Raw Intel

Russia launched one of the largest drone attacks of the war against Ukraine on May 13, 2026, sending hundreds of Shahed-type drones in multiple waves across central and western Ukraine throughout the day, targeting railway infrastructure, residential areas, port facilities, and energy installations across 14 regions simultaneously. Ukrainian drone monitoring service Monitor recorded 168 drone […]View the full article

The U.S. Army has selected Teledyne FLIR Defense’s Rogue 1 loitering munition for its Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO ) program, giving Infantry Brigade Combat Teams a man-portable precision strike weapon capable of destroying tanks and armored vehicles at ranges exceeding 12 miles without requiring a vehicle, launcher, or external support infrastructure. The […]View the full article

MatrixSpace is providing airspace awareness sensors to Operation Flytrap 5.0, a major U.S. Army-led counter-drone exercise running May 1 through 15 in Lithuania, after the company’s technology won the xTechCounter Strike competition at the preceding Flytrap 4.5 exercise in November 2025. The company’s participation comes with a competitive pedigree that distinguishes it from other exhibitors […]View the full article

German electronic warfare technology company Aaronia AG will make its first public presentation of the AARTOS DF2 direction-finding solution at AOC Europe in Helsinki from May 19 to 21, 2026. The AOC Europe conference, organized by the Association of Old Crows and described as the leading European electronic warfare symposium, brings together decision-makers from armed […]View the full article

RENK America has developed a drive-by-wire transmission upgrade that enables autonomous vehicle operation on the U.S. Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, working with BAE Systems and Forterra to deliver a plug-and-play autonomy kit that requires no vehicle redesign and fits within the existing transmission space claim. The system centers on RENK America’s HMPT transmission drive-by-wire kit, […]View the full article

British aerospace company Rotron has successfully fired its SkyLance long-range one-way effector, validating the propulsion and system performance of a loitering munition platform that its new American parent company Ondas Inc. is positioning as a sovereign UK strike capability for NATO’s eastern flank and allied export markets. The firing milestone, announced by Rotron Aerospace, follows […]View the full article

Austria scrambled Eurofighter jets twice in two consecutive days after U.S. military aircraft entered Austrian airspace without proper clearance, the Austrian Ministry of Defence confirmed. Austrian Ministry of Defence spokesperson Michael Bauer confirmed both incidents publicly, posting on X that the first interception involved a Priority A alert and the deployment of two Eurofighters after […]View the full article

BZ to the folks who decided not to release it the Friday before Mother’s Day Weekend. Yesterday, Acting SECNAV Cao released the U.S. Navy’s Shipbuilding Plan. Let’s dive in, but first, the usual caveats we’ve used over the last couple of decades when reviewing such items. Ignore the out years. They are notoriously inaccurate in both numbers and type. Focus on what you see four years from the year it is issued. The next four years, meh. Beyond that…don’t bet your lunch money on it. There’s a LOT here to dive into. You need to read it all. I’m just going to hit the bright, shiny objects. I would argue that one of the more valuable things, if you are trying to get your min…

Poland’s state defense group has signed agreements with two American companies to begin domestic assembly of Hydra 70mm unguided rockets, establishing a production and logistics center in Poland for a munition that its military plans to deploy across attack helicopters, air defense batteries, and fixed-wing aircraft. Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, Poland’s state-owned defense industrial conglomerate known […]View the full article

Poland is arming its M28 Bryza light transport aircraft for drone combat, with the first prototype set for modification to carry barrel weapons after a contract between the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate and the executing contractor is signed, according to Major General Ireneusz Nowak, who disclosed the program at the Defence24 Days conference during a […]View the full article

Spanish defense technology company UAV Navigation, the guidance and navigation division of Grupo Oesía, has launched VECTOR-300, a new high-performance autopilot designed specifically for mass-produced loitering munitions and counter-UAS interceptors. The VECTOR-300 was announced on May 12, 2026, and represents a deliberate pivot in autopilot design philosophy. Where most advanced autopilots are engineered for capability […]View the full article

CSG group and Turkish armored vehicle maker FNSS unveiled the CFL-120 Karpat medium tank at the IDEB 2026 defense exhibition in Bratislava, presenting a joint European-Turkish development program that combines a proven tracked hull with Leonardo’s HITFACT MkII turret and a 120mm main gun capable of engaging the same armored targets as a main battle […]View the full article

GE Aerospace has completed the Assembly Readiness Review for its XA102 adaptive cycle engine, clearing a critical design and manufacturing milestone in the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program and positioning the company to compete for the next program phase later this year. The ARR validates that the XA102 engine design, manufacturing processes, […]View the full article

Elbit Systems of America has received a $212 million delivery order from the U.S. Army for continued production of the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular system, with deliveries scheduled through 2028. The delivery order, announced May 12, 2026, continues production under a program originally awarded in 2023. Bezhalel Machlis, President and CEO of Elbit Systems, described […]View the full article

Raytheon has secured a contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to supply SeaRAM ship self-defense systems for Australia’s Sea3000 General Purpose Frigate program, the company announced. Under the contract, Raytheon will supply SeaRAM launchers, Blast Test Vehicles, and technical services to support installation and testing for the first three ships in the Sea3000 program, which are […]View the full article

HDT Robotics has delivered Hunter WOLF unmanned ground vehicles to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana, as part of the Army’s Ground Optionally Autonomous Transport program. The delivery supports a week-long Operator New Equipment Training event at which HDT will train soldiers to operate, employ, and maintain the platform […]View the full article

More than once, mostly on the Midrats Podcast, I have said something to the effect, “Bravo Zulu to the Iranian engineering team who developed the Shahed. Everyone is copying them left, right, and sideways. Even the Americans are trying to steal their engineering valor.” Well, belay my last: I was not just wrong, but mind-numbingly wrong. Let’s set the record straight. The Shahed drone is as American as apple pie—OK, perhaps apple strudel! The Dornier Drohne Anti-Radar (DAR) was an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Dornier GmbH to detect and destroy enemy radar installations, especially those used for air defense, within a defined target area. The development project w…

Smart Shooter, the Israeli developer of AI-powered rifle-mounted fire control systems, has secured a $10.7 million follow-on U.S. Army contract for its SMASH 2000LE fire control system, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2026. The award was issued through PAE Defensive Fires and will be executed through Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc., according to […]View the full article

Stockholm-based defense investment firm Front Ventures closed a €5 million (approximately $5.4 million) share raise on May 8 to fund early-stage defense technology companies in Ukraine and Sweden, with the raise oversubscribed by 278 percent in a signal of how urgently private capital is chasing battlefield-proven innovation. The raise, structured as a rights issue of […]View the full article

Russian military aviation influencer Ilya Tumanov, who administers the widely followed Fighterbomber Telegram channel, has released the first photograph of Tu-160 serial number 8-04, named Deynekin, following its upgrade to the “M” standard. Previous imagery had shown the Deynekin undergoing modernization at the Kazan Aircraft Production Association plant as far back as 2020, making the […]View the full article