Raw Intel

Ukraine’s Armed Forces carried out a strike using U.S.-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles overnight on Feb. 24, targeting a Russian military command facility near Novopetrivka in the occupied Donetsk region, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck an auxiliary command post of Russia’s 5th […]View the full article

Mark Felton is a treasure. He has produced an enviable series of historical videos over the years. Pretty much everything he puts out is a must-watch. He also covers current issues, and this episode, to me, was a patriotic act for a British subject, and an important review that should concern everyone in the West. It is a good follow-on to yesterday’s post. Next to the U.S. Navy, the West has always assumed that the Royal Navy would be there to help preserve the assumptions the rest of the planet has about the access to the high seas. In 2026, the first question is not ‘will’ but ‘can’ they Royal Navy be of use. Too many people who should don’t know the state of the Royal…

U.S. President Donald Trump amplified the news within minutes, stating on social media that Iran had announced the strait “is fully open and ready for full passage.” Yet Trump simultaneously made clear that the American naval blockade of the waterway would “remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a broader agreement with Washington to end […]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

Norway has built one of the most capable stealth, anti-ship missiles in the Western arsenal, and the United States Air Force ordered another batch of them for $241 million, deepening a transatlantic weapons partnership that has become increasingly central to American plans for fighting a war in the Pacific or the North Atlantic against a […]View the full article

X-Bow Systems said Monday it has delivered more than 1,100 solid rocket motors, a sharp production milestone for a U.S. defense market trying to rebuild a rocket motor supply base that has struggled to keep pace with missile and drone demand. The company did not identify every customer or program tied to the 1,100 motors […]View the full article

A French rocket engine just fired 21 times in a row, and the company behind it says the hardware survived well enough to fly again. That combination, repeated ignition and confirmed reusability, is exactly what a small aerospace startup needs to prove before anyone lets its hypersonic drone near real flight testing, and this week […]View the full article

Y Combinator-backed startup IMPACT Drones says it built a working prototype of its high-speed interceptor drone, called SABLE, in two weeks, according to posts by the company’s two co-founders on social media. Jasper Lortije, whom the company lists as CEO, and Alessandro Fiume, listed as founder, both posted about the prototype this week. IMPACT Drones […]View the full article

VAQ-129 aboard Reagan over the Veteran's Day weekend. Hat tip DW. View the full article

Americas General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. won a $2.4 million contract modification to exercise an option for the construction of one Block V Virginia Class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. Electric Boat Corp. will continue to subcontract with Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding. The Virginia-class is a nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack submarines (NSSN New SSN), currently in service in the United States Navy. Designed by General Dynamics’s Electric Boat (EB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries. The US Navy has been procuring Virginia (SSN-774) class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) since FY1998, and a total of 34 have been p…

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) along with Congressmen Jim Banks (R-IN), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) commissioned a study by Lieutenant General Robert E. Schmidle, USMC, Ret. and Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, USN, Ret. on a series of issues familiar to regulars here and on Midrats. It was released on Monday and at only 22 pages is an easy read, the aptly titled, "A Report on the Culture of the United States Navy Surface Fleet" is a compact summary you should take time to read in full. What does it use as the basis for its review? 77 unique and formal interviews were conducted with Navy personnel via an extensive hour-long process to establish a common c…

Americas Northrop Grumman Aerospace won a $298.2 million contract modification to repair common unmanned aircraft system components for the US Air Force. The deal provides for repair services for “common items” for both the RQ-4B and MQ-4C Triton. It will support reparable National Stock Numbers (NSNs) which encompass the Air Vehicle, multiple sensor packages, Mission Control Element, and Launch and Recovery Element. In addition, this effort includes support engineering services covered under the engineering delegation authority for NSNs transferred to and under the management of the 407 Supply Chain Management Squadron. Work will take place in California, Utah, Virginia,…

It is amazing what you can find just out there in the open for all to see. In case you missed last week's Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, you should take some time to read it. If you're running short on time, just check out Appendix D. Read the very last bit. The fact that in 2022 this needs to be said ... but it does. Scathing indictment. Just scathing. h/t Charlie B. 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=IahDEOUEGho:lyLl9JFFBkE:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=IahD…

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $15.5 million delivery order for overhaul of power amplifier modules in support of the E-2D aircraft. All work will be completed by September 2025 with no option periods. Work will be performed in Woodland Hills, California; and Liverpool, New York. Annual working capital funds (Navy) in the full amount will […]View the full article

B-52H: flyin’ low, dyin’ slow… (click to view full) Officially, it’s the B-52H Stratofortress. Unofficially, it’s the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F–cker). Either way, this subsonic heavy bomber remains the mainstay of the U.S. strategic fleet after more than 50 years of service. A total of 102 B-52H bombers were delivered from FY 1961-1963, and […]View the full article

Americas Raytheon won a $10 million order, which provides for sustainment of delivered block fleet releases, as well as ongoing development of flight test and fleet releases and analysis in support of implementation of future sustainment block fleet releases for the V-22 avionics systems for the Navy, Marines, and Air Force. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed in March 2026. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon won a $26 million modification to exercise options for engineering and technical support for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile and NATO SeaSparrow Missile Systems progra…

Americas Canada has opened a rebuilt pier at its Esquimalt naval base in British Columbia. This project cost 1.1 billion Canadian dollars and is part of a larger plan to upgrade the harbor. The new pier will be able to handle the Royal Canadian Navy’s new ships, like the Joint Support Ships and Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, which are being built as part of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. This upgrade will allow the base to support these larger, modern vessels. GM Defense has been awarded a $44.8 million contract to provide its Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISV) to the US Army. The exact number of vehicles to be supplied hasn’t been specified, and work locations…

The U.S. Army has awarded Dynetics Inc., based in Huntsville, Alabama, a new $264.6 million contract to advance its Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) weapon system, which is designed to counter a growing range of aerial threats including drones, cruise missiles, and rocket attacks on U.S. and allied infrastructure. According to a release from the […] The post US Army awards Dynetics new contract for IFPC air defense system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea of AGM-65G2 Maverick laser-guided missiles and associated support valued at approximately $34 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on October 1. Under the proposed deal, South Korea has requested 44 AGM-65G2 air-to-surface missiles along with U.S. government […] The post U.S. approves Maverick missile sale to South Korea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ram Professional has announced a new collaboration with Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel to build an updated variant of the Senator armored vehicle using the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab platform. In a statement, the company said, “With the Ram 5500 Chassis Cab’s outstanding payload capacity and exceptional durability, it’s no wonder the military defense vehicle company, […]View the full article