Raw Intel

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

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $35.7 million modification for AEGIS Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) efforts, which include the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. CSEA is a software tool that supports the Aegis Combat System. The Aegis Combat System provides advanced defense capabilities for navy ships. Work will be […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $141.5 million modification to exercise options for capability package development and fielding, system integration and fielding, and in-service sustainment in support of current configurations of the AEGIS combat system. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2024. Defense manufacturer Oshkosh has inked […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $39 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price incentive contract. This modification increases the contract ceiling to procure material and sustainment services to support depot stand-up and repair capabilities for the electrical power management system, electro hydrostatic actuation system, aircraft memory system, electro optical distributed aperture system, fuselage remote interface unit, missile remote interface units, suspension and release and landing to support the F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) c…

Shield AI is expanding its presence in Ukraine, where its autonomous systems are being tested under live combat conditions. In a recent message, James Lythgoe, Shield AI’s Ukraine managing director and a former U.K. Royal Marin, outlined the company’s efforts to support Ukrainian forces through on-the-ground operations, combat-driven innovation, and close cooperation with frontline units. […] The post Shield AI expands frontline role in Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

GE Aerospace and BETA Technologies have announced a strategic partnership and $300 million equity investment aimed at accelerating the development of hybrid electric propulsion systems for next-generation aviation platforms. The collaboration, pending regulatory approval, is focused on producing a hybrid electric turbogenerator that could support long-range vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft and other Advanced […] The post GE and BETA to build next-gen hybrid electric aircraft first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Australian Army’s first two AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters were delivered to the 16th Aviation Brigade. The aircraft arrived at RAAF Base Townsville on Sunday, September 28, 2025. The delivery is part of Project Land 4503, a program under which Australia is acquiring 29 AH-64E Apaches through a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the United […] The post First AH-64E Apaches arrive in Australia first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine has confirmed receipt of Italian Centauro B1 wheeled armored fighting vehicles, Militarnyi reported. The vehicles were delivered as part of military assistance from Italy; Rome has not disclosed the number of vehicles transferred. The publicly shared images show Centauro B1 vehicles adapted for Ukrainian use, including the addition of anti-cumulative grilles and a folding […]View the full article

Ukraine’s military has destroyed a rare Arctic-modified Tor-M2DT air defense system during a drone strike near the Belbek airbase in occupied Crimea, according to information released by Ukrainian forces. The strike was carried out by units of the Unmanned Systems Forces, which used attack drones to target the system stationed close to the Russian-controlled airfield. […]View the full article

The United States on Dec. 29 approved a possible $1.8 billion Foreign Military Sale to Denmark for up to three P-8A multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and related systems, with Congress formally notified of the decision. According to the notification, the determination was made by the U.S. State Department, and the Defense Security Cooperation […]View the full article

NATO conducted coordinated aerial surveillance flights over the Black Sea near the coast of Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar region on January 28, with U.S. and British reconnaissance aircraft operating in international airspace, according to open flight-tracking data and publicly available monitoring imagery. The activity involved a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and a […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces have struck and destroyed a previously undocumented variant of Russia’s Pantsir-S1 (SA-22 Greyhound) air defense system, according to combat footage analyzed by the open-source intelligence community Exilenova+, which identified the system mounted on an uncommon heavy Belarusian MZKT-7930 chassis. Footage released online shows the moment a Ukrainian strike drone hits the […]View the full article

A U.S.-made AN/ALE-50 towed decoy has reportedly been recovered in Iraq, according to images circulating online showing the system intact on the ground. Systems such as the AN/ALE-50 are designed to protect aircraft by diverting incoming threats, reflecting continued reliance on electronic warfare for survivability. Photos of the recovered device show markings consistent with U.S. […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy successfully completed two demonstration flights of the Joint Direct Attack Munition Long Range variant in early April, clearing a significant milestone in the weapon’s development path toward fleet service. The test events validated safe separation from the launching aircraft, confirmed compatibility with existing aircraft interfaces, and demonstrated controlled powered free-flight and navigation […]View the full article

Murderers’ Row. Ulithi anchorage, December 8th, 1944. Just three years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. One of the most iconic pictures of WWII. The carriers are (from front to back): USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Hancock (CV-19) and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). The oldest of those ships, Yorktown, was only 19 months old. The youngest, Hancock, was commissioned only a little under eight months earlier. All were laid down and took from a bit under three to a bit under four years to build. Just a year prior, the US Navy was so short of aircraft carriers, it had to borrow a carrier from the Royal Navy. At first glance, it appears to be a flex o…

Norway’s Army has completed delivery of its final batch of new armored trucks from German manufacturer Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles, bringing the service’s total fleet of the new vehicles to 113 and drawing the curtain on a decades-long reliance on Cold War-era Scania logistics trucks. The Norwegian Army announced the arrival of the last 25 […]View the full article

A photo circulating from inside Russia appears to show a T-90M main battle tank fitted with the Arena-M active protection system riding on a tank transporter, a sighting that, if confirmed, would mark one of the clearer visual indications yet that Russia’s newest hard-kill defense against incoming threats is moving beyond limited trials and into […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy has put another $17.1 million behind a laser weapon designed to burn incoming drones and missiles out of the sky before they ever reach a warship, and the contractor building it isn’t the company that started the job. Attalon Inc., a defense technology firm based in Murrieta, California, has been awarded a […]View the full article