Raw Intel

F-15C over DC (click to view full) “Array of Aging American Aircraft Attracting Attention” discusses the issues that accompany an air force whose fighters have an average age of over 23.5 years – vs. an average of 8.5 years in 1967. One of the most obvious consequences is the potential for fleet groundings due to […]View the full article

New images of the USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), a Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer, have reignited scrutiny across social media over the operational condition and long-term viability of the U.S. Navy’s most advanced surface combatant. Photos taken during a recent port visit to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan show extensive discoloration, corrosion streaks, and visible […] The post U.S. stealth destroyer’s condition shocks social media first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Central Command and the Egyptian armed forces held Bright Star 25, a multinational exercise widely recognized as one of the largest in the world. The event began with a formal ceremony at Mohamed Naguib Military Base, Egypt, on August 28, and has since advanced into full-scale drills involving forces from across the globe. According […] The post U.S. and Egypt lead one of world’s largest military exercises first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

At Defence Blog, we asked armored vehicle expert and lead analyst Serhiy Berezutskiy, an analyst at the Ukrainian Strategic Initiative Center, to share his view on China’s newest tank concept and the future of armored warfare. The Russian-Ukrainian war has convincingly shown that the classical tank paradigm, which has dominated military thought since the Second […] The post Expert: China turns tanks into combat systems first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Central Command said on November 1 that one of its unmanned aircraft observed suspected Hamas operatives attacking and looting an aid truck in southern Gaza, an incident it said undermines ongoing international humanitarian efforts in the region. According to a release from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the event occurred on October 31 near […]View the full article

The Boeing Company has released new details on a major Apache helicopter agreement with Poland, confirming that the U.S. Army has awarded the company a Foreign Military Sales contract valued at nearly $4.7 billion to produce AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for international customers. According to Boeing, the order includes 96 aircraft for the Polish Armed […]View the full article

Turkey has moved a large convoy of armored vehicles into Syria through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, according to overnight footage circulating online that shows dozens of military vehicles entering Syrian territory from Turkey. The footage, which emerged overnight, shows a sustained flow of armored vehicles crossing into northern Syria via Bab al-Hawa, one of […]View the full article

The United States has awarded Boeing a contract valued at up to $2.81 billion to upgrade F-15K fighter aircraft operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force, according to a contract announcement released this week. The undefinitized contract was issued to Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri, and covers the design and development of an integrated […]View the full article

Russia has publicly revealed the production process of its new Khishchnik (Predator) 4×4 armored vehicles during a high-profile visit by an elite Russian Armed Forces unit and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to the Remdiesel manufacturing facility in Naberezhnye Chelny. According to publicly released footage and statements from Russian officials, the delegation inspected assembly lines producing […]View the full article

Ukrainian strike drones targeted a major Russian shipbuilding facility in the Leningrad region, damaging a Project 23550 patrol icebreaker under construction. The attack reportedly hit the Vyborg Shipyard, where the vessel was being completed for Russia’s Federal Security Service Border Guard. According to reporting by Militarnyi, the damaged vessel is likely the patrol icebreaker “Purga,” […]View the full article

Since the first man from Tribe-A returning from harvesting figs from the big tree on the other side of the river heard a zing of an arrow zipping by his head, fired from a canoe belonging to Tribe-B, a guaranteed part of conflict between two groups with access to waterborne trade has been this: commerce raiding. Every naval power should have this concept in the mix of its fleet design, especially if your rivals depend on the seas for a significant portion of their food and raw materials. It isn’t a mission beneath a navy. It isn’t a lower form of naval war. No. Indeed, when practiced properly, it is a war-winning form of war at sea. It would require super-human strength…

A French startup has completed ground avionics testing of an unusual fixed-wing aircraft with a pneumatic wing structure, targeting long-endurance cargo logistics missions with a design that trades speed for dramatically reduced energy consumption per kilogram transported. “Celeste isn’t a blimp, it’s a fixed-wing aircraft,” the company stated. “Lift is aerodynamic, not buoyancy. What’s pneumatic […]View the full article

A Spanish defense technology company has transformed a decommissioned military truck into one of the more unusual vehicles currently making the rounds in European defense circles: a fully operational mobile electronic warfare platform packed with jamming systems, satellite connectivity management, signal geolocation hardware, and real-time anti-drone capability, all integrated into a single deployable unit, El […]View the full article

Drug cartels have started borrowing tactics straight from the Ukraine battlefield, and Washington state’s National Guard just bought the hardware needed to teach police officers how to fight back. The Washington Army National Guard issued a sole-source purchase order on July 1, 2026, for four Vector Defense first-person-view drones, two of the 10-inch class and […]View the full article

Patriot missile batteries have a blind spot, a literal gap in their radar coverage that an enemy missile or drone could exploit simply by approaching from the wrong direction, and the U.S. Army has committed another $347.5 million to closing it for good. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, based in Grand Prairie, Texas, has […]View the full article

A firearms and military analyst who posts under the handle Gatnerd has drawn attention on X to a pattern in recent Western weapons development: several systems now being marketed as new technology closely mirror concepts first tested during the final years of the Cold War in the 1980s. The commentary centers on the FireAnt uncrewed […]View the full article

Azerbaijan’s army in the Nakhchivan exclave has received Sivrisinek kamikaze drones, the Baykar-built loitering munition also known as YIHA-III, the Azerbaijani defense outlet TURAN Defence AZ reported. The drones went to the Nakhchivan Separate Combined Arms Army, according to the post. Baku has not announced the delivery, and there is no word on how many […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Support Forces, the branch that runs the military’s engineering and demining units, have received another batch of equipment from the international Demining Capability Coalition led by Lithuania and Iceland, including Ukrainian-built Inguar-3 mine-resistant armored vehicles. The Support Forces Command announced the handover on Oct. 15 but did not list the full contents of the […]View the full article

Block IV Cutaway (click to view full) Block IV Tomahawk is the current generation of the Tomahawk family of cruise missiles. The BGM-109 Tomahawk family began life in the 1980s as sub-sonic, low-flying nuclear strike weapons, before being developed into long-range RGM/UGM-109 conventional attack missiles. They’re most frequently launched from submarines and surface ships, and have been the US Navy’s preferred option for initial air strikes in Iraq, Libya, et. al. Britain has also bought Tomahawk missiles, and launches them exclusively from submarines. Block IV is the latest variant. It adds innovative technologies that improve combat flexibility, while dramatically red…

Redacted to protect the ... well ... you know. The answer appears to be, "In the finest traditions of the Naval service." Side note: you can add this to your file that, yes, what the Admiral is interested in, the Fleet will be interested in. It matters. That is why, in the end, if you are happy or unhappy with our Navy ... that is where you start to look for answers to the question, "why?" 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=EK3z1xbOwFA:e3zsmdfORs8:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=EK3z1xbOwFA:e3zsmdfORs8:-…