Raw Intel

In the second half of the last Midrats Podcast, Mark and I discussed the recently released Maritime Action Plan. I still don’t understand why we release such documents on a Friday before a three-day weekend, but whoever makes that call should be left with the next bar tab. To their great credit however, the April 2025 Executive Order demanded a deliverable, and they got it done on time. If you are looking for a naval strategy or other “this type of system doing that” report, you won’t find it here, and nor should you. This is signed by Marco Rubio as National Security Advisor and Russ Vought as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. It is best seen as an eco…

Ukraine’s Air Force on Tuesday rejected media reports claiming that a secret multinational F-16 fighter squadron composed of Ukrainian, American, and Dutch pilots had been established to defend Kyiv’s airspace, calling the information inaccurate and unsupported by evidence. The denial followed a report published by French outlet Intelligence Online, which alleged that a covert unit […]View the full article

Denmark’s Air Force on Monday formally established Squadron 729 to operate newly acquired MQ-9B long-range remotely piloted aircraft, marking a step in expanding surveillance capabilities across the Arctic, North Atlantic, and Baltic regions. The new unit will be based at Aalborg Air Base under the Air Transport Wing, according to an announcement from the Danish […]View the full article

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has purchased a Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft at its own expense to support the U.S. Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program, marking a new step in the development of next-generation aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the company announced. The acquisition, completed at the close of 2025, provides […]View the full article

L3Harris Technologies has received a contract valued at nearly $400 million to produce additional propulsion components for the U.S. military’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, reinforcing production of one of the nation’s primary ballistic missile defense capabilities. The award covers the manufacture of solid rocket boost motors and Liquid Divert and Attitude Control […]View the full article

The Bangladesh Army has received a new batch of Chinese-made VT-5 light tanks, expanding its fleet after previously fielding one regiment equipped with 44 vehicles, according to reports from Bangladeshi media and regional defense observers. The delivery represents the latest confirmed reinforcement of Bangladesh’s armored forces and follows earlier sightings of VT-5 tanks photographed during […]View the full article

Israel’s defense company Elbit Systems reported record global demand in 2025 for its Laser Target Designator (LTD) systems across both land and airborne military platforms, reflecting growing reliance on precision targeting and networked battlefield operations, according to company statements and The Jerusalem Post. The company said its LTD portfolio, compliant with NATO laser-coding standards, is […]View the full article

United States Army soldiers conducted training with the TRV-150 unmanned aerial vehicle during an exercise at Fort Stewart, Georgia, on Feb. 12, 2026, marking the service’s evaluation of a heavy logistics drone already introduced within U.S. Marine Corps units. According to U.S. Army information released alongside the exercise, a TRV-150 drone operated by soldiers from […]View the full article

Dutch State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman said the Netherlands could theoretically “jailbreak” the software of its F-35 fighter jets if U.S. support were halted, according to remarks made Feb. 15 during an interview with BNR Nieuwsradio and highlighted by Clash Report. Tuinman made the comment while discussing European dependence on U.S.-managed systems tied to […]View the full article

Those who follow me on X know that every couple of months I remind everyone that we are gleefully training those whose life’s work is to defeat this nation. If you have been to a major top-shelf university or research institution’s graduation ceremony in the last two decades, one thing that dramatically stands out is how many People’s Republic of China (PRC) nationals are receiving not just undergraduate degrees, but master’s degrees and PhDs in the most highly skilled STEM fields from biostatistics to quantum physics. From aerospace engineering to industrial design—PRC nationals are overrepresented to an outlandish degree. Don’t forget, these are the places basic researc…

Rheinmetall Chief Executive Officer Armin Papperger said insufficient funding is currently limiting the volume of military aid that could be delivered to Ukraine, stating that additional weapons systems are available if financing is secured, according to remarks made in an interview with the Berlin-based media platform Table Media published Feb. 16. Speaking during the Table.Today […]View the full article

The United States Air Force has released details of a $145 million contract action to develop and integrate an Air-to-Air Dual Mode weapon based on the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) designed to counter large groups of unmanned aerial systems, according to an official Justification and Approval document published February 13, 2026. The approval […]View the full article

A top-secret United States government body called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a special notice outlining new research priorities for its forthcoming Fleetwood program, an initiative aimed at developing advanced catalytic technologies to convert biomass waste into carbon-based chemicals for resilient global manufacturing supply chains. The notice, published February 13, 2026, […]View the full article

Need a moment to recover from Valentine’s Day? Of course you do! This Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern, the Midrats Podcast goes LIVE with our ever popular Free-for-All format. We have our topics, but you can join in during the show chat and offer up your own If you read this after the show, just refresh the Substack page Sunday night to find the uploaded podcast You can join the show at this link. Leave a comment Share This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article

The United States Air Force is confronting growing scrutiny over the cost structure of the T-7A Red Hawk trainer aircraft program as it approaches the Milestone C decision phase, a key acquisition step that will determine whether the aircraft moves into full-rate production. The review comes amid continued schedule delays and ongoing efforts to stabilize […]View the full article

The United Kingdom has made “significant progress” in exploring export opportunities tied to the Challenger 3 main battle tank program, a British defense minister confirmed in a written parliamentary response reported Sunday by UK Defence Journal. Defence Minister Luke Pollard disclosed the update in an official reply to Conservative Member of Parliament Ben Obese-Jecty, stating […]View the full article

The United States Department of War and the Department of Energy transported a next-generation nuclear reactor aboard a C-17 military aircraft on Feb. 15, 2026, from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah for testing under a federal nuclear modernization initiative. The compact reactor, developed by Valar Atomics, is […]View the full article

Russia’s Taganrog Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex named after Beriev (TANTK Beriev) reported a net loss of more than 5 billion rubles, or approximately $65 million, in 2025, according to financial statements published on Interfax. The results represent a sharp reversal from 2024, when the company posted a profit of 1.19 billion rubles (about $15.4 million). Financial […]View the full article

A Russian missile strike destroyed a production line for Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Feb. 14 during a briefing on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Zelenskyy said the attack targeted a major manufacturing facility connected to the domestically developed long-range missile program, temporarily disrupting production at a time when […]View the full article

Lockheed Martin successfully conducted a 112-kilometer flight test of its Extended-Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS) at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the company announced. The test marked the first time an M270A2 launcher fired the Alternative Warhead (AW) configuration of the ER GMLRS rocket, validating launcher integration, precision performance, and lethality. […]View the full article