Raw Intel

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $51.8 million deal, which provides for program management support to include development of customer unique capabilities in support of the continued development of the air system for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program for a Foreign Military Sales customer. Work will take place in Texas, California and Florida. Estimated completion date will be in January 2024. The US Air Force has carried out wind tunnel testing of directed energy system turret earlier this year. “There is a growing interest for directed energy systems within the DOD for many purposes, especially defending our systems and personnel,” said Dr. Rich Roberts, c…

Allow me a little self indulgence (again) this Friday. USNI triggered me this AM: #OTD in 1918, British Grand Fleet flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth celebrated Armistice Day by signaling to "Splice the mainbrace. Negative 6th B.S." The order meant that all sailors could have a drink except the Americans of the 6th Battle Squadron because U.S Navy ships were dry. pic.twitter.com/CglUoGvD6Y — U.S. Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) November 11, 2021It made me grin a bit because my paternal grandfather was a Sailor on the USS ARKANSAS (BB-33) with the 6th Battle Squadron that day. The Germans never made their last thunder run in 1918 as that horrible and useless war ground to a h…

Just take a moment to consider the mass of senior leadership present inside a commute distance of DC. The amount of money they have access to. The amount of direct control they can exert through official levers of power and simply a phone call. Look how they live. Now ponder how our most junior sailors have been treated. Come on over to USNIBlog with me to be scandalized afresh. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=mKOOFIr89Dc:6ckDxnJrPHI:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=mKOOFIr89Dc:6ckDxnJrPHI:-BTjWOF_DHI http://f…

While there is a lot more fighting left to be done in Ukraine, there is one safe assumption regardless of what happens; we will have to learn to live with Russia as she is. Russian victory in Ukraine runs the spectrum from unconditional surrender of Ukraine to a negotiated settlement that lets Russia retain Crimea and the Donbas. One may define a Ukrainian victory on an extreme edge with Russia retaining only Crimea over to being expelled entirely back to pre-2014 boundaries. The longer the war goes on, the less the Ukrainians will find the Crimea option acceptable, and we may already be past that point. If you think the war will be the end of the Russian desires in her …

So, what did you wake up to? President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, warning the West he was not bluffing when he said he'd be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. In the biggest escalation of the Ukraine war since Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion, Putin explicitly raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict, approved a plan to annex a chunk of Ukraine the size of Hungary, and called up 300,000 reservists.This should not be a shock to anyone. If it is, perhaps you should consider investing your time in cat-blogging. It should bring to the front that NATO can no longer all…

Americas The US Air Force (USAF) has chosen Electra Aero for a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) award, securing up to $85 million in investment funding. This award will go towards the rapid development of a full-scale pre-production prototype of Electra’s electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft. The eSTOL aircraft represents a new class of […]View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $29.2 million modification for maintenance, additional tooling and equipment for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Lot 19/20. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $1,090,980,036. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by January 31, 2026. Boeing is taking […]View the full article

Dassault Rafale (click for cutaway view) Will Dassault’s fighter become a fashionably late fighter platform that builds on its parent company’s past successes – or just “the late Rafale”? It all began as a 1985 break-away from the multinational consortium that went on to create EADS’ Eurofighter. The French needed a lighter aircraft that was […]View the full article

Americas Northrup Grumman won a $24.7 million modification, which adds scope to provide non-recurring engineering risk reduction efforts to support the delivery schedule of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for the government of Japan. Work will be performed is expected to be completed November 2024. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Boeing has delivered the first production MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter to the US Air Force. This aircraft, part of a 13-helicopter initial order, will be stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The new helicopter is part of a Low Rate Initial Production order awarded to Boeing in 2023…

Americas Top Aces has introduced an innovative AI-driven “constructive wingman” designed to enhance adversarial air combat training. Developed in collaboration with EpiSci, Coherent Technical Services Inc. (CTSi), and Seger Aviation LLC, this technology mimics the flight patterns and maneuvers of advanced enemy aircraft for realistic pilot training. The AI-powered wingman is integrated into Top Aces’ F-16 Advanced Aggressor Fighters (AAF) via the Advanced Aggressor Mission System (AAMS). Using a Hands-On Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) interface, pilots can control formations and tactics in real-time, simulating complex Beyond Visual Range (BVR) scenarios. The system also incr…

Canadian defense manufacturer GSCI Advanced Photonics is gaining attention from military and law enforcement users for its electro-optical systems that emphasize precision, ruggedness, and modular integration. Known formally as General Starlight Company Inc. and based in Vaughan, Ontario, GSCI’s product line is increasingly used in operational environments where reliability under pressure is non-negotiable. At the […] The post Canadian tactical gear gains combat credibility first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

At the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition, Swedish fiber optics manufacturer Micropol introduced a new field-deployable solution designed to accelerate and simplify the testing of tactical fiber networks. The product, called OptiScan, is engineered specifically for rugged military and defense environments where communication uptime is critical. According to the company, OptiScan enables “fast […] The post Micropol debuts OptiScan for fast fiber testing first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Hacker group Black Mirror has released a new cache of intercepted internal documents allegedly tied to Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec, including never-before-seen photographs of the assembly and testing process for the 1RL257 Krasukha-4 electronic warfare system. The materials appear to be part of a formal production report created for a foreign customer—possibly Serbia—and provide […] The post Leak reveals production photos of Russia’s secret EW system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russian military propagandists and lawmakers are calling for Moscow to supply Venezuela with large numbers of attack drones. The proposal appeared in Rybar, one of Russia’s largest and most influential pro-military outlets, which urged the transfer of “a mass of Russian FPV drones with equipment” to strengthen Venezuela’s defense and repel “a potential strike.” Rybar’s […]View the full article

Electra announced on December 3 the creation of “Electra Defense,” a new business unit aimed at advancing the company’s work with the U.S. military through the development of the EL9, a hybrid-electric aircraft with ultra-short takeoff and landing (ultra-STOL) capabilities. The EL9 is a nine-passenger fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate from spaces as short as […]View the full article

China said it is “deeply shocked” and “strongly condemns” what it described as the United States’ use of force against Venezuela and actions taken against the country’s president, according to an official statement released Saturday. In the statement, China said it “deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S.’s blatant use of force against a […]View the full article

U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing has confirmed it is no longer pursuing the F-15 fighter jet program for Indonesia, effectively ending a high-profile procurement effort that had been central to Jakarta’s military modernization plans. The decision was disclosed on February 3 during the Singapore Airshow, according to comments made by a senior Boeing defense executive. Speaking […]View the full article

Iran carried out a large-scale missile and drone attack across multiple Gulf countries and Israel on February 28, following the reported elimination of senior Iranian political and military leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strikes targeted the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Israeli territory, marking one of […]View the full article

Japan’s Ministry of Defense said on March 28 that the Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter aircraft after a Chinese military patrol aircraft flew over the East China Sea. The ministry said one aircraft was detected flying southwest of Okinawa and that Air Self-Defense Force fighters were urgently scrambled in response. The flight path, released in […]View the full article

Sion Power has introduced two lithium-metal battery cells built for unmanned military systems, aiming to extend flight time and increase payload capacity for drones used across modern operations. The new products, called Licerion Strike and Licerion Echo, deliver energy density exceeding 500 watt-hours per kilogram, a level that goes beyond current lithium-ion technology. The company […]View the full article