Raw Intel

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $37 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure special tooling and test equipment for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter production line in support of second source canopy tooling and other known capacity gaps for the Navy, Marines, Air Force and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will take place in California, Texas, Australia and New Jersey. Estimated completion will be in August 2023. BAE Systems won a $117 million contract from Lockheed Martin to produce next-generation missile seekers for the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). The seeker technology enables LRASM to detect and engage specific m…

Americas Raytheon won a $9 million contract for the procurement of nine active electronically scanned array radar system APG-79 weapon repairable assemblies in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft. Work will take place in Mississippi. The deal contains no options and work is expected to begin October 2022 and be completed by January 2024. Six F-16s from South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing are in Colombia for exercise Relampago VII. The purpose of this exercise is to provide the Colombian Air For…

Americas The United States will no longer pursue a plan to deploy the US Army’s Strategic Mid-Range Fires (SMRF) System in Japan. The US Indo-Pacific Command had proposed under its Pacific Deterrence Initiative to deploy these intermediate-range missiles to the first island chain as a conventional deterrent to China. Japan’s recent decision to acquire long-range […]View the full article

Americas The US Army’s chief of staff on Friday grounded all pilots who are not involved in critical missions until they complete required training, after four helicopters crashed in a matter of weeks. Two AH-64 Apache helicopters collided in Alaska on Thursday, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth, while two Black Hawks crashed in […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $67.9 million modification, which adds scope to procure material and labor to establish initial depot repair capabilities for F-35 Lightning II components at various military service depot locations across the US in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be […]View the full article

E-7A Wedgetail over New South Wales (click to view full) The island continent of Australia faces a number of unique security challenges that stem from its geography. The continent may be separated from its neighbors by large expanses of ocean, but it also resides within a potential arc of instability, and has a number of important offshore resource sites to protect. Full awareness of what is going on around them, and the ability to push that awareness well offshore, are critical security requirements. “Project Wedgetail” had 3 finalists, and the winner was a new variant of Boeing’s 737-700, fitted with an MESA (multirole electronically scanned array) radar from Northrop G…

Slovakia-based defense manufacturer DefTech has released a new image of its Wolf 25 AD counter-drone combat vehicle, positioning the platform as a critical solution for today’s fast-evolving air threat environment. The company said the system has already completed successful trials and is currently deployed in Ukraine, where it continues to receive positive operational feedback. In […] The post DefTech releases new image of its drone hunter vehicle first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

BIRD Aerosystems has secured a new contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defense to develop and deliver an upgraded Airborne Missile Protection System (AMPS) for integration onto the Israeli Air Force’s AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, the company announced on September 8. The contract, issued through the Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D), includes development, […] The post Israel to equip Apache helicopters with new missile defense system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A newly leaked document allegedly from Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec appears to outline detailed pricing, delivery schedules, and export plans for advanced Sukhoi fighter jets destined for several foreign clients — including Iran, Algeria, and Ethiopia. The material was published online on October 3 by the hacker collective Black Mirror, which claims to have […] The post Leak doc reveals Su-57s for Algeria, Su-35s for Iran and Ethiopia first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Sener Aerospace & Defence has completed the final demonstration of its COMMANDS project in Seville, marking a major milestone in Europe’s efforts to integrate crewed and uncrewed vehicles for future land operations. The event brought together senior officials from the Spanish Army, the Directorate General of Armament and Material (DIGAM), and representatives from several European […]View the full article

A Ukrainian military expert says Russia has begun arming its Shahed one-way attack drones with Soviet-designed R-60 air-to-air missiles in an apparent attempt to counter Ukrainian aerial interceptors. In a statement published by Ukrainian military specialist Serhiy Beskrestnov, known by the callsign “Serhiy Flesh,” confirmed the first documented case of an R-60 missile integrated with […]View the full article

A drone crashed on the outskirts of Maidan Shahr, the provincial capital of Afghanistan’s Maidan Wardak province, on January 1, 2026, with debris discovered about 40 kilometers southwest of Kabul, according to local reporting. Residents and local sources said wreckage from the unmanned aircraft was found near the administrative center of the province earlier that […]View the full article

South Korea has begun fielding anti-drone protective nets on frontline armored vehicles after publishing official photos showing K2 Black Panther main battle tanks and K21 infantry fighting vehicles fitted with lightweight foldable screens during a January 2026 force-on-force exercise. The images, released following training by the ROK Army’s 8th Maneuver Division, show both platforms operating […]View the full article

United States President Donald Trump said the United States military has launched “major combat operations” inside Iran, describing the action as a response to what he called imminent threats posed by the Iranian government. The announcement came in a video shared on social media, as regional tensions escalated and air raid sirens sounded across Israel […]View the full article

Ukrainian forces carried out a strike overnight on March 28 against a Russian explosives production facility in the city of Chapayevsk. The target was identified as the JSC “Promsintez” plant, a site involved in producing explosive materials used in ammunition and aerial weapons. The strike appears aimed at disrupting Russia’s ability to manufacture explosive compounds […]View the full article

The U.S. Air Force has issued a Sources Sought notice for TEAL Drones’ Black Widow small unmanned aerial system, signaling potential procurement of the specialized tactical drone capable of feeding live targeting data directly to airborne F-35 fighters. The notice, published April 20, 2026, by the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center under Air […]View the full article

L3Harris Technologies has developed software that turns existing tactical radios into AI-enabled counter-drone sensors, announcing Wraith Shield as a capability that allows soldiers to detect, classify, and disrupt small unmanned aerial systems using communications equipment they already carry, without adding new hardware to an already heavy infantry load. The announcement, published May 13, 2026, describes […]View the full article

Ukraine has crossed a significant threshold in its air defense campaign against Russian drone attacks: an autonomous interceptor drone that can hunt down and destroy Shahed loitering munitions with minimal human input has now completed its first successful combat engagements in the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced the achievement, describing a system […]View the full article

A next-generation stealth fighter that nearly stalled out over a funding dispute severe enough to cost two British officials their jobs has received a $6.1 billion vote of confidence from the three countries building it. The Global Combat Air Programme, known in Britain as Tempest, awarded an 18-month, £4.6 billion ($6.1 billion) contract on July […]View the full article

At some point in the post-WWII era, someone looked over at that quiet, unassuming man and thought, “He’s just a banker.” Really? Picture in your mind a British officer from WWII. This man, John Cruickshank, is almost right from central casting Just a junior officer flying a slow seaplane out of the Shetland Islands, taking his crew north. Just another patrol. Flying Officer Cruickshank was twenty-four years old when he piloted a Consolidated Catalina anti-submarine flying boat from Sullom Voe on 17 July 1944 on a patrol north into the Norwegian Sea. The objective was to protect the British Home Fleet as it returned from the unsuccessful Operation Mascot raid on the German…