Raw Intel

The U.S. Army awarded California-based AeroVironment a $117 million contract on June 3, 2026, to deliver 82 of the company’s P550 unmanned aircraft systems, giving ground commanders an organic reconnaissance and targeting capability that requires no runway, no catapult, and no launch crew beyond the soldiers already in the unit. AeroVironment (AV) is one of […]View the full article

South Korean Air Force fighters scrambled on June 27, 2026, after nearly 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft successively entered and exited the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone over the country’s eastern and southern waters, prompting Seoul to lodge a formal diplomatic protest with both Beijing and Moscow the following day. China’s Ministry of National […]View the full article

The first publicly documented combat test of Russia’s upgraded anti-drone tank defense system ended in failure, with footage showing a Russian T-72B3A tank taking a direct hit from a Ukrainian FPV drone despite carrying the modified Arena-M active protection system specifically built to stop exactly that threat, Militarnyi reported. The video shows the FPV drone […]View the full article

Poland may be preparing to buy around a dozen Airbus A400M Atlas heavy transport aircraft through the European Union’s SAFE defense financing mechanism, according to Polish defense analyst Jarosław Wolski, who cited unnamed sources in an August 25 post on X. Wolski wrote that the numbers he has heard range from 8 to 15 aircraft, […]View the full article

The U.S. Space Force wants companies to pitch satellites that can chase down and inspect objects in orbit on short notice, according to a request for information Space Systems Command published September 18. Space Systems Command asked industry September 18 to pitch designs for a spacecraft that can chase down another object in space, close […]View the full article

The last 12 months have been good for our Navy. Regardless of what you think of this year’s operations against Iran and her proxies: Our surface forces built off their years of success in the Red Sea over the last year and have a level of experience in actual warfighting not seen since…well…WWII really. We saw a little bit of a threat in Korea, Vietnam, and a spot of bother now and then…but a sustained threat like this? Not seen in generations. Everything from low-speed drones to anti-ship cruise missiles to anti-ship ballistic missiles was thrown at our Aegis destroyers and our remaining cruisers…and nothing got through to them or the carriers and auxiliaries they suppor…

The transnational police agency Interpol has done tremendous work making sure that criminals cannot simply escape justice by moving out of one country's jurisdiction. But if the following is true, they may have become just another group afraid to cross the Islamists. Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, stands accused of blasphemy in his homeland of Saudi Arabia for tweets he posted on Islam’s prophet Mohammed that many of his countrymen find insulting to Islam. In his postings on the occasion of Mohammed’s birthday last week, Kashgari imagined a skeptical discussion with the founder of Islam. Many Saudis are enraged, demanding that he be arrested and pu…

From our point of view from the other side of the Pacific, Americans tend to focus on the points of first resistance from the People's Republic of China - Taiwan, South China Sea, etc. Is that really what China is worried about? Is she really building her huge Navy to challenge us somewhere west of Wake, or is she thinking of something else we are just too parochial to see? Did you notice that France, UK, and even Germany have decided they need to head east of Suez to spend some time in the Indo-Pacific theater? Connected? As with most things, it is helpful to take a deep breath and ask yourself - what does the map say? h/t The Other Sal. http://…

Americas The Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO) has entered the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase with the award of $2 billion to Raytheon Missiles and Defense. The LRSO is a new air-launched cruise missile to replace the AGM-86. The missile will have a nuclear-armed capability and Raytheon will have to complete the development work by February 2027. Lockheed Martin won a $28.2 million contract modification, which exercises an option to procure mission computers (MC) and flight management computers (FMC) retrofit kits to upgrade the MH-60R/S aircraft. The quantities are as follows: 205 Generation 3i/5i MCs to upgrade from Generation III/V/VI, to inclu…

As we covered here last month before the debacle at the gates of Kyiv knocked the Russians off their stride, the supply lines from NATO territory into the southwest of Ukraine and on to Odessa are incredibly delicate. Then northern route is an iffy 2-lane surface road that goes through Moldova and too close to the Transdniester. If you need anything heavy from the Danube ports to Odessa, you will need to go over the Zatoka bridge. When the Russian Navy shelled the coast there, I was frankly surprised the road and more importantly the rail line across the bridge at Zatoka was left intact, but they were. Things then got quite on that front, but not anymore. 📷More photos …

The Russo-Ukrainian War of the last six months is reminding everyone - I hope - that war in a large measure does not change. Yes, some new technologies and ideas comes in that no one appreciates the value of until proven on the field of battle, some established technologies and ideas no longer work, and that process of integrating battlefield lessons often determines who gets better results over time. At the end of the day, it is taking ground, keeping ground, and positioning yourself for more. Thinking of that reminded me of a FbF from 4.5yrs ago that I thought I would bring back this week. One of the enduring characteristics of WWI was the amount of blood that was shed …

Americas Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), a naval aviation repair and maintenance facility based at the NAS North Island, is embarking on a significant transition in naval aviation maintenance as the Navy gradually phases out its legacy F/A-18A-D series. This shift marks the inclusion of the F-16 fighter as a major program for FRCSW’s Depot […]View the full article

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won a $64 million order, which provides for updated logistics analysis and products required to support configuration changes on the CH-53K as well as provides for development and delivery of new intermediate and depot component repair capability for the Navy and Marine Corps. Work is expected to be completed in January 2030. Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $64,881,720 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. SkyAlyne and KF Aerospace have procured three De Havilland Dash…

The U.S. Navy, in collaboration with aerospace firm Skydweller Aero, has completed a continuous 73-hour unmanned flight using solar power alone. The test, conducted out of Stennis, Mississippi, represents a major step forward in applying solar-powered aircraft for maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. The demonstration was led by the Naval Air Warfare Center […] The post U.S. Navy tests long-endurance solar drone first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army has moved a step closer to fielding its next-generation main battle tank, the Abrams M1E3, by issuing a comprehensive market survey to American industry. The request, released by the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS) through the federal System for Award Management portal, seeks detailed information on industrial capacity […] The post U.S. Army prepares for next-gen tank production first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. announced it has been awarded a contract worth approximately $120 million to supply its Hermes 900 unmanned aerial system (UAS) to an international customer for long-range maritime surveillance operations. The company described the deal as part of growing global demand for advanced unmanned capabilities as nations seek to strengthen their intelligence, […] The post Elbit sells Hermes 900 drone to mystery customer first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Iranian-designed Shahed drones now pose a more persistent and unpredictable threat than ballistic missiles, forcing the Armed Forces to use a wide range of countermeasures under increasingly difficult operational conditions. “Shaheds have now become more dangerous in some cases than ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy said during a press briefing, according to […]View the full article

North Korea has unveiled what it describes as the first corps of a domestically produced nuclear-powered submarine. The announcement was made by Korean Central News Agency, which reported that the submarine was presented during a visit by leader Kim Jong Un to the Pongdae Shipyard. The vessel is described as an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has moved at least 42 heavy transport aircraft into the Middle East between January 18 and January 26, 2026, according to open-source flight tracking data and analyst reports monitoring U.S. military air movements. Data compiled from publicly available flight trackers shows that 41 C-17A Globemaster III aircraft and one C-5M […]View the full article

New illustrations depicting DARPA’s X-68A LongShot unmanned combat aircraft have been published by aerospace illustrator Colie Wertz on Instagram, providing updated visual material tied to the agency’s ongoing LongShot program aimed at developing an air-launched missile-armed drone designed to operate ahead of crewed aircraft formations. The appearance of new imagery draws renewed attention to a […]View the full article