Raw Intel

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier has been confirmed operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, after open-source flight tracking data exposed its position days before an official acknowledgment. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Thursday that USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) was sailing in the Indian Ocean within its area of responsibility as […]View the full article

Ukraine has cleared its first domestically developed guided aerial bomb for combat use, with Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announcing that the weapon has completed all required testing and an initial experimental batch has already been procured by the Ministry of Defense, with pilots currently training on combat scenarios using the new munition. The bomb was […]View the full article

Britain’s Defence Secretary has resigned, accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of delivering a defence spending settlement so inadequate that staying in the job would force him to reduce military readiness and put personnel at risk. John Healey, the Rt Hon Member of Parliament who served as Defence Secretary under Starmer’s Labour government, submitted his resignation […]View the full article

An uncrewed patrol boat just fell out of an airplane at 1,300 feet and splashed down ready to go to work, and the company behind it says nobody has ever pulled that off before. Kraken Technology Group and Capewell announced on July 8 that they completed the world’s first extracted-load airdrop of an uncrewed surface […]View the full article

Ukraine’s homemade ballistic missile is close enough to its first flight that its own maker won’t say when, in an exclusive interview with The War Zone, Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh revealed the company is now casting the engine for its FP-9 ballistic missile, a weapon designed to reach Moscow, and expects a test launch […]View the full article

The U.S. Navy is running open-ended combat deployments in the Middle East without access to most of its regional supply bases, forcing ships to resupply at sea roughly every five to six days rather than pulling into port, The New York Times reported. Iran struck the Navy’s logistics hub in Bahrain on February 28, the […]View the full article

Americas Mnemonics Inc. won a $10 million contract to procure as-needed engineering support services in support of the Radio Frequency Blanking Unit (RFBU) and Electronic Attack Unit (EAU) components of the Advanced Electronic Attack (AEA) system of the EA-18G Growler aircraft. The services under this contract are engineering support services, logistics management information and fleet support team efforts for the RFBU and EAU variants and derivative systems. Technical instructions will be issued in accordance with the statement of work for this contract to support the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane EA-18G EAU Organic Depot. Mnemonics, Inc. supplies electronic product…

Americas Raytheon won a $243.2 million contract modification for one AN/TPY-2 Radar (Radar #13) to support Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Battery #8. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $1,244,567,329 from $1,002,297,329. The THAAD missile system is an easily transportable defensive weapon system to protect against hostile incoming threats, such as tactical and theatre ballistic missiles, at ranges of 200km and altitudes of up to 150km. Work will take place in Massachusetts. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2024. The future USS Mobile, the US Navy’s next Independence-class littoral combat ship, will be commissi…

Americas Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) UX-24 Unmanned Test Squadron, teamed up with Military Sealift Command and the crew of MSC’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188) to test a new concept in material transportation, while the ship was underway in the Atlantic Ocean, July 15-16. The Blue Water logistics Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) carried out three test flights by transporting an internal cargo consisting of simulated repair parts. AeroVironment, Inc. introduced standardized modular payload interface kits for RQ-20B Puma tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) recently. The Modular Payload Standard was established by US Sp…

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…

Americas Lockheed Martin Aeronautics won an $115.4 million deal, which provides diminishing manufacturing sources parts for F-35 Lightning II program for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-US Department of Defense participants, and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will take place in Texas. Expected completion will be in September 2023. Just recently, the US Navy, in collaboration with Raytheon, carried out two StormBreaker smart weapon-guided test vehicle releases from an F-35B Lightning II at .9 Mach, bringing the F-35 one step closer to receiving a major weapons upgrade. Huntington-Ingalls Industries won a $23.6 million modification for the procurement of mat…

Thinking of the American military's readiness for the next large war, there is rightfully a lot of concern that after a couple of decades of imperial policing wars in Central and Southwest Asia, that not only are we ill-equipped for a major peer conflict ashore, but that we've forgotten much of what is considered fundamental aspects of significant force-on-force combat. The Russo-Ukrainian War has offered some good reminders, from the utility of armor, artillery, and logistics that clever peace time theorists were wishing away, but on the land side of the equation, what are some other critical capabilities that we have had the luxury of generations to forget about? Over a…

Americas Pratt and Whitney Military Engines a $2 million deal, which exercises options to procure materials, parts, and components for Lot 17 of the F135 Propulsion system for F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft as well as global spares requirements to include spare engines, power modules, and other hardware in support of the Air […]View the full article

Americas X-Bow Systems announced that it has completed the preliminary design review of its solid fuel hypersonic booster rocket engine. The New Mexico-based defense tech company reported that completion of this phase marks the second major technical review for the program, demonstrating design maturity and reduced risk for critical technologies. X-Bow is on track for the next major review of its hypersonic rocket motor, the critical design review, which typically indicates the end of architecture and system design. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has successfully deployed a new training capability known as ‘Simulators at Sea’ aboard the USS Abraha…

Americas The US Navy has approved a $590 million contract modification with Bell Boeing to produce and deliver five CMV-22B Osprey aircraft. These tiltrotor planes, designed for delivering personnel, mail, and cargo to aircraft carriers, will replace the older C-2A Greyhound. Work will take place at various locations in the US and is expected to finish by January 2028. An initial $132.1 million from the Navy’s 2024 budget has been allocated for this project. Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $141 million contract modification to supply Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) production spares to several U.S. allies through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Japan will cover 57% of…

The U.S. Navy has officially named its next-generation TACAMO aircraft, designating the E-130J as the Phoenix II. The announcement came from the Navy’s Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) and Strategic Communications Wing 1 (SCW-1). TACAMO—short for “Take Charge and Move Out”—is a central element of the nation’s nuclear deterrence posture. Its […] The post U.S. Navy reveals name for future ‘Doomsday plane’ first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has announced the successful completion of offshore firing trials using an electromagnetic railgun. The announcement was made via ATLA’s official X account on September 10. According to the statement, the tests were conducted from June through early July aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s test vessel Asuka. ATLA confirmed […] The post Japan successfully tests ship-based railgun first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Taiwan will construct a dome-like air defense network to strengthen its protection against “hostile threats,” President William Lai announced Friday, describing the system as a national security priority amid rising military pressure from China. Lai, speaking during Taiwan’s National Day, stopped short of naming China directly. But the statement came just one day after Taipei’s […] The post Taiwan announces “T-Dome” defense shield first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they shot down a Sudanese Air Force Il-76 Candid transport aircraft near the town of Babanusa on November 4, claiming that all personnel aboard were killed. The group published the claim during ongoing fighting against Sudan’s military, which continues more than a year into the country’s internal conflict. Footage […]View the full article

Hanwha Aerospace has become the first South Korean defense company to officially own its own weapons systems, following a landmark change in national arms export regulations. According to a statement from the company, Hanwha held a rollout ceremony for a K9A1 self-propelled howitzer at its Changwon Plant 3 facility on December 2, intended for research, […]View the full article