Raw Intel

Americas Huntington-Ingalls Industries won a $115 million contract modification for engineering and technical support for USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). The USS John F. Kennedy is the second Gerald R. Ford Class aircraft carrier. The ship was launched on October 29, 2019. Work will take place in Newport News, Virginia. Expected completion will be by June 2024. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. According to Defense News, the Missile Defense Agency aims to get the first one Next Generation Interceptor by 2028. It will replace the current ground-based interceptors that make up the ballistic missile defense system of the United States…

The U.S. Army has awarded Anduril Industries a $16.8 million contract for hardware and components supporting its Ghost-X small drone systems, the Pentagon announced April 7, 2026. The contract was awarded to Anduril Industries Inc. of Costa Mesa, California, by Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The total value of the action is $16,788,000. […]View the full article

Americas The US Navy’s MQ-8C has tested the Single System Multi-Mission Airborne Mine Detection (SMAMD) system for the first time. Testing took place at Eglin Air Force Base in May, according to Naval Air System Command. “The team successfully demonstrated that the prototype SMAMD System effectively operates as designed aboard the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter in relevant real world environments,” said Capt. Thomas Lansley, Fire Scout program director. “This cutting-edge technology could really enhance Fire Scout’s capability going forward.” Carrying out the tests in day and night, the team gathered data on drifting, tethered, and moored mines throughout beach zone…

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won a $19.4 million contract modification, which provides for non-recurring engineering, engineering change order, logistics and programmatic support of the Data Transfer Unit and Defensive Electronic Countermeasure System Replacement and ARC-210 program, to replace existing subsystems within the CH-53K production aircraft. The CH-54K is an all-new heavy-lift helicopter that will expand the fleet’s ability to move more material more rapidly. Work will take place in Iowa, Connecticut and Texas. Estimated completion will be in August 2021. The 103rd and 139th Airlift Wings of the US Air National Guard recently participated in an Agile Combat Empl…

Americas The USS Paul Ignatius fired two Standard Missile-3 interceptors at the end of May in order to engage ballistic missile targets launched from the Hebrides Guided Weapon Range off the west coast of Scotland, the Navy announced. The test was carried out as part of a cooperative engagement with the Royal Netherlands Navy, which used its advanced combat system suite to warn the maritime task group of a threat, allowing the Ignatius to fire missiles and negate it, officials said. US B-52H Stratofortress aircraft flew over all 30 NATO allied nations in North America and Europe Monday. B-52s currently deployed to Morón Air Base, Spain, and US-based aircraft planned to f…

We've been doing "Diversity Thursday" on a regular basis since 2008 or so. Not my favorite topic, not a popular topic among some segments ... but we persist. We covered the military's drift towards racial essentialism earlier, but the "Diversity Thursday" segment really only became a regular thing about 15-yrs ago. We tried to warn everyone ... and here we find ourselves in the thick of it ... but now we are getting real and substantial advocates kicking back against the diversity cadre including out in the open in the Senate and House of Representatives and in the larger culture. You love to see it. One thing the left has always been better at than most is organizing. T…

The U.S. Army has deployed its new Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) system to South Korea, the first time the advanced air defense platform has been stationed outside the United States, Korea Bizwire reported. According to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George visited the 35th Air […] The post U.S. deploys new IFPC missile defense system to South Korea first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $24.7 million contract modification, which exercises options to provide in service and technical support in support of E-2C/D aircraft common and unique requirements for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will take place in Florida, Japan, Ohio and various locations within the continental US. Expected completion will be in April 2023. HMLA-367 was deactivated at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii on April 22. All 27 AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters will be relocated to California and the squadron will be reactivated by end of the year at MCAS Camp Pendleton. Middle East & Africa According to Jane’s, the Iranian military displayed a previou…

Poland has revealed the concept model of its new long-range cruise missile, known as Lanca, during the MSPO 2025 defense exhibition. The unveiling comes as Warsaw seeks to develop indigenous strike capabilities in response to instability along its borders. Journalist Mariusz Marszałkowski published photographs of the missile model on social media, highlighting its external resemblance […] The post Poland develops Tomahawk-style cruise missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

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…

A pivot of history around a man. For over two decades the American military occupied a foreign country on the other side of the planet, supporting an oppressive local government that was mostly known for its anti-democratic habits and corruption. Over the two decades of occupation, thousands of Americans and her allies who also contributed forces died in order to keep a clear threat to global peace contained. During the previous presidential election in the USA, the candidate who won made repeated statements that he planned to withdraw all American forces from that country. Two decades were long enough, and he was insistent that he was a man of his word. The new president…

Don't think this is just a problem with the US Air Force Academy. No, all our services academies are worm-ridden with the worst ideas infesting academia from the "diversity" cult. You need to read the full thing, but to give you a taste of what is going on, I do have three slides for you to review; So, in the USAF you are a bad person if you are "colorblind" or state "I don't see color." Even worse, you are not allowed to think that "we're all just people." To draw that out, it appears that the USAF wants everyone to judge people by the color of their skin first of all. If that isn't racist and retrograde, I'm not sure what is. Callsigns and nicknames are bad too, it ap…

I may have to add Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) to my list of navalist leaders of merit on The Hill. My first reaction was to be mad that I had not made this point first ... but I will gladly enjoy this exceptionally important point being made by a Senator to the CNO in such a public manner; Via Caitlin Kenney at Defense News; “I think this committee wants to make sure we're providing our warfighters with the necessary funding to ensure that the equipment they're using is adequately maintained. It's pretty basic,” Tester told Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations; and Gen. David Berger, Marine Corps commandant. “That means getting the necessary spare parts and safety equi…

This D-day anniversary I want to bring out a FbF I've run a few times over the years as it points out one of the hidden parts of the campaign that I want new readers to have a chance to read about. Most attention, rightfully, is paid to the beach and the move inland, but to enable that success, a lot of work was done at sea to keep the beach and seas open ... As the D-Day invasion was ongoing, the German Navy sortied what they could to try to drive the allies back across the channel. The most feared were the U-boats based in France. Please read the whole thing, but here is a nice summary of one of the under-told stories of WWII, Coastal Command. On night. One crew. Two…

When you discover that you need to become a sea power in order to secure your nation and its people ... it can't happen over night. In 1520, the Danish king Kristian II mobilized his fleet and seized Stockholm, thus strengthening his position and control of commerce. In order to oust the Danes and decrease their dominance in the Baltic Sea, Sweden needed a fleet. King Gustav Vasa purchased ten ships equipped with weaponry and arms from Lübeck and they were delivered on 7 June 1522 at Slätbaken, close to Söderköping, and since then, this day has been recorded as the birth of the Swedish Navy. ...sometimes it takes two years and you have to outsource it ... but ever since …

Americas Collins Aerospace won a $48.4 million contract, which provides developmental design and risk reduction engineering efforts for airborne very low frequency systems modernization in support of Airborne Strategic Command, Control, and Communications Program Office program capability requirements. The risk reduction effort is to meet requirements for the very low frequency integration into a C-130 aircraft. Specifically, this contract provides non-recurring engineering effort to address size, weight, and power cooling in the components, systems, subsystems, or weapons replaceable assembly, model based systems engineering development, weight reduction analysis, cyber …

Before you watch the below clip, light a candle for poor Admiral Christopher Grady, USN. Here he is, a very serious man up for a very serious job, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – and yet here is a Senator who decides to invest her time with the Admiral – headed to the #2 position in our military as we face the greatest military challenge since the fall of the Soviet Union three decades ago, and … well … BEHOLD! "The role of a gender adviser is a way to attack a very significant issue, and ... I look forward to leveraging those advisers who can make me think better and smarter about the issues," Grady said when asked how he intends to implement "women, peac…

The Russian Navy HQ in Crimea had a Sunday visitor, China continues to be prickly about its neighbor's guest list, the Navy gets a new oiler (yes, that is sexy), Sal wrote a couple of things that got people's attention, and we are just a couple of months away until winter hits the slogfest in Ukraine. Of course, that is just for starters because in a Midrats Free-For-All, you never know where the conversation will take us - and if you don't like where we're going, you can nudge us your way because the chat room and phones will be open when we are LIVE Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. Join us live if you can, but it not, you can get the show later by subscribing to the podcast. …

A little over a decade ago, we lost the last half of one of the great teams of WWII; a local boy and father of USAF Special Operations. If what they did took place in Europe, they would have had a movie made out of it. As it took place in the Burma theater - well - at least we can cover it here. John R. Alison, a World War II fighter pilot who helped lead a daring and unprecedented Allied air invasion of Burma, has died, a son said Wednesday. The retired Air Force major general and former Northrop Corp. executive died of natural causes Monday at his home in Washington, John R. Alison III said. Alison's wartime achievements included seven victories, six in the air, qua…

Americas Bell Textron won a $228.2 million deal by the US Navy, which provides the H-1 Light/Attack helicopter with new and modified capabilities through System Configuration Sets, which is a combination of software and/or hardware configuration item changes integrated into a previously deployed baseline configuration. These efforts include work on the airframe, aircraft wiring interface terminals, flight controls, and weapon systems interfaces, as well as research alternatives, investigation, and documentation of new capabilities and anomalies related to flight controls, wiring harnesses, and weapons, and developing, integrating, verifying, validating, and testing these …