 2024. The AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is an autonomous, long-range missile developed and produced by the Lockheed Martin. Raytheon Missiles & Defense won a $57 million modification to exercise options for the Over-the-Horizon Weapon System (OTH-WS) Encanistered Missiles. OTH-WS was announced in May 2018 with a total value of $847.61 million. It is intended to provide a long range anti-ship, over-the-horizon offensive…

B-52H, B-1B & B-2A (click to view full) The good news? 2006 saw a convergence of opinion within the USAF that a new long-range strike platform was needed. This is understandable given the B-52H Stratofortress fleet’s age (40-50 years), the B-1B Lancer’s internal power and electronics issues, both of these platforms’ low survivability against advanced […]View the full article

Americas The US Army has signed a $756-million deal with Lockheed Martin to acquire new capabilities for the country’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system. Under the contract, Lockheed will provide additional LRHW battery equipment, systems and software engineering support, and logistics solutions. The items will boost the force’s ability to launch hypersonic missiles from ground […]View the full article

Americas The US Air Force has conducted Exercise Reaper Castillo to test the mission capabilities of the MQ-9 Reaper drone in challenging environments. The drills involved the 65th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) to test dirt-strip landings, refueling, rearming, and rapid relaunches. Above the Melrose Air Force Range in New Mexico, an MQ-9 Reaper circled the area, surveying the terrain before landing on a dirt runway. Dutch shipyard Damen has signed an agreement with Alblasserdam-based Nevesbu to provide engineering support in constructing Colombia’s Sigma-class frigates. The contract encompasses basic and detailed engineering works to complete the program, which is exp…

The Japanese Ministry of Defense is preparing to take disciplinary action against numerous members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), including Chief of Staff Admiral Akira Saito, over an illicit payment scheme involving submarine maintenance contracts. The decision follows revelations that Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) created slush funds through fictitious transactions and used the […] The post Japan to discipline Navy chief over bribery scandal first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

"Like who?" That is a tough question; it seems easy, but it isn't. What defines a leader and what qualities should a young leader emulate? Books have been and will be written about such things - but often it is better just to point at a man and say, "This." A dozen or so years ago when I first published this story, friend to the blog who sneaks into comments now and then, URR, reminded me that we lost one of "them." Someone who inspired people throughout his life. The core of his character is perhaps best discovered in one of his best-known acts. For the full story of The Warriors of Hill 881S, spend some time here. Like many of his generation - proper recognition of his …

The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. a $19 million contract for the production of M136 Vehicle Launched Anti-Tank Scatterable ammunition canisters, a key component of the service’s mobile mine-laying capability. The contract, funded through fiscal 2024 Building Partner Capacity accounts, will support production of the widely used Volcano system, with completion expected […] The post Northrop Grumman wins new deal for rapid minefield system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Griffon Aerospace, a U.S. defense firm known for its aerial target systems, is promoting a new variant of its MQM-172 Arrowhead drone configured as a low-cost, one-way strike weapon. While originally developed as a realistic target drone for military training, the company now markets the platform’s adaptability for loitering munition roles with configurable payloads and […] The post Griffon Aerospace pushes low-cost strike drone for U.S. Forces first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) conducted operations with the Guyana Defence Force Defiant-class patrol vessel GDFS Shahous (1039) in the Caribbean Sea off Guyana’s eastern coast on November 22, 2025. According to U.S. officials, the deployment supports U.S. Southern Command missions, Department of War-directed operations, and presidential priorities focused […]View the full article

Ukrainian military intelligence says two Russian fighter aircraft were disabled during a fire at a military airfield near the city of Lipetsk overnight on Dec. 20–21, in what Kyiv describes as a sabotage operation carried out by the resistance movement inside Russia. According to a statement from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, the incident […]View the full article

The Indian Army has flagged off the first batch of Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs) repaired at its newly established Tank Medium Repair Facility in Ladakh, marking the start of frontline maintenance operations at the world’s highest armored repair site. The facility, located in the high-altitude Ladakh region, is designed to provide on-site repair and restoration […]View the full article

The United States Marine Corps has awarded Oshkosh Defense LLC a $16,8 million contract modification supporting procurement of Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) carriers used in the Navy and Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, according to an official contract announcement released Feb. 20, 2026. The work will be performed across multiple U.S. […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian forces have resumed offensive operations across several front-line sectors. The statement follows reports of increased battlefield activity as weather conditions improve in eastern Ukraine. The renewed offensive activity reflects a continuation of Russia’s military objectives, with Ukrainian officials warning that Moscow is maintaining its operational tempo. According to […]View the full article

Textron Aviation Defense LLC has been awarded a five-year U.S. government contract valued at over $150 million to continue providing sustaining engineering and program management services for the T-6A, T-6B, and T-6D aircraft fleets operated by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Army. The work will be performed in Wichita, Kansas, and the contract modification […]View the full article

Northrop Grumman announced on May 7 that the B-21 Raider Combined Test Force cut its 180-day test plan to 73 days and secured $11.8 billion, with half the missions completed. “The B-21 Raider Combined Test Force, a partnership with the U.S. Air Force, cut a 180-day test plan to 73 days, securing $11.8B with half […]View the full article

Every warship in the U.S. Navy practices shooting down the kind of supersonic cruise missiles that China and Russia have spent decades perfecting, and the Navy paid nearly $100 million to keep that practice running for another five years with the only American target missile that can actually replicate what those weapons do. The Naval […]View the full article

A British laser weapon capable of destroying drones for roughly $13 a shot is on track to be installed aboard Royal Navy destroyers in 2027, making the UK the first European NATO member to field an operational shipborne directed-energy weapon, and the system’s makers used a major NATO industry forum in Portsmouth last week to […]View the full article

Footage of Stryker armored vehicles rolling off a cargo ship at a Thai port has been circulating on TikTok this week, and an open-source account tracking the videos says it points to a fresh shipment of American military hardware arriving in Thailand. The account, run by a user posting as Hem on X under the […]View the full article