Raw Intel

A Chinese Navy submarine fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, and Tokyo says it “strongly urged” Beijing to call off the test beforehand, the Japan Times reported. The launch, carried out with a mock warhead rather than a live one, hit its intended impact zone according to China’s state-run Xinhua […]View the full article

The inevitable started last week. The U.S. Navy has begun retiring its first of four Ohio class guided missile submarines, with the USS Georgia scheduled to be officially inactivated on July 31 following its return to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. The retirement marks the beginning of the end for the world’s most heavily armed tactical submarines, which were designed to carry 154 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. Their withdrawal from service is particularly notable due to a lack of a similarly heavily armed replacement for the vessels. Originally commissioned in 1984 as ballistic missile submarines to carry strategic nuclear weapons, the four ships were converted i…

The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Missions Systems a $194.1 million contract modification for engineering support work on the Nuclear-Armed, Sea-Launched Cruise Missile program, according to a Department of War contract announcement. The cost-plus-fixed-fee modification adds to a previously awarded unpriced letter contract and covers technical and engineering support for the missile’s Fire Control […]View the full article

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Japan’s yet-unnamed cruiser, the ASEV. I put my thoughts down about it 18 months ago. You can click here to review if you wish. Like I said to more than one person, “So, the Japanese are going to get the CG(X) we should have already in the fleet?” Well, now the Italians are making me green with envy too. Europe’s Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has issued a €3.7 billion ($4.2 billion) contract for the production of two Italian Navy DDX destroyers to the Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) joint venture, made up of local firms Fincantieri and Leonardo. “The DDX programme is set to redefine the Italian Navy’s capability…

Latvian company NATRIX, already a supplier of ground drones to Latvia’s armed forces, showed its battle-tested unmanned ground vehicle to Finnish military and security officials on Oct. 8, driving it through forest terrain and hauling cargo at an unmanned ground systems demonstration in Mikkeli, Finland. The event was organized by Millog, the Finnish defense maintenance […]View the full article

Americas Northrop Grumman Aerospace won a $53.7 million deal for the RQ-4B Global Hawk. The contract provides for repair services for “common items” for both the RQ-4 GH and MQ-4C Triton. It will support reparable national stock numbers (NSNs) which encompass the air vehicle, multiple sensor packages, mission control element and launch and recovery element. In addition, this effort includes support engineering services covered under the Engineering Delegation Authority (namely Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages projects) for NSNs transferred to and under the management of the 407th Supply Chain Management Squadron. Northrop Grumman successfully com…

COVID-19 gifted the USA a window that, if we are smart, we will take advantage of. I think this may even understate the advantage we have and need to leverage. As I will cover tomorrow at my post at USNIBlog, China is making inroads in our traditional areas of influence at weak points, we need to work just as hard. h/t ISEAS. 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=PMdf6sbEJL8:3AZx5H0MNQk:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=PMdf6sbEJL8:3AZx5H0MNQk:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=PMdf6sbEJ…

Americas General Dynamics won an $18.8 million contract modification for lead yard support and development studies and design efforts related to Virginia-class submarines.The Virginia-class attack submarine is an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral, or shallow water, operations. Work will take place in Arizona, California and Pennsylvania. Expected completion will be by November 2024. Lockheed Martin announced it has terminated its agreement to acquire rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. for $4.4 billion. The decision to terminate the agreement follows the US Federal Trade Commission…

Americas The Canadian military will be confronted with significant challenges when it begins operating its upcoming MQ-9B Reaper drones in the Arctic. Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) documents seen by Ottawa Citizen suggest that the icy, -30 Celsius weather in the country’s far north will be a serious test for the Reaper’s ability to conduct its missions. The drones will also have to operate from remote runways in the region where satellite coverage is limited. Lockheed Martin won a $19 million cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract modification for SemaFor Prototype System. Work will be performed at Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by October 11,…

Indulge me a bit to bring back one of my first FbF from 2006 about one of my favorite ships....and it is German. The Graf Spee. She had a short but glorious history, an epic wartime cruise, and fought a classic battle against an enemy as honorable as she was, and to this day she calls people to her grave. She still calls to some; well at least me. Look again at her stats. Range: 8,900 nautical miles at 20 knots (16,500 km at 37 km/h), or 19,000 nautical miles at 10 knots (35,000 km at 18.5 km/h). Plant: Eight 9-cylinder double-acting two-stroke MAN diesels two screws, 52,050 hp (40 MW). Guns: Six 11 inch (280 mm) guns in two triple turrets, eight 5.9 inch (150 mm) …

Turkish defense giant ASELSAN unveiled its newest mobile short-range air defense system, the KORKUT 100/25 SB, at the DSEI 2025 defense exhibition in London. According to ASELSAN, the KORKUT 100/25 SB is engineered to neutralize the growing challenge posed by mini and micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including drone swarms. The system is armed with […] The post ASELSAN rolls out anti-drone vehicle at DSEI first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

China’s Ministry of National Defense announced that the Chinese and Saudi Arabian navies will conduct a joint naval exercise, “Blue Sword-2025,” in Saudi Arabia later this month. At a press briefing on Oct. 10, Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, Deputy Director of the Information Bureau of China’s Ministry of National Defense and ministry spokesperson, said the […] The post China, Saudi Arabia to hold joint naval drills first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Japan’s Ministry of Defense says a Chinese Dongdiao-class electronic intelligence ship transited the Miyako Strait into the Pacific on November 4, prompting a monitoring response from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has led the ministry since October 2025, confirmed the movement and the nationwide surveillance posture in place as Chinese […]View the full article

Ukraine’s intelligence service has carried out another attack against Russian military aviation in occupied Crimea, targeting a MiG‑29 fighter jet and a radar installation during an overnight operation. According to the Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi, an armed Ukrainian drone struck a MiG‑29 stationed at the Kacha airfield near Sevastopol. The operation was conducted by the […]View the full article

If you didn’t get a chance to listen to Sunday’s Midrats Podcast with Mark and me, give it a listen to hear a broader discussion with some additional detail thrown in. Today is going to be a bit different. We are still just ~72-hours from the events, so there is an order of magnitude more of what we don’t know than we do, but some items are breaking out from the fog. On yesterday’s podcast, I briefly mentioned a framework for discussion that I think is helpful to flesh out here—an addendum to my comments on the podcast, so to speak. As we stand here the Monday after the events of Friday night/Saturday morning, what are some clear items of consideration at the Tactical, Op…

The United States Army has awarded Textron Systems Corporation a prototype agreement for the Low Altitude Stalking & Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program, the company announced last week. The agreement supports the Army’s effort to provide Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) with an organic precision strike capability designed to engage armored vehicles, hardened targets, and concealed […]View the full article

Honeywell International has received a $45 million contract modification to advance modernization of the powerplant used in the M1 Abrams family of main battle tanks, according to a March 30 contract announcement. Honeywell was awarded a $45,033,279 modification for Program Seven Year Engineering Work Directives, including the development and qualification of the J8 digital electronic […]View the full article

BAE Systems just picked up another slice of one of the most sensitive defense programs in existence. The Rockville, Maryland-based contractor has been awarded a $45.5 million contract modification — the 51st modification to an existing contract — to continue providing engineering and technical support for the U.S. Trident II D5 Strategic Weapon Systems Program, […]View the full article

I wanted to start this week out with a hearty Bravo Zulu to the Ford Carrier Strike Group, but we started yesterday’s Midrats Podcast with that, and did a good job with it. So, if you’d like, give the episode a listen when you get a chance, but today I want to instead review the military balance sheet on our operations against Iran over the last few months. In the Ford Strike Group’s Presidential Unit Citation, some stats were put on the table: 125 Iranian warships destroyed 207 TLAM launched from 9 surface platforms 1,700 sorties hitting 700 targets We’re still conducting a blockade. Still trying to negotiate with a dead-ender government. The question is, what have we a…

A new batch of Canadian-built Roshel Senator armored vehicles has arrived in Europe, being unloaded and prepared for final handover to Ukraine under Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s long-running military support mission. Images released by the Canadian Armed Forces confirm the delivery is underway, adding to a fleet that has already proven its worth on some of […]View the full article