Raw Intel

A missile system old enough to have fought in Vietnam is getting locked in for at least three more years of service, and the Army has confirmed only one company is allowed to keep it running. The U.S. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama published a presolicitation notice on July 1, 2026, announcing […]View the full article

RTX Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney Military Engines division in East Hartford, Connecticut, has been awarded a $54 million order to perform engineering work on the F135, the engine that powers every version of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, according to the contract announcement. The order, issued under a fixed-price incentive structure that rewards the […]View the full article

U.S. Army armor officers argue that armored formations remain viable on the modern battlefield despite the spread of drones and precision-guided weapons, according to an essay published by the Modern War Institute at West Point. The piece, written by Lt. Col. Alan Hastings, Maj. James Casey and Capt. Elijah Leroux, responds to years of debate […]View the full article

Ethiopia’s military appears to have gained a new shield for its drone fleet: Chinese-made FK-2000 air defense systems, most likely delivered through the United Arab Emirates. Video shared on TikTok reportedly shows at least two of the truck-mounted systems on the road to Amhara, the northern region where government troops have been fighting Fano militias […]View the full article

Aurelius Systems is showing its Archimedes autonomous laser weapon mounted on an American Rheinmetall unmanned ground vehicle at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting in Washington this week, where the two companies are pitching mobile laser defense against small drones to U.S. Army buyers. The San Francisco-based startup said in a post on […]View the full article

Reuters Photo A U.S. Army cadet reads a book entitled "Kill Bin Laden" as he waits with other cadets for U.S. President Barack Obama to deliver an address on U.S. policy and the war in Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York December 1, 2009. View the full article

For the Little Crappy Ship and its sub-optimal construct; it's the easiest thing to do. We've been discussing Chris Cavas's articles on LCS for well over a half decade - and his latest work outlines in painful detail what critics have been warning about from the start. More from the Perez report is so Salamanderesque that I swear their team has been hanging out on the front porch. As we said in the middle of last decade, once hulls displace water in number; our reality will trump your PPT. The limited ability of the LCS crew to perform onboard maintenance, and the need to return to port for even basic repairs, “negatively impacts†the ships’ availabilit…

Do you feel lucky…? (click to view full) The T-45 Training System includes T-45 Goshawk aircraft, advanced flight simulators, computer-assisted instructional programs, a computerized training integration system, and a contractor logistics support package. The integration of all 5 elements is designed to produce a superior pilot in less time and at lower cost than previous training systems. The US Navy uses the Hawk-based T-45TS system to train its pilots for the transition from T-6A Texan II/ JPATS aircraft to modern jet fighters – and carrier landings. This is not a risk-free assignment, by any means. Nevertheless, it is a critical link in the naval aviation chain. Th…

Americas During a virtual Navy League event, Rear Adm. Gregory Harris, who heads the Air Warfare Division, said the service is unlikely to adopt the small aircraft carrier concept. “I believe the L Class ships operating with the F-35B fit that bill,” Harris was quoted as saying. L-class ships include the Wasp- and America-class amphibious assault ships (LHDs and LHAs). The Navy is preparing to launch a formal review — called an analysis of alternatives — that will look at options for a light aircraft carrier and the type of ship that replaced the Ford Class. The USS Gabrielle Giffords successfully launched the Naval Strike Missile earlier this month, the Navy announced o…

Are we really using the right numbers when it comes to the PLAN"s amphibious capabilities? Are we paying attention to not-so-subtle capabilities? I'm pondering the topic over at USNIBlog. Come on by and join me. 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=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:F7zBnMyn0Lo http:/…

The only logical question for us is, "What are we going to do about it?" On Sunday, H.I. Sutton and Sam LaGrone over at USNINews brought a few visuals that should grab your attention; The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex, according to photos provided to USNI News by satellite imagery company Maxar. The full-scale outline of a U.S. carrier and at least two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are part of the target range that has been built in the Ruoqiang region in central China. The site is near a former target range China used to test early v…

Americas Sikorsky won a $40 million modification, which adds scope to provide production and installation of a VH-92A Flight Training Device (FTD) and updates to a previously delivered VH-92A FTD for the Marine Corps. The new Marine One, also referred to as VH-92A, is the next-generation presidential transport helicopter being developed for the US Marine Corps (USMC). Work will take place in New York, Florida, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah and various locations within the continental US. Expected completion will be in March 2024. The US Air Force Research Laboratory recently carried out an in-flight vapor purge test in a F-15E last month. The objective of the test by the 7…

The whole World Economic Forum/Davos experience is one part Bond villain parody, one part clout seeking billionaires, one part megalomania, a heaping cup of greed, and a dash of rent seeking. In 2023 things have reached the point where any association with Davos should put an individual or organization under notice of suspicion. Amazing to see people who claim to be American conservatives or lovers of liberty attending in an non-ironic, non-protesting capacity. This wannabee gaggle of quasi-oligarchs and autocrat throne sniffers represents everything that is wrong with the human desire for control, power, and to crush the individual for fun and profit. They pretend to be…

MH-60Rs fire Hellfire (click to view full) Australia’s AIR 9000, Phase 8 project aimed to buy 24 modern naval helicopters to 16 existing S-70B-2 Seahawks, along with the disastrous A$1.1 billion, 11-helicopter SH-2G “Super Seasprite” acquisition attempt. With a total sales and support value of over A$ 3 billion, it was a highly coveted award. […]View the full article

Americas The US Navy has accepted the 72nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from Bath Iron Works as part of a deal awarded in 2013. The USS John Basilone is a Flight IIA guided missile destroyer incorporating an advanced mine countermeasure solution, helicopter hangars, blast-hardened bulkheads, and additional electronic and networked systems. A keel-laying ceremony for the ship was held in 2020, followed by its christening two years later. In June 2024, during a joint training exercise at RAAF Base Tindal, Australia, two United States Marine Corps (USMC) F-35B pilots from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 214 successfully flew Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A air…

South Korea’s Army has conducted a live demonstration of an airborne FPV kamikaze drone launch from a KUH-1 Surion helicopter, testing its ability to intercept aerial targets in flight. The drill involved ejecting an FPV (First-Person View) drone, equipped with a live explosive charge, from a Surion utility helicopter. Once airborne, the drone was remotely […] The post South Korea tests kamikaze drone launch from helicopter first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Amid ongoing instability in Europe and the war in Ukraine, naval forces from the United States, Germany, and Norway conducted joint anti-submarine warfare drills in the Barents Sea, an area marked by increased Russian undersea activity. According to the Royal Norwegian Navy, the frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl (F314) joined the German Navy Sachsen-class frigate FGS […] The post NATO warships hunt Russian subs in Arctic first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army is moving quickly to modernize its heavy-lift aviation fleet, authorizing rapid procurement and fielding of the CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopter beginning in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The decision will deliver the upgraded aircraft to two Combat Aviation Brigades, enhancing operational reach and readiness for large-scale combat operations. The CH-47F Block […] The post U.S. Army speeds up CH-47F Block II fielding first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Open-source intelligence analysts have noted unusual flight activity involving several Brazilian military and government aircraft, with multiple air assets tracked heading north toward areas closer to Venezuela’s border, according to data from Flightradar24 and posts by the monitoring group Aviation and Naval Assets. The observed movement, which includes Brazilian Air Force transport and patrol aircraft, […]View the full article

China has developed a new “Meyu Arrow” high-altitude unmanned helicopter and confirmed that the aircraft recently completed its first live-fire missile trial at an altitude of above 4,000 meters. According to China Central Television (CCTV), the “Meyu Arrow” high-altitude unmanned helicopter, developed by Sichuan-based Tengden Technology, is now entering a new phase of flight-test expansion […]View the full article