Raw Intel

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

While some military hardware ages out quickly, the Army’s Avenger air defense system has instead spent nearly four decades getting upgraded piece by piece, and this week it received another one: a new contract worth up to $25.2 million for infrared sensors that let its crews spot targets in the dark. The Defense Logistics Agency […]View the full article

Six Turkish military drones flew into Greek-claimed airspace over the Aegean Sea on Oct. 10, Greece’s Hellenic National Defense General Staff said, the latest in a run of near-daily incidents this month. The Greek military recorded eight infringements of air traffic rules inside the Athens Flight Information Region and five violations of Greek national airspace […]View the full article

Not by me - I went to see The Avengers at IMAX.Anyway - Burke over at StrategyPage does a fine job. For some reason, I like this. At this point, we should remember Mark Twain’s remark that Wagner’s music is better than it sounds. Battleship is actually more fun than a description of it sounds. Once the action starts it’s nonstop. The movie looks great, and you can sit there and ogle your choice of the special effects, the extensive Navy hardware, or Brooklyn Decker. It’s a summer movie, big, loud, mindless, and fun if you don’t think about it too much. It’s an unusual blend of patriotism and PC. The movie’s heart, at least, is in the right place. The i…

The story of Europe's growing struggle with its intentional own-goal of importing a critical mass of people who will not simply, "become European," will be an ongoing story this century. Especially in France. Outsiders also misunderstand the situation on the ground in France as it deals with radical Islamism. After the recent attacks, the government chose to close a mosque and an NGO suspected of ties with radical groups. But more consequential legislative action was initiated this fall, when the French government proposed a bill seeking to fight “separatism.” Building on months of dialogue with religious organizations like the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Mac…

We started the "Keeping and Eye on the Long Game" over a decade and a half ago. Many of you have been loyal members of the Front Porch since that time, so I know you are not surprised where 2021 finds us. Look at it. Don't avert your eyes. You ... yes you ... allowed this to happen because you elected the people you elected and promoted those you promoted. You allowed other priorities to creep in where maintaining the world's dominate navy should have been #1. Sadly, many are either refusing to accept this fact or are acting as if it all of a sudden snuck up on them. Fire them all. China was already in the midst of a shipbuilding spree like few the world has ever…

Why are Naval Academy football players dying? In the last seven years, three Midshipmen who played at least two years of football at the US Naval Academy and the Naval Academy Prep School have died of natural causes. 2014: Will McKamey, 19, 5-9, 170-pounds: died after collapsing and falling in to a coma during practice. History of brain injury. 2020: David Forney, 22, 6'3" 305 pounds: died of cardiac arrest in his room. 2021: Michael Myles James, 22, 5'11" 230 pounds (2018): unspecified natural causes in his sleep. Recruited to play football, went to NAPS, played freshman year. I have kids the same age as these MIDN, that is what first caught my attention. I cannot…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $79.9 million contract modification to definitize the task order for the fire control components development and flight test support for Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, PATRIOT advanced capability and PAC-3 missile segment enhancement integration with lower tier air and missile defense sensor. Work will take place in Texas. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2023. Safran has opened a second assembly line at their facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, for the Arriel 2E engine. The first assembled and tested Arriel 2E engines have been delivered to Airbus. These engines power the UH-72B delivered to the US Army as…

Americas Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) being built for the US Navy. Richard M. McCool Jr., the 13th LPD in the San Antonio class of amphibious assault force ships, will support US amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st century. The Argentinian Ministry of Defense has approved the purchase of two Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters for the Argentinian Navy. The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by …