Raw Intel

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., part of Lockheed Martin, has received a $232.4 million contract modification to procure additional long-lead time materials for the CH-53K King Stallion helicopters. This modification is for Lot 10 full-rate production of the aircraft for the US Marine Corps. The work will be carried out at Sikorsky’s facility in Stratford, Connecticut, and is set to be completed by March 20262. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland, is overseeing the contract and will use fiscal year 2025 aircraft procurement funds for this project. This contract ensures that the Marine Corps’ next-generation heavy-lift helicopter program remains on s…

It’s time to catch up on the latest issues on the maritime and national security front and get out of the summer heat. Midrats goes LIVE today at 5pm Eastern in our free-for-all format. Hop in the show chat room and offer your topics and question…or observations of the topics we’ll discuss. You can join live at this link, but if you are reading this after the show, just check this Substack post later Sunday when I’ll update this page with the podcast. COME JOIN US! Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

Israel-based Aero-Sentinel has developed the G2 Premium unmanned aerial vehicle, a reconnaissance drone designed for extended endurance, near-silent operation, and advanced algorithmic tracking for defense and security missions. According to Aero-Sentinel, the G2 Premium is engineered to meet the demands of covert surveillance in contested environments. The system combines 80 minutes of flight endurance with […] The post Aero-Sentinel’s G2 Premium drone redefines covert reconnaissance first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Raytheon, an RTX business, has delivered its 500th Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) Block 2 to the U.S. Navy, marking a major milestone in one of NATO’s most enduring air defense programs. The company says it is preparing to nearly double production by mid-2026 as global demand for advanced naval air defense capabilities continues to grow. […] The post Raytheon hits 500 ESSM Block 2 missile deliveries first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec said it has delivered another batch of Su-35S multirole fighters to the country’s armed forces, continuing a steady flow of aircraft to operational units despite reported wartime losses. According to a statement from the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), part of Rostec, the Su-35S fighters are designed to secure air superiority […]View the full article

China appears to be expanding its experimentation with directed-energy weapons at sea, after new images circulating on Chinese social media showed the LY-1 laser system mounted on the open deck of a civilian roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel. The photos depict a camouflaged carrier vehicle strapped to the ship’s deck with heavy chains, topped by a large […]View the full article

India on Dec. 29 conducted the first successful flight test of the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket, validating a maximum strike range of 120 kilometers during a trial at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, according to an official statement issued in New Delhi. The maiden test of the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket, designated […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has begun moving combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft from the United States toward Europe and the Middle East, according to flight activity reported by intelligence analyst Oliver Alexander. Alexander reported that two HC-130J Combat King II aircraft departed from Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, while a C-17 Globemaster […]View the full article

Allied governments including Canada, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and the United States continue selecting the Canadian-built Senator armored vehicle, with battlefield experience in Ukraine increasingly shaping procurement decisions around protected mobility platforms, according to industry information and documented operational use. The Senator has become one of the most widely fielded Western-supplied armored vehicles […]View the full article

French company Asterodyn said it is continuing deliveries of its AST-78 interceptor system to “French state military stakeholders”, confirming the operational use of the high-speed unmanned platform. An announcement made on 25 March 2026 said that interceptor drones, such as the AST-78, are designed to provide a flexible option for engaging threats when traditional systems […]View the full article

Soldiers from the Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), trained with the Tactical Electronic Warfare System–Infantry mounted on an Infantry Squad Vehicle for the first time during a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation held April 7–17, 2026. The exercise marked the first field evaluation of TEWS-I integrated onto the ISV […]View the full article

Every radio, satellite link, and data network the military operates speaks a slightly different language, and translating between those languages in a battlefield environment where jamming, interference, and degraded conditions are the norm costs time, bandwidth, and lives. DARPA, the Pentagon’s advanced research arm, published a special notice on June 5, 2026, announcing plans for […]View the full article

In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty…

A defense manufacturer in the middle of Nebraska farm country has landed a $33.9 million contract to build the outer shells of bombs engineered to kill fewer bystanders, a niche corner of American weapons-making that reflects one of the hardest problems in modern warfare: how to strike an enemy hiding among civilians without leveling the […]View the full article

Perhaps one day the full story will come out how Iran's top nuclear weapons scientist was taken out, but until then we'll just have to give a nod of respect to the Israeli's ability to execute superb clandestine operations in the Islamic Republic. Tom Rogan at the Washington Examiner has a nice "Top-5 Takeaways" list you really should read in full ... but here's the summary: 1) Biden will not be able to return America to the JCPOA nuclear accord without significant complication 2) There was likely some U.S. intelligence support for this operation 3) Israel's covert intelligence presence on Iranian soil is growing 4) The attack will fuel Iran's paranoia and provoke re…

Americas Raytheon Missiles and Defense won a $35.7 million deal for the procurement of AEGIS modernization (AMOD) kits for Navy DDG 51 Class destroyers and for the government of Japan under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Navy’s Aegis Modernization program provides updated technology and systems for CG 47 Class Aegis guided missile cruisers and DDG 51 Class Aegis guided missile destroyers. The DDG 51 Arleigh Burke destroyers provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups. Work will take place in Massachu…

Americas The first two of eight C-130Js for the Kentucky Air National Guard arrived at Louisville on November 6. The 123rd Airlift Wing will phase out the C-130H in September to make way for the latest variant of the Hercules. The C-130J Super Hercules is the latest version in the Air Force arsenal. It comes with modern instrumentation, more efficient engines and a stretched fuselage for additional payload capacity. The Pentagon is in a rush to buy GPS chips from GlobalFoundries. The reason for this is, that the plant that fabricates them will soon stop producing those components, Bloomberg reports. An initial $885 million in orders would be placed by December 15 and the…

Words work, until they don't. The world finds itself where it is today because soft words were not backed up with very hard iron. The crisis in Ukraine did not start in the last year ... it was only a matter of time. Come take a trip down memory lane with me over at USNIBlog. 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=JwUcCFCB2jA:VtvQ85_WSAQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=JwUcCFCB2jA:VtvQ85_WSAQ:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=JwUcCFCB2jA:VtvQ85_WSAQ:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f…

At a time when nations at the front line facing a rising People's Republic of China such as Japan and India (and the PRC herself) are expanding their aircraft carrier fleets as fasts as budgets and politicians will allow, in the United States the carrier debate continues in to another decade. It is natural; aircraft carriers are very expensive - and they bring a lot of capability with that cost. They are vulnerable because they are a high-priority target specifically because of the threat they pose to any opponent. Both sides have a point, but the question is who has the better point given our place in time. In another chapter in the carrier debate, we're honored to have …

Americas Canada has put off a project to replace its five-decade-old Twin Otter military aircraft used in Arctic operations. The move comes despite the government’s earlier assurance that it is committed to improving its defense capabilities in the north. Instead of procuring new aircraft, Ottawa will extend the service life of its aging Arctic planes. […]View the full article