Raw Intel

At age 25 you have two young children and are vacationing with your husband when you find out your father dies. You now find yourself at the head of a devolving empire, in dire economic straits from two world wars and a building new cold war, facing domestic strife and more. For generations, even outside the Anglosphere, when people heard “The Queen,” only one person came to mind: Queen Elizabeth II the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. She did, and will, define an era. Her duty and composure – and her ability to hold the …

Americas The United States and the Philippines vowed Friday to “invigorate” defense cooperation to address shared security concerns including disputes over the South China Sea. Manila hosted a high-level security dialogue with its top defense ally as part of efforts by President Ferdinand Marcos to restore a seven-decade partnership that was unsettled by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. The […]View the full article

UH-1Y and AH-1Z by Neville Dawson The US Marines’ helicopter force is aging at all levels, from banana-shaped CH-46 Sea Knight transports that are far older than their pilots, to the 1980s-era UH-1N Hueys and AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters that make up the Corps’ helicopter assault force. While the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey program has staggered […]View the full article

Americas The US Navy Blue Angels successfully tested a Mobile Aircraft Arresting System (MAAS) for the first time at Camp Grayling Army Airfield on June 26th. This test and certification served as a crucial element in their participation in the subsequent National Cherry Festival Air Show held in Traverse City on June 29-30th. The MAAS deployment was a first for the Blue Angels at the National Cherry Festival Air Show. This system, typically used at military airfields, is a vital safety feature providing an emergency landing option for high-performance aircraft like the Blue Angels’ F/A-18 Hornets. The MAAS employs arresting cables and barriers to rapidly decelerate aircr…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $19.9 million contract for PATRIOT missile software support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2028. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $4,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Airtronics LLC in Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $7,941,037 contract to overhaul UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter modulating valves. The Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, awarded the …

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced that one of its earliest CH-53K King Stallion test aircraft is being transferred to a new role in support of aviation readiness. The Engineering Demonstration Model 1 (EDM-1), formerly used for flight testing at NAS Patuxent River, is now en route to the Center for Naval […] The post Retired CH-53K joins maintenance training program first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Waves of different groups seeking new homes from east and west have arrived and disappeared on Greenland’s hostile shores for thousands of years. In the modern era of nation states, it is Greenland’s unique location and potential resources that are drawing attention once again as her strategic position once again brings her to the front. Today’s Midrats Podcast is going to start there with our guest, Dr. Elizabeth Buchanan. We will start live an hour later at 6 pm Eastern. You can listen at this link. If you’re reading this after the show or on the email distro, visit the Substack page later Sunday night when I will update with all the podcast links. We will kick off with…

North Korea has unveiled a new generation of military technologies — including weapons systems with integrated artificial intelligence and a previously unseen tracked air defense platform — during a major defense exhibition in Pyongyang. The event, titled “Defense Development 2025,” was reported by the Korean Central Telegraph Agency (KCNA) and featured a speech by North […] The post North Korea unveils new short-range air defense system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Brazil’s Army leadership has expressed interest in acquiring Türkiye’s Tulpar infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) following a high-level visit to defense manufacturer Otokar, signaling growing defense ties between the two nations. According to a statement from Otokar, “We are honored to host them and thank them for their visit.” The visit took place on October 31, […]View the full article

Images of a new prototype attack helicopter in China—designated the Z-21—have surfaced on Chinese social media, showing what appears to be a twin-seat, twin-engine platform closely modeled after the American AH-64 Apache. The Z-21, painted matte black and bearing the tail number 6232, was photographed during a new test flight. Based on visible design features, […]View the full article

What is one of the fundamentals that we keep returning to here? If you want to know what will be important in and needed for the next large war, look closely at the most advanced small and medium sized wars happening now. There is no better judge, test, or simulation to help you see the utility of a weapon system than actually having it perform in sustained combat conditions against a non-cooperative target. As we approach the 4th anniversary of the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022, untold pages of text have been written about FPV and other drones. Yes, these are important and are a new tool for war—but they are not the answer to all. Gunpowder, machine guns, airplanes, subma…

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian forces in recent weeks began using attack drones equipped with Starlink terminals to conduct strikes against military targets inside Ukraine. The issue was raised urgently with SpaceX after Russian drones using satellite connectivity were detected operating over Ukrainian cities. Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov said the defense team contacted […]View the full article

Airspace over several Middle Eastern countries hosting United States military bases remained open Saturday despite rising regional tensions, according to aviation monitoring data from Flightradar. Civilian flights continued operating over Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and nearby states even as concerns grew over a possible Iranian retaliatory strike. The situation has drawn […]View the full article

Ukraine has received and fielded RapidRanger short-range air defense systems, with at least one unit observed during a recent visit by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov alongside Lithuania’s Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas to positions of mobile air defense groups. The system, previously announced as part of United Kingdom military assistance in 2025, was seen […]View the full article

The United States Air Force will keep the A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the “Warthog,” in service until around 2030, extending the lifespan of a close air support aircraft that has been slated for retirement for years. The decision was announced by the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, which confirmed the move […]View the full article

Ukrainian drone interceptor manufacturer Wild Hornets announced Thursday that its STING interceptor drone downed more than 300 targets in a single day and overnight period, with three units responsible for over 200 of those kills and one crew alone accounting for 120 intercepts. The announcement came directly from Wild Hornets’ official account on X, posted […]View the full article

A still image pulled from a newly released Russian Ministry of Defense video on Su-34 strike aircraft operations against Ukraine has provided what Israeli defense analyst Guy Plopsky described as “the clearest view yet” of what appears to be a new dorsal antenna hump fitted aft of the cockpit on at least one variant of […]View the full article

A warship that needs less than half the crew of Japan’s older destroyers has joined the fleet, and it represents the tenth proof that a country facing a shrinking population can still build a modern navy fast. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries handed over the frigate JS Nagara to Japan’s Ministry of Defense on June 29, 2026, […]View the full article

The U.S. military has signed on for its first-ever bilateral artificial intelligence unit with a Middle Eastern partner, a Tampa-based command confirmed Tuesday, betting that shared access to AI tools can speed up how fast American and Emirati forces detect threats across one of the world’s most volatile regions. U.S. Central Command announced an agreement […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin fired multiple training rockets from a HIMARS launcher during a second flight test of its new Joint Reduced Range Rocket at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, the company said Friday. The test measured range, trajectory, accuracy and the performance of the rocket’s marking payload, which allows crews to see where a round would have […]View the full article