Raw Intel

Turkish Aerospace Industries, known by its Turkish acronym TUSAŞ, released new footage showing the KAAN P1 fighter jet prototype successfully conducting powered taxi tests, confirming the aircraft has moved into ground testing ahead of its first flight. KAAN is Türkiye’s fifth-generation stealth fighter program, a homegrown effort launched after the United States removed Türkiye from […]View the full article

Tata Advanced Systems Limited and the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, signed a memorandum of understanding to co-produce the Javelin All Up Round missile in India, the companies announced Sunday. Under the agreement, Tata Advanced Systems and the joint venture, known as JJV, will explore setting up a final assembly […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy’s new submarine-launched nuclear warhead, the W93, has moved into full-scale development, the first U.S. nuclear warhead and reentry body program started in nearly 40 years. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs office said the W93 and its Mk7 reentry body, the cone-shaped shell that carries the warhead back through the atmosphere to its […]View the full article

There are certain people who, due to the quality of their work, the content of their character, and their downright excellence and dedication to their chosen field, influence generations of people. In a way, they become a benchmark, a reference point, an ideal. In naval history, for the last few generations of naval officers, one name has risen to the top of everyone’s list, Dr. Craig L. Symonds. Dr. Symonds passed away earlier this week. Craig L. Symonds, beloved scholar, writer, professor, husband, father, and grandfather, passed away at home on Tuesday, October 13th from complications due to cancer. He was 79. Craig was born and raised in Anaheim CA on December 31st, 1…

Americas Boeing won a $41.7 million delivery order for consumable and depot-level repairable parts for the KC-46 military unique program. The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is a military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft. In 2011, the DOD announced the Boeing Company as the winner of a competition to build 179 new KC-46 Aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, a contract valued at roughly $35 billion. Boeing designed the KC-46 to carry passengers, cargo and patients. The aircraft can detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats using multiple layers of protection, which will enable it to operate safely in medium-threat environments. Work will take place in …

FC-1/ JF-17, armed (click to view full) The FC-1/ JF-17 Thunder is a joint Chinese-Pakistani project that aimed to reduce Pakistan’s dependence on western firms for advanced fighters, by fielding a low-cost multi-role lightweight fighter that can host modern electronics and precision-guided weapons. It isn’t a top-tier competitor, but it represents a clear step up from Pakistan’s Chinese MiG-19/21 derivatives and French Mirage III/V fighters. This positioning addresses a budget-conscious, “good enough” performance market segment that the West once dominated, but has nearly abandoned in recent decades. Pakistan has fielded JF-17s in squadron strength, with more on order…

What can one small ship, well trained, well led, and well armed do when she finds herself in the right place at the right time? I give you the USS ENGLAND, (DE 635), via Michael Peck at TheNationalInterest; The saga of the England began on May 18, 1944, when the England and two other destroyer escorts received orders to find a Japanese submarine reported heading toward the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. On the afternoon of May 19, the England's sonar detected the submarine I-16. What happened next is detailed in an account written by Captain John Williamson, who served as the England's executive officer during that time. In a March 1980 article in Proceedings Mag…

Americas The first low-rate initial production MQ-4C in the B8 configuration, with multi-intelligence capabilities, has been delivered to NAS Patuxent River on February 1. The B8 is the first production Triton to be upgraded to the multi-intelligence configuration to meet the Navy’s critical maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting needs. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, said it is building nine additional CH-53K aircraft for the USMarine Corps. The CH-53K will support the military in its mission to conduct expeditionary heavy-lift assault transport of armored vehicles, equipment and personnel to support distributed operations deep inland fro…

On yesterday's Midrats David Larter mentioned something in passing that I really had not pondered since he was still on the journalism gig in 2020: In a move with sweeping consequences for the U.S. Navy’s battle force, the service is canceling plans to add 10 years to the expected service lives of its stalwart destroyer fleet, a cost-savings measure that would almost certainly hamper plans to grow the size of the fleet. In written testimony submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Navy’s Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts said performing service life extensions on Burkes designed to bring them up from 35-year hull liv…

Labor Day is behind us, school is in session, and winter is coming. That can mean only one thing - it’s time for a Midrats mid-month melee! For the full hour LIVE this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern, we will take a bit from the headlines, a tad from the history books, and whatever shows up in the chat room or the studio line. From DC to Ukraine, to the other side of the International Date Line, we’ll try to squeeze it in. We'll distribute your defense, integrate your lethality ... whatever it takes. As with every melee, if it is interesting and in the maritime or national security arena - we’ll take it on. Open chat, open phones, open topic - come join us live if you can, but …

Americas Raytheon won a $72.8 million order, which provides non-recurring engineering in support of early identification, development, and qualification of corrections to potential and actual F135 propulsion system operational issues, to include safety and reliability/maintainability problems identified through fleet usage. Additionally, this order provides for continued engine maturation, evaluates component life limits based on operational […]View the full article

Americas The US Marine Corps has taken delivery of its first MQ-9 Reaper drone under a joint procurement deal with the US Air Force. The delivery was part of a $136 million deal awarded to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in 2022 for eight MQ-9s to be delivered to the marines this year. Boeing won a […]View the full article

Americas The US Army has inked a contract with Bombardier Defense to receive one jet aircraft for its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program jet plane prototype. Bombardier’s Global 6500 aircraft will serve as the blueprint for the program’s large-cabin business jet unit, fitted with advanced deep-sensing equipment for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) […]View the full article

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won a $120 million modification, which adds scope to procure additional long-lead time materials to support 21 full rate production, Lot Nine, CH-53K King Stallion aircraft. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed in March 2025. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The US Army has demonstrated the capabilities of nine of its counter-small unmanned aerial systems (C-sUAS) against more than 40 aerial targets. Described by the service as its “most challenging counter-drone systems test to date,” the test aimed to evaluate the command-and-control capabilities of i…

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has made its decision, and it’s a good one. Via Mike Yeo at Breaking Defense; Australia has selected Japan’s improved Mogami-class frigate design for its future fleet of general-purpose frigates, in a deal with further cements ties between the two US Indo-Pacific allies and gives Japan its first major defense export. “Following a rigorous and competitive tender process, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF),” said the Australian Defence Department in a media release. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will…

French defense firm Arquus has begun delivering its new-generation light tactical vehicle, the PEGASE, to units including the 11th Parachute Brigade. In a statement posted September 8, Arquus said the vehicle represents a “major capability leap” for French forces. The company emphasized that the PEGASE was designed to meet the demands of elite units operating […] The post French elite forces receive first PEGASE vehicles first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Pentagon’s No.1 weapons supplier Lockheed Martinis rapidly expanding production of some of the most critical missile and launcher systems in the U.S. arsenal — from PAC-3 and GMLRS to HIMARS, Javelin, PrSM, and JASSM/LRASM — as demand for precision strike capabilities grows amid rising global security challenges. The company said the scaling effort reflects both […] The post U.S. missile production surges as Lockheed ramps up for future wars first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea on Monday, a symbolic stop ahead of high-level talks between Washington and Seoul on the future of U.S. forces on the peninsula, South Korea’s defense ministry said. Hegseth toured the Joint Security Area (JSA) — the only portion of […]View the full article

Austria’s Ministry of Defense has finalized the long-anticipated purchase of 12 M-346FA light combat and trainer aircraft from Italy’s Leonardo. According to the Austrian government, the aircraft will be based in Linz-Hörsching starting in 2028, replacing the Saab 105 fleet retired in 2020. Each M-346FA unit is priced at approximately €80 million ($93 million), with […]View the full article

U.S. Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets destroyed Venezuelan Air Force aircraft during precision strikes on air bases across Venezuela, according to local reports describing the operation. The reports said Marine Corps F-35s carried out targeted attacks on Venezuelan fighter aviation bases shortly after missile strikes hit areas hosting long-range air defense systems, including S-300V and […]View the full article