Raw Intel

Denis Shtilerman, chief designer at Ukrainian strike drone and missile developer Fire Point, has confirmed the company is developing an air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) based on its FP-9 platform, adding a new long-range strike capability to a portfolio that already includes some of Ukraine’s most advanced domestically produced weapons. Shtilerman disclosed the program during a […]View the full article

A United States Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion helicopter assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One lifted a Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement during a heavy lift training exercise at Auxiliary Airfield II in Yuma, Arizona, on March 31, as part of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 2-26. The exercise is one element […]View the full article

Soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard’s 278th Cavalry Regiment became the first licensed operators of the Infantry Squad Vehicle within their state last week, completing a new equipment training course hosted by the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell from March 31 through April 2. The training marks a concrete step in the 278th’s conversion […]View the full article

United States special operations forces rescued a wounded American colonel from deep inside Iranian territory in the early hours of Sunday, April 5, completing one of the most complex and costly combat search-and-rescue operations in modern American military history. The officer, the weapons system officer aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by Iranian forces […]View the full article

An Iranian ballistic missile strike late Thursday heavily damaged the production facility of Israeli drone manufacturer Aero-Sentinel, hitting just meters from the company’s site in Petach Tikva and disrupting part of its manufacturing operations. In comments shared with Defence Blog, the company said the site was struck by an Iranian missile but stressed that the […]View the full article

The French Army’s 54th Artillery Regiment has begun tactical trials of interceptor drones built to take down hostile unmanned aircraft, as the service moves to strengthen its defenses against threats similar to the Shahed and Lancet systems seen in Ukraine. The evaluation has been running for several months under a tasking from the Commandement du […]View the full article

American defense startup XDOWN has introduced a new compact drone aimed at frontline troops, positioning the STUD as a low-cost, rapidly deployable unmanned system built for multiple battlefield roles. Founder and chief executive Alexander Balan unveiled the platform alongside newly released images and footage showing a prototype in testing. In a statement posted with the […]View the full article

The United States Army has accepted its first delivery of the XM8 carbine from SIG Sauer. The first delivery, announced on Friday, includes the carbines along with accessories, spare parts, and contractor support, marking the first production handoff of the new carbine variant. The XM8 is a shorter and lighter version of the M7 rifle, […]View the full article

The United States Air Force is looking for industry solutions for a portable passive acoustic sensor that can help troops detect small drones and other nearby threats during both mounted and dismounted operations, according to a request for information released on April 3. The notice was issued by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s […]View the full article

The Pentagon has awarded more than $2.35 billion in contracts for jet fuel and naval fuel distillates to 12 U.S.-based suppliers. The awards issued by the Defense Logistics Agency Energy were announced on April 3, with the contracts formally awarded on April 1. The package covers multiple types of aviation and marine fuels and runs […]View the full article

Wreckage found near the city of Saveh in central Iran does not belong to a downed U.S. Air Force F-16, despite claims aired by Iranian television. The debris appears to be from an Iranian liquid-fueled ballistic missile, likely a Ghadr or Emad, that crashed after a malfunction. Images from the site show a large cylindrical […]View the full article

A United States Army CH-47F Chinook transport helicopter was heavily damaged in what appears to have been an Iranian one-way drone strike at Camp Buehring in Kuwait in recent days. Photos from the Camp show the helicopter’s cockpit area torn apart, with visible destruction to the forward rotor assembly and front blades. The extent of […]View the full article

Russian forces dropped nearly 8,000 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine in March, Ukrainian defense officials said. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian troops used 7,987 guided aerial bombs, known as KABs, during the month. The total was more than 1,500 higher than in February, which had previously been the highest […]View the full article

A second United States Air Force combat aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf region on Friday as rescue teams continued searching for a missing crew member from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle, according to two U.S. officials cited by The New York Times. The second aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, went down near the Strait […]View the full article

The United States Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $1.27 billion contract modification for continued engineering and design support for the Virginia-class submarine program, adding to a recent string of major investments across the service’s undersea fleet. The award, issued by Naval Sea Systems Command, covers lead yard support, development studies, and design […]View the full article

The United States Navy has awarded Boeing a $12 million contract tied to the MQ-25A Stingray, extending work on one of the Navy’s most closely watched drone programs. The order, valued at $12,074,613, was awarded to Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri, under an existing basic ordering agreement. Rather than covering new aircraft production, the contract […]View the full article

Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on Friday dismissed President Donald Trump’s threat to withdraw the United States from NATO, calling the rhetoric political showmanship. In comments carried by Russian media, Medvedev said he did not believe Washington would actually leave the alliance, arguing that neither the political system nor Congress would […]View the full article

I grew up with the Apollo Program and some of my earliest memories were watching astronauts during the lunar landings. You could see the Saturn V launches from my backyard. Just as I was getting old enough to really enjoy it, it all stopped. The 1970s. The worst people for the worst reasons killed the space program as it became part of the national malaise of the 1970s, the core of which was defined by the period from the last person on the moon in 1972 through the fall of Saigon three years later, and bookended by the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-80. For those who received the promise of 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey as to what the future in space would be never fulfil…

A Russian Su-30 fighter jet crashed in Crimea at around 11:00 a.m. Moscow time during a scheduled training flight, with both crew members ejecting safely and later being recovered by a ground search-and-rescue team, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. The ministry said the aircraft was flying without ammunition. “Today, at about 11:00 Moscow time, in […]View the full article

The United States Air Force appears to have launched a combat search-and-rescue mission over Iran after the crew of a U.S. F-15 reportedly ejected following a crash. Current reporting indicates that two crew members successfully ejected, but their exact location had not been determined at the time of publication. That uncertainty appears to have triggered […]View the full article