Raw Intel

Russian military bloggers and media outlets linked to the Ministry of Defense confirmed widespread disruptions of Starlink satellite internet terminals used by Russian forces across the front line and in border regions, sharply degrading battlefield communications. Reports of mass Starlink outages were acknowledged by several of Russia’s largest pro-war Telegram channels and defense-focused publications, which […]View the full article

As I said on Monday, I can argue both sides of the battleship debate. I think it is time to flesh that out a bit. If you didn’t read Monday’s post linked above, follow the link and catch up. I’ll reference a few items there that I don’t think I need to repeat here. Additionally, this post is really a follow-up to the earlier one, or at least that is my intention at the start. At the moment, I’m going to do my best to put my emotions and biases I outlined Monday to the side for a bit, and look at it with as cold of an eye as I can. If you are really on team battleship, there are some critical vulnerabilities from the start that you need to accept. The Trump Class: this is …

Soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division conducted drone bomber training using a C100 Medium Range Reconnaissance unmanned aerial system during a Table VI exercise for Spartan Focus, the division said. According to the 3rd Infantry Division, the training involved unmanned aircraft system operators from the Multi-Function Reconnaissance Troop, 6th Squadron, […]View the full article

France’s defense procurement agency, the Direction générale de l’armement, has delivered 1,000 low-cost “drone du combattant” systems to the Armée de Terre, marking the first tranche of a rapid acquisition program launched last year. According to the DGA, the 1,000 micro-drones were delivered following an order placed on June 30, 2025, with French company Harmattan […]View the full article

Overland AI announced it has raised $100 million in new funding to scale deployment of autonomous ground systems across the U.S. Armed Forces, as demand for operational ground autonomy accelerates beyond experimentation. According to the company, the equity round was led by 8VC, with continued participation from Point72 Ventures, Ascend Venture Capital, Shasta Ventures, and […]View the full article

Leonardo announced at the Singapore Airshow that it has signed a Letter of Intent with PT ESystem Solutions Indonesia and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia to cooperate on the supply and support of M-346F “Block 20” aircraft for the Indonesian Air Force. According to Leonardo, the Letter of Intent follows the […]View the full article

A new assessment by Sam Cranny-Evans of Calibre Defence says Chinese defense exports are increasingly under scrutiny as international operators report recurring reliability failures and weak after-sales support across a wide range of systems. According to the analysis, concerns span decades of Chinese arms exports and affect land, air, and naval platforms delivered to multiple […]View the full article

One of the foundation stones of any understanding of the national security requirements of the United States is a requirement to fully understand that we are primarily a maritime and aerospace power. That is our comparative advantage. Aerospace isn’t just air-breathing aircraft, it includes space. For far too long, narrow-thinking people for the most base reasons have neglected space. Like many things, we gained a huge advantage over everyone else, and then decided the money would be better spent buying votes and currying favor with…whoever was going to help buy votes. From Carter’s malaise to Obama’s obsession with using NASA for “Muslim outreach” when it wasn’t trying t…

Lockheed Martin has delivered the first Sentinel A4 radar from Low-Rate Initial Production 2 to the U.S. Army and completed the first phase of Initial Operational Test and Evaluation, the company said. As noted by Lockheed Martin, the delivery represents the first of 19 Sentinel A4 systems planned under the LRIP 2 phase. The company […]View the full article

The Department of the Navy awarded an $86.2 million contract to L3Harris Technologies on Jan. 30 for the Precision Attack Strike Munition, a new weapon intended to enhance the lethality and survivability of U.S. Marine Corps rotary-wing aircraft. The Precision Attack Strike Munition, or PASM, will provide Marine Corps AH-1Z attack helicopters with a longer-range, […]View the full article

Raytheon has completed a ballistic test of the United States Army’s Next Generation Short Range Interceptor, a new man-portable air defense missile intended to replace the Stinger, the company announced on Feb. 2, 2026. According to Raytheon, the test demonstrated the interceptor’s ability to track drone targets and be launched from a shoulder-fired system. The […]View the full article

Raytheon, an RTX business, has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop an advanced sensing and targeting system intended to protect commercial shipping and naval logistics vessels from emerging threats such as unmanned surface vehicles, the company announced on Feb. 2, 2026. According to the announcement, Raytheon’s Advanced Technology team will […]View the full article

Soldiers from the 6th Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery conducted a live unmanned aerial system demonstration on Jan. 29, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas, testing counter-UAS integration in front of senior leaders from III Armored Corps and the 1st Cavalry Division. The event paired air defense crews with civilian personnel […]View the full article

United States Army soldiers assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division conducted mounted maneuver operations on January 31, 2026, while serving as opposing forces during the NATO Winter Camp exercise near Tapa, Estonia, the U.S. Army said. The training took place at and around the Tapa Training Area and involved U.S. […]View the full article

Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense has reportedly signed an agreement with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to equip the Vietnamese army with the “Maoz” drone, known as the Spike Firefly loitering munition, in a deal valued at approximately $250 million. According to a report by Intelligence Online, the agreement includes the establishment of a production facility in […]View the full article

The French Navy will become the first operator of Airbus’ Aliaca vertical take-off and landing uncrewed aerial system after France’s Directorate General of Armament ordered a new VTOL configuration under the SMDM program, Airbus Helicopters said on February 3, 2026. According to Airbus Helicopters, the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) approved an amendment to the […]View the full article

A Florida-based advanced air mobility company, AIR, on Monday announced the public debut of the DrN-600, a sub-600 kg maximum takeoff weight uncrewed electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, developed in partnership with ST Engineering, marking a new step toward regulated electric cargo operations in Europe and Asia. The announcement was made through a company […]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

When we started talking about the cost of the new proposed battleship with CBO’s Eric Labs on the latest Midrats Podcast, I knew the topic I wanted to start this week with. First of all, let’s look back at the marker I put down right before the announcement. For planning purposes (and budgeting), assume it will wind up costing at least 2/3 of a Ford CVN w/o her CVW. OK, let’s look at the costs of the Ford Class CVN. Some of the sources I see include the $5 billion of development cost added on to the cost of a bit more than $13 billion for a total of $18 billion for Hull-1 of the Ford CVN, with the follow-on Kennedy, Miller, etc coming in at $14/15 billion. Let’s call it $…

South Korea has begun fielding anti-drone protective nets on frontline armored vehicles after publishing official photos showing K2 Black Panther main battle tanks and K21 infantry fighting vehicles fitted with lightweight foldable screens during a January 2026 force-on-force exercise. The images, released following training by the ROK Army’s 8th Maneuver Division, show both platforms operating […]View the full article