Raw Intel

Thirty-eight companies have told Japan’s government they can build a drone that shoots down other drones, and the country’s defense chief wants one flying within weeks rather than years. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi disclosed the figure at a press conference following a cabinet meeting on July 3, 2026, confirming that the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics […]View the full article

The Unmanned Advanced Lethality Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama, increased its live kinetic engagements, meaning exercises where students actually fly a drone armed with a real explosive payload against a target rather than practicing in simulation, from five to 12 per class, according to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Gatta, the course manager. Gatta and […]View the full article

The first production-standard HÜRJET jet trainer, distinct from the program’s two earlier flight-test prototypes, completed its maiden flight on Victory Day, August 30, marking the transition from prototype testing to a working production line for the Turkish Air Force, according to a social media announcement. The HÜRJET is a single-engine, tandem-seat supersonic jet trainer built […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has added $87.4 million to Northrop Grumman’s contract for the AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite, a new radar-jamming and threat-warning system for the F-16 fighter, the U.S. Department of War announced. The modification funds low-rate initial production, the first small production run before full-rate manufacturing. It raises the total value […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin plans to create 6,000 jobs across the United States, including 2,000 in Texas, as it expands munitions production. At the center of the plan is a $300 million expansion of its Grand Prairie missile parts plant, where defense manufacturing startup Hadrian will install an automated machining cell. The company announced the plan on […]View the full article

The latest iteration of the People’s Republic of China’s highly successful island hopping campaign in the Southwest Pacific has brought us to another round of the US national security nomenklatura and chatterati pounding away at their keyboards trying to figure out not just what is going on, but what China’s goals are. Everyone continues to talk each other in circles, your humble blogg’r included. Towards the end of last week it started to dawn on me that perhaps part of the problem is that “we” continue to think ourselves in to the same intellectual box canyons. As a result, at the end of each iteration we don’t make progress and the Chinese get more islands. The last …

Americas American firm AeroVironment received two firm-fixed-price orders totaling nearly $16 million from the United States Air Force to deliver Puma 3 AE unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and spares packages and Raven UAS spares packages. The hand-launched Puma 3 AE has a wingspan of 9.2 feet, weighs 15 pounds and can operate for up to 2.5 hours. The aircraft also has a range of 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) with a standard antenna, and up to 37.2 miles (60 kilometers) with AeroVironment’s Long-Range Tracking Antenna (LRTA). It also features reduced system packaging with a flyable configuration and GCS in one case. A US Air Force plan to transfer all A-10 Thunderbolt planes…

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