Raw Intel

American and Nigerian forces have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by President Donald Trump as the second-in-command of ISIS globally, in a joint operation conducted overnight, the president announced via his personal social media account and confirmed through the official White House channel. Trump announced the operation in a post from his social account, stating that […]View the full article

Both in comments here, social media, and a variety of SEPCOR, Monday’s post on AUKUS got a lot more interest than I thought it did. That makes for a happy Salamander, as it is clear that along the broad spectrum of the navalist and Five Eyes community, the importance of this project is well understood and supported. In a way, I feel like I cheated an opportunity, so let’s assign some reading to everyone, pull out some interesting tidbits from the reading, and maybe slap a moonbat or two while we’re at it. Here is the syllabus for today’s Substack. I’ll quote from various places…and yes, it is another opportunity to thank the good people doing the hard work at the Congres…

A small aircraft lifted off a dirt airstrip in western India after rolling forward just 22 meters (72 feet), roughly the length of two school buses, and that short hop has validated a technology an Indian startup hopes could eventually move troops and supplies into places no runway has ever reached. Ahmedabad-based Cligent Aerospace confirmed […]View the full article

A U.S. Navy warship named for a medic who threw his own body over a wounded Marine to absorb a grenade blast just took its first public step toward joining the fleet, breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across its bow in a Maine shipyard on Saturday. The U.S. Navy christened its fifth Flight III […]View the full article

Over the course of the last 18 months or so, you’d have to have been at an extended ibogaine, psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT retreat not to suffer through the gnashing of teeth and rending of clothes as the Department of War moves to a resize and align the American General Officer and Flag Officer (GOFO) cadre. It is nothing like what is going on in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC isn’t a nation at war, even a low-boil war—so what is going on there isn’t all that germane when looking at what is going on in the U.S. What is the next large-ish power that is at war? Russia. How are things looking with their GOFO cadre? Lucky for us, the Center for Naval Analyses (CN…

U.S. and Indian soldiers flew into battle together aboard Indian Army helicopters on Sept. 25, seizing two objectives in a combined air assault in the Himalayan training area of Auli during exercise Yudh Abhyas 2026. The mission mixed troops from both armies inside the same units, the U.S. Army said. Each of the two assaulting […]View the full article

Russia’s Tupolev says about 80% of the systems and equipment on its new Tu-160M strategic bomber have been modernized, and that the aircraft’s onboard electronics were designed as a modular architecture so newer systems can be swapped in later without rebuilding the whole suite. Tupolev General Director Yuri Abrosimov made the claims in comments published […]View the full article

BTW - in the German Navy, three thick stripes is a LCDR, not CDR. I like the beard too. ... and yes, I noticed the picture in the Wardroom/Chiefs Mess at the 3:00 mark. Hat tip Boquisucio@Argghhh!!! View the full article

Americas L3 Technologies won a $29.2 million deal for the manned/unmanned teaming hardware, as well as technical and engineering support, for the Apache helicopter. The Apache attack helicopter was developed by Boeing for the US armed forces. It entered service with the US Army in 1984. is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. Work will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2023. Lockheed Martin won a $9.3 million contract modification for the US and Unit…

Americas Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) completed acceptance sea trials on Friday for the amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28). The San Antonio Class ship, built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, spent several days with the US Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. Ingalls’ shipbuilders will now complete final finish work on the ship in preparation for delivery this quarter. General Dynamics won a $19.2 million deal for Environmental and Ship Motion Forecasting (ESMF) systems, which provides sea-based forces with environmental and ship motion forecasting as input to the common operation tactical picture, in order to forecast windows of opportunit…

As with many things in the last nine months, the bolt from the blue in the maritime national security world that was the September 2021 announcement of AUKUS - trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - has faded from view as the more immediate and interesting Russo-Ukrainian War took the headlines. Even without the war, as with many long-term programs that start with a flash, AUKUS would have become a background issue anyway - which is a shame. Most are left remembering the interesting bit - nuclear submarines for the Royal Australian Navy - but is that really the most important thing about AUKUS? Our friend Alessio Patalano o…

Ultra APV demonstrator (click to view full) In an age of non-linear warfare, where front lines are nebulous at best and non-existent at worst, one of the biggest casualties is… the concept of unprotected rear echelon vehicles, designed with the idea that they’d never see serious combat. That imperative is being driven home on 2 fronts. One front is operational. The other front is buying trends. These trends, and their design imperatives, found their way into the USA’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, which aims to replace many of the US military’s 120,000 or so Humvees. The US military’s goal is a 7-10 ton vehicle that’s lighter than its MRAPs and easier to tr…

Hanwha Systems has officially launched mass production of its active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system for South Korea’s next-generation KF-21 fighter jet. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), in partnership with Hanwha Systems, hosted a rollout ceremony on August 5 at the company’s Yongin Research and Development Center. The event was attended by more […] The post South Korea begins mass production of AESA radar for KF-21 fighter first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232), known as the “Red Devils,” arrived at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan, on September 8, 2025, as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Unit Deployment Program (UDP). The F/A-18 Hornet squadron, based out of MCAS Miramar, California, is now assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st […] The post U.S. Marine Corps deploys Red Devils squadron to Japan first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Rightfully, over the last week there’s been a fair bit of chatter about TLAM going to Ukraine. The United States is considering Ukraine’s request to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles for its effort to push back against Russian invaders, Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked the United States to sell Tomahawks to European nations that would send them to Ukraine. Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” that U.S. President Donald Trump would make the “final determination” on whether to allow the deal. ISW, where the above graphic came from, had a solid thread over at X on the implications, but it could use a little bit of a wet b…

Swarmbotics AI, a robotics developer, is pitching a new class of ground-based, modular unmanned systems that operate in coordinated swarms and carry anti-tank effects, the company says. The firm confirmed that its antitank variant is called FireAnt, a lightweight, attritable unmanned ground vehicle intended to work in groups under a single operator to detect, track […]View the full article

New images have surfaced online of a Chinese armored vehicle that closely resembles the German-Dutch Boxer platform, reigniting speculation about China’s push to develop modular armored solutions for export markets. The photos, which appeared on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, show the vehicle moving in an industrial zone in Baotou, located in China’s Inner […]View the full article

A rare U.S. Air Force RQ-170 “Sentinel” stealth surveillance drone was spotted returning on Saturday morning to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in eastern Puerto Rico, following U.S. military strikes conducted overnight against targets in Venezuela. Video circulating on social media shows the flying-wing aircraft on approach and landing at the naval air station, now used […]View the full article

Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense has reportedly signed an agreement with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to equip the Vietnamese army with the “Maoz” drone, known as the Spike Firefly loitering munition, in a deal valued at approximately $250 million. According to a report by Intelligence Online, the agreement includes the establishment of a production facility in […]View the full article

U.S. Central Command released new footage from Operation Epic Fury showing a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launching a missile visually consistent with the United States Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), suggesting the system may have been used in combat for the first time during strikes against Iranian targets. The footage has drawn attention […]View the full article