Raw Intel

Ukraine’s defense sector is facing an escalating brain drain crisis as skilled engineers and technologists leave the country amid the ongoing war with Russia. Despite a surge in military contracts and state-backed production expansion, companies say they are struggling to replace experienced specialists lost to emigration, mobilization, and security threats. Several Ukrainian defense manufacturers told […]View the full article

Saudi airstrikes hit positions near the Saudi border in Yemen’s Hadramout province on Friday amid clashes between forces loyal to the Saudi-backed provincial governor and fighters aligned with the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), according to statements from local officials and the STC. The STC accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out seven airstrikes against its […]View the full article

Japan’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that a Russian Navy Steregushchiy III–class corvette, identified as Gremyashchiy (hull number 337), transited eastward through the Tsugaru Strait on Sunday and proceeded into the Pacific Ocean, according to an official release from the Joint Staff. The ministry said the vessel was first detected around 8:00 a.m. local time approximately […]View the full article

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth concluded the first phase of the Department’s nationwide “Arsenal of Freedom” tour on Feb. 27, 2026, with visits to defense industry facilities operated by General Dynamics and L3Harris in Camden, Arkansas, where he delivered remarks focused on expanding production capacity and accelerating weapons manufacturing. The tour, organized by […]View the full article

The United States Navy commissioned the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) during a ceremony held on March 28 in Boston Harbor. According to the Navy, USS Massachusetts is the seventh Block IV Virginia-class submarine and was built under a teaming agreement between General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding. The submarine was […]View the full article

Raytheon Missiles and Defense has been awarded a $213.4 million contract modification to continue combat system work aboard the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyers, the Department of War announced on April 20, 2026. The award exercises options under a previously issued contract and covers installation, integration, development, testing, correction, maintenance, and modernization of Zumwalt-class mission systems […]View the full article

BAE Systems has publicly revealed its Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System for the first time, offering the defense world its first look at a platform the defense giant is developing to give the U.S. Army a new way to shoot down drones, cruise missiles, and other aerial threats using artillery-style firepower. The images released by BAE […]View the full article

A Czech aircraft manufacturer that has been building military planes for a century just posted the best financial results in its modern history, with profit before tax jumping more than 400 percent in a single year as demand for affordable jet trainers accelerates across defense markets worldwide. AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE, the largest aircraft manufacturer in […]View the full article

Two of NASA’s most storied research jets have traded their usual gray paint for a full red, white, and blue makeover, and the aircraft getting the treatment have spent decades doing work most Americans have never heard of despite watching some of its results on the evening news for years. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center […]View the full article

Investigators have found a second impact crater from a North Korean ballistic missile fired at Ukraine, and the distance between that crater and the ruins of a family home that killed six people tells its own story about how these weapons actually behave once they leave the launch pad. Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner […]View the full article

At some point in the next decade, a historian is going to look at the first quarter of the 21st century from the perspective of the national security establishment and the blessings it had as it rose to global power status, and will publish the foundational reference book for those trying to understand that moment in time. Its primary rivals distracted and drained themselves in unnecessary quixotic quasi-imperial police actions, one in Central and Southwest Asia (U.S.A.), the other bled itself white attempting to reconstruct at least part of its predecessor’s empire (Russia). All the while, its economy grew, its diplomatic influence expanded, and its military became an i…

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has awarded General Dynamics Information Technology a $16.6 million contract to keep running the computer systems the U.S. military uses to track every nuclear weapon in its stockpile, the U.S. Department of War announced. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract covers continued support for the Defense Stockpile Management System. The agency said the […]View the full article

Türkiye has signed a supply contract with missile maker Roketsan for land-based CAKIR cruise missile systems for the Turkish Land Forces, Haluk Görgün, head of the country’s Presidency of Defense Industries, announced on Oct. 15. Görgün said in a post on X that the contract is meant to strengthen the army’s long-range strike capability, and […]View the full article

Americas A crew from the 40th Flight Test Squadron successfully carried out the first AIM-120D missile firing from an F-15EX on January 25. The test took place in the Gulf of Mexico and a BQM-167 target drone was engaged by the air-to-air weapon. Maj. Benjamin Naumann, who fired the missile, said: “I am humbled to have the opportunity to fire the first weapon, but the bigger success is the verification of the F-15EX capability to live-fire a missile.” The US Navy will mark the centennial of its first aircraft carrier, USS Langley (CV 1) this year. CV 1 entered service on March 20, 1922. The ship fought against the Japanese during the World War Two and was sunk off Java o…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a &632.1 million deal, which provides engineering, maintenance, logistics and material support to continue to develop, sustain and produce software builds, as well as carryout developmental flight tests in support of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales customer, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants’ funds. The deal also provides unique sea trials on aircraft carriers for the government of the United Kingdom. Work will take place in Texas, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, California, United Kingdom and Canada. Expected completion is in March 2024. A 50kW-class high en…

Navalists should be forgiven if they have, on occasion, the mindset and habits of an abused partner. Slightly flenching with memory, but always hoping that this time - this time - things will be different. There is good reason for scepticism and concern. Firstly, we know the mindset and process that begat LCS and DDG-1000. We know that there wasn't really any accountability to "the system" for this. A system that has remained unchanged. The only thing that was considered satisfactory from that era was LPD-17 - a program that had enough money thrown at it so this Tiffany amphib could be a functional class of warships. FORD is, well, you know that drill. So, we lost a gen…

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $60 million modification, which adds scope to procure long lead parts and associated support for two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye plus up aircraft for the Navy. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York (25.06%); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (9.52%); Woodland Hill, California (5.87%); Menlo park, California (5.08%); Greenlawn, New York (3.33%); […]View the full article

Americas Boeing has expressed interest in converting its F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet into electronic attack aircraft similar to the EA-18G Growler. Company official Rob Novotny said to Breaking Defense that internal discussions are currently underway whether to proceed with the proposed conversion or not. The F-15EX already boasts an electronic warfare (EW) capability, thanks to its Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System. Kratos has unveiled a small affordable engine intended for the US Air Force’s futuristic Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). Developed in partnership with GE Aerospace, the GEK800 can reportedly generate up to 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) o…

Sadly, not everyone subscribes to the Midrats Podcast, I wanted to build off part of yesterday’s podcast on the latest developments in the US Navy’s drone programs. My big takeaway is that the surface force—and the subsurface drone programs as well—are not going to (or more likely be allowed to) repeat the same mistake for our Navy and the nation made when the pointy-nosed people at NAVAIR killed the promise that was the X-47B a dozen years ago. Though my desire is for ‘more faster’, when I take a deep breath and step back, on balance, this leaves me quite happy with the plan. Joseph Trevithick over at TWZ has a great summary of the state of play. The Naval Sea Systems Co…

The U.S. Army has initiated the deployment of counter-drone technologies on its armored platforms in response to the evolving threat posed by low-cost, first-person-view (FPV) unmanned aerial systems. The move reflects a growing recognition within the Army’s leadership that these small, improvised strike drones represent a credible challenge on the modern battlefield. According to the […] The post U.S. armored vehicles get anti-drone protection first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article