HG S2 (Intel Bot)

Schiebel has completed the first flight test campaign of its CAMCOPTER S-300 unmanned helicopter in France, a step forward in the development of the next-generation rotary-wing unmanned air system for military and government use. According to a statement from the company dated December 18, 2025, the flight activities were conducted at the CESA Drones test […]View the full article

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said long-range strike drones overnight hit Russian air defense systems and a combat aircraft at the Belbek military air base in Russian-occupied Crimea, damaging equipment valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. According to a statement from the SBU, long-range drones operated by the Alfa Special Operations Center struck key elements […]View the full article

Poland’s Ministry of National Defense announced that the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron of the 3rd Warsaw Air Defense Missile Brigade has achieved Full Operational Capability, marking the completion of the first phase of the Wisła air and missile defense program. According to the Ministry of National Defense, reaching full operational capability by the entire […]View the full article

Infantry cadre assigned to the 1st Battalion, 166th Regiment – Regional Training Institute conducted Soldier Borne Sensor training from Dec. 9–11, 2025, using nano-uncrewed aerial systems from Teledyne FLIR, also known as the Black Hornet 4, as part of ongoing efforts to modernize small-unit reconnaissance and prepare instructors for future unmanned aircraft system integration. The […]View the full article

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has been awarded an $80 million contract modification to provide additional remote turret systems for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle program, according to a newly released contract notice. The modification applies to a previously awarded contract and covers the Amphibious Combat Vehicle medium caliber cannon Protector remote turret 20, […]View the full article

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN )’s newest aircraft carrier, Fujian (CV-18), transited the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, marking the second time the carrier has passed through the sensitive waterway, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. The Taiwanese military said they monitored the carrier’s movement and responded in line with established procedures. The […]View the full article

SummaryIn this episode of the UNCLAS Read Board, Sal discusses various geopolitical issues, focusing on the U.S. military presence in South America, particularly regarding Venezuela. He explores the implications of U.S. sanctions, the potential for economic growth in South America, and the importance of responsible governance. Sal also delves into naval… Read more View the full article

One of my favorite “skunk at the picnic” phrases when people talk about this “war winning” idea/system/technology or —with an claim bordering on the delusional—that only we have it or will ever have it, is simply to say: you can’t classify math Now, that isn’t quite true. Let’s see, how can I put this…umm…errr…OK. I’ll try. Let’s say you have an exceptionally gifted person or lab that accidentally—or through plain smart, hard work—wanders into a previously unknown/overlooked/misunderstood side-eddy of physics or math that gives you an almost unimaginable advantage over even your most challenging adversaries. The ability to see through rocks…to smell cheese from a continent away…to warp time-space in small areas…let your imagination run wild. If it were really new, you might be able to hide this little side-eddy and keep it contained. Could there be entire sub-areas of physics that were discovered and then hidden—only known by a special group of researchers and operators? Perhaps. Many people are saying. Maybe not. History is full of such things. Greek fire, the steppe bow, gunpowder, repeating rifles, the Enigma machine, cracking the Enigma machine, Roman cement, nuclear weapons, ozempic—pick your example. Some were open and public, others closely held and forgotten to history, and a precious few are still behind walls inside walls inside SCIFs inside walls…where they properly belong. Regardless of how “war winning” something seems, it may not operationalize the way you expect at scale, or even worse, you get overconfident that you will always have that advantage to yourself. You may not know that your adversary already has it, but you just don’t know about it. Maybe he has a spy inside your lifelines to giving away all you develop. It has happened before. You also need to be humble to ponder the question: what do our adversaries know that we don’t? Anyone who was in the military for any length of time knows some “cool” things that, once you see behind the curtain, you all of a sudden realize that—even though you see behind this one curtain—there are a thousand other curtains with equally “cool” things behind them. What are they? Not your compartment. Not your business. At the core of all of them is math. You can’t classify math if your adversary has mathematicians as good as or better than yours. I just finished Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by Craig L. Symonds. So much of our early success was owed to a bit of luck, and good codebreakers. Wars have been lost—and will be lost—because someone thought they had unbreakable codes and fail-safe security. You don’t. No one ever does. It isn’t just the military that relies on secure communications, business and finance increasingly do as well…and it all rides on the back of math. Take a moment to ponder the short clip below where Eric Schmidt warns of the upcoming AI superintelligence. Before we get back on topic, did you catch the energy part of the above? Ponder this graph and ask yourself, who is seeing—and acting on—what is to come? Now, back on track. Encrypting voice and data along the spectrum from business to the military has a lot in common, but also has significant differences. Beer, wine, scotch, vodka, tequila, Everclear…they’re all alcoholic drinks, but their use, creation, and effects are quite different. However, they all will get you where you want to go. An imperfect comparison, but it explains why the below conversation about the security of the once-seemingly impregnable bitcoin had me thinking in larger terms about how much of our economy—and military—relies on the planning assumption that things are secure. To put on my operational planning hat (red in this case), what happens when your planning assumption is wrong? The below is from the latest edition of Investor’s Business Daily by Reinhardt Krause and Harrison Miller—sadly not available online. …along with enormous upside, quantum computing brings risks. That’s because it’s widely believed that quantum computers will eventually overpower current data encryption technologies. As a result, everything from bank accounts and email security to online transactions and national secrets could be at risk. The time when quantum computers will be able to crack encryption codes is known as Q-Day. Estimates of its arrival range from a few years to two decades from now. Malicious actors, likely state-sponsored, are thought by crypto experts, research groups and government officials to be planning ahead. In other words, they’re gathering encrypted data today so they can unlock it in the future. The cybersecurity industry is well aware of the threat. So is the U.S. government. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2024 released three post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards. These encryption tools aim to thwart hackers. “With quantum computing, that changes the landscape completely,” said Bilal Chinoy, chief technology officer at sFOX, a crypto broker and institutional trading platform. “Now those hundreds of years to break one such algorithm would take days. “It’s definitely coming,” Chinoy said. “At the current trajectory of advancement, the base cryptography that’s in use (in bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies) — some of it, not all of it — will break, will be able to be compromised. So that is an inevitability. The question is when the advancement (occurs) and how we’re going to, as an industry, deal with it.” Remember about 10 years ago, with all the blockchain hype? When AI-driven superintelligence starts writing its own code on quantum computers…well…you understand my concern. Cracking codes that are uncrackable. Hacking unhackable systems. Scared or challenged? Either works for me. 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

Babcock has confirmed that the first Jackal 3 Extenda all-terrain vehicles from the program’s second production tranche have rolled off the assembly line at its Devonport facility, marking a new phase in deliveries for the British Army. According to a company statement dated December 17, 2025, Babcock is manufacturing 53 six-wheeled Jackal 3 Extenda variants, […]View the full article

Israeli-based Aero-Sentinel has confirmed the delivery of a new batch of its G3 reconnaissance drones to an undisclosed operational customer, signaling continued demand for specialized unmanned systems designed for discreet and complex missions. According to a statement shared by Aero-Sentinel’s Chief Marketing and Technology Officer, Ofir Avram, the company is closing the year with additional […]View the full article

France’s military and internal security services are moving toward closer cooperation in unmanned aviation training, as the École des drones hosted senior leadership from the Gendarmerie’s Air Forces Command to discuss potential joint programs. According to a statement published by École des drones on LinkedIn, the visit took place under an existing memorandum of understanding […]View the full article

AM General has finalized a three-year direct commercial sale framework contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kosovo for Hawkeye 105mm Mobile Howitzer Systems, marking the first sale of the system to Kosovo and expanding the company’s footprint in mobile artillery solutions. According to the company, the agreement covers Hawkeye Mobile Howitzer […]View the full article

American Rheinmetall has revealed winter testing of its Ox Unmanned Ground Vehicle, showing the platform operating in snow and low-temperature conditions as part of its push to meet U.S. Army requirements for autonomous and semi-autonomous ground transport. According to a statement published by American Rheinmetall, the tests were conducted under the Army’s Ground Optionally Autonomous […]View the full article

Denmark has signed a contract with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to acquire the Naval Strike Missile Coastal Defence System. According to a press release from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace dated December 17, 2025, the Danish government finalized the agreement for the NSM Coastal Defence System, known as NSM CDS. The contract is valued at more […]View the full article

Finland has authorized the procurement of AIM-120D-3 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) from the United States, a move aimed at equipping the country’s incoming F-35A fighters and aligning Finland’s air combat capabilities with those of its closest allies. According to a press release from Finland’s Ministry of Defence dated December 12, 2025, Minister of […]View the full article

PteroDynamics and AeroVironment said they have completed a joint technology demonstration integrating electronic warfare sensors on an autonomous vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft, marking a step in exploring new options for U.S. Navy littoral surveillance missions. According to a press release distributed by EINPresswire on December 16, the companies collaborated during Silent Swarm 25, […]View the full article

A transport company operating in Oman has inadvertently revealed the movement of a Chinese-made integrated counter-drone and laser air defense system, offering a rare public glimpse of a capability that is typically kept out of view. Photos published by Al Badr Transport LLC showed the transportation of several specialized military vehicles arriving at an Omani […]View the full article

Rolls-Royce has begun testing its AE 1107F engines to support delivery of prototypes for the U.S. Army’s MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), the company said. According to a company statement, the AE 1107 engine test campaign is intended to support prototype aircraft for the MV-75 FLRAA, a next-generation platform designed to provide greater […]View the full article

BAE Systems’ Norfolk Ship Repair facility in Virginia has been awarded a $117.7 million contract modification to carry out maintenance, modernization, and repair work on the guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), according to a contract announcement. According to a release, the modification was issued under a previously awarded contract and provides funding for […]View the full article

Elbit Systems said on Tuesday that Greece has taken a key step toward acquiring the Israeli company’s PULS rocket artillery system, after the Hellenic Parliament and the Government Council for National Security approved a dedicated budget for the program. In a statement issued from Haifa on December 16, 2025, Elbit Systems Ltd. said it was […]View the full article

My apologies to regulars here, but in the last year or so I have felt the need to remind new arrivals about my stance with regards to Ukraine and Russia as new readers tend to make incorrect assumptions. My record is clear back to 2014: I stand firmly with the Ukrainian people’s desire for independence and self-determination. I am not a Russia-accommodationalist. Yes, yes, yes, to all the issues with Ukraine since independence. I have written for well over a decade about their issues with corruption, etc…but that has little to do with the issue at hand. As I mentioned on an episode of the Midrats Podcast in the months before the February 2022 invasion by Russia, Ukraine needed to find a path to peace to avoid an even more disastrous war with Russia that may, at best, result in her being reduced to client state status similar to Belarus and her people lacking self-determination. I thought at that time Crimea would be the price, but after so much killing, I don’t think Russia will settle for just that. As long as they have a strong army in the field, they will want a lot more. Where does that leave Ukraine as we approach the 4th anniversary of the war? Remember, Ukraine has been fighting Russia in this phase of their mutual conflict for longer than the USA fought in WWII. The performance since February of 2022 of Ukraine’s leadership and military against Russia, which is technologically more advanced, has a larger population, economy, and military is beyond commendable. For many, the hope was that they could hold out long enough for Putin’s grip on power to slip, bringing about enough internal disruption inside Russia that the Russians could not continue the fight in Ukraine. As usual, hope is not the best OPLAN and it has not worked out all that well. But, the fight continues. Both Russia and Ukraine are weakened nations, but by every measure, Ukraine has less of an ability to sustain the fight and it should think about what was an acceptable cost for peace. As much as I support Ukraine’s cause, I also can read statistics. Eventually Ukraine will run out of people before Russia runs out of will. Europe will not come to Ukraine’s aid with blood, and you can have all the material support in the world, but if you don’t have the people to use it, it does not matter. The USA does not see its self-interest in blindly throwing money and support to the Ukrainians. So, we have seen a serious effort towards attempting to have the parties come to the peace table. It is worth a try, but I still remain unconvinced that either party really is ready to reach a peace. The Ukrainians want their land back—or most of it—and Russia has a pain threshold much greater than those in the West—in spite of centuries of evidence to the contrary—give it credit for. I could be wrong. There might be a path to an agreement that would bring peace, at least for a while. If so, what would that look like? I do my best to read work from smart, well meaning people whom I disagree with, but otherwise think are worth listening to. Over at Foreign Affairs last week, Thomas Graham makes his argument as to why Ukraine needs to go to the peace table now. For lack of a better description, Graham can be seen as a member of the realist and pragmatic school with regards to the relationship between the USA and Russia, as outlined in his book Getting Russia Right. As you can see just from his FP archive, he’s been consistent since the start of the war. What is his view at the end of 2025? It is an extensive article behind the paywall, but here’s the core of his well reasoned argument: Nearly four years of brutal combat, in which neither side has achieved a strategic breakthrough, has created a paradoxical situation in which both countries lose the longer the war rages on. The best deal each side can achieve is available now, not in six months or later. Ukraine will not gain anything by waiting to negotiate from a hypothetical future position of strength; such a position will not come soon, if ever. Ukrainian leaders have already acknowledged that they cannot liberate by force all the territory Russia has seized. What Ukraine cannot achieve on the battlefield will not be handed to it at the negotiating table. Nor will a stronger Ukraine incline Western countries to provide it with more formidable security guarantees. Western governments have already made it clear that they will not risk war with Russia to defend Ukraine. And the longer Ukraine waits, the more destruction it will have to endure. Instead of seeking a position of strength, Ukraine urgently needs to settle the conflict, which has devastated the country economically and demographically. The cost of reconstruction over the next decade has been estimated at more than 2.6 times its pre-war GDP of $200 billion. … Russia appears stronger. But it has paid a staggering price—more than one million dead or wounded—for marginal tactical gains. During this year’s offensive, Russia seized just one percent of Ukrainian territory at the cost of more than 200,000 dead and wounded. The cost of recruiting new volunteers is soaring, while the Kremlin still fears the social repercussions of a mass mobilization. After two years of growth of over four percent, the economy has stalled. The forecast for this year and next hovers around one percent growth. Meanwhile, Russia has invested negligible sums in cutting-edge technologies. In short, it is mortgaging its future to sustain the conflict. As a result, each day the war continues, Russia falls further behind the great powers—China and the United States, to be sure, and also possibly India and Europe, with which it hopes to compete in the decades ahead. Unsurprisingly, Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on the terms of a settlement, particularly on territorial questions and the nature of security guarantees for both of them. … But these gaps are bridgeable. Indeed, the contours of a final settlement are visible, even if both sides vigorously deny it: a cease-fire along the line of contact without either country formally recognizing the other’s control of territory it considers its own; armed neutrality, or sufficient military capabilities to reliably defend one’s territory, for Ukraine with the possibility of EU accession but not membership in NATO; and no further NATO expansion eastward into the former Soviet space. Such an outcome would enable Putin to declare victory and Zelensky to claim he had preserved what was most precious—Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence as well as its European aspirations. … The United States also needs to deploy the formidable psychological leverage it possesses over Russia. One cannot overstate the role the United States—and Trump personally—plays in validating Russia as a great power and Putin as a global leader. This matters all the more because Russia has struggled on the battlefield against what it (and most Western observers) assumed was a second- or third-tier military. Instead of the anticipated blitzkrieg and swift conquest of Ukraine, the Kremlin will soon find itself fighting the Ukrainians for longer than it took the Soviet Union to crush Nazi Germany in World War II. Washington can exercise that leverage in the first instance by assuring Moscow that it would be willing to normalize relations. Such a measure will help convince Putin that the United States will not relegate Russia to a secondary tier of interest once the war is resolved. Trump’s new National Security Strategy makes clear that the administration no longer considers Russia a major threat, to the consternation of traditional U.S. allies. Normalization is also strategically important to Putin in its own right: it would allow him to rebalance Russia’s relationship with China and expand his room to maneuver globally. … Critics will argue that such a diplomatic effort is beyond the capabilities of the Trump administration. It allegedly lacks the discipline, consistency, capacity, and patience to pursue a sustained diplomatic effort. But even the admittedly halting progress in current negotiations would not have been possible had Trump not opened a dialogue with Putin in February with the goal of ending the war. Despite much speculation to the contrary, Trump has neither abandoned Ukraine to Russia’s will nor walked away from the problem as one that is too hard to solve. And the U.S. national security apparatus has the expertise and skill needed to manage a complex diplomatic undertaking, if only the administration could find a way to reliably control its own bureaucracy, which it does not trust. How does that match with what I’ve been writing about the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022? I think his take is worth taking on board. We will see more if there is a winter offensive in the cards for Russia…or, more unlikely, Ukraine…that will break the stalemate on the front. Time is on Russia’s side, but she is also brittle—though, really, few know. Either side could see a general collapse, and there could be some technological or military innovation that would enable a move out of the trenches and FPV drone slaughter zones—maybe. More likely, more bite by bite and struggle to see which of the brothers will tire first. That latter part is in no one’s interest. As is well known in war, the longer conflicts go on, the more they are likely to bring in other nations. 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

RENK Group AG has secured new defense contracts worth more than €45 million ($53 million) to supply transmission systems for several core armored vehicles operated by Germany’s armed forces, reinforcing the role of European industry in NATO’s ongoing force expansion and readiness efforts. According to a press release from the company, RENK will deliver HSWL […]View the full article

Ukrainian strike underwater drones have attacked a Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, in what Ukrainian officials describe as the first combat use of underwater drones to disable a modern diesel-electric submarine. According to Ukrainian sources, underwater drones known as “Sub Sea Baby” detonated beneath a Russian Project 636.3 submarine of the Varshavyanka class, known in […]View the full article

Northrop Grumman has completed a new demonstration of its mine countermeasures technology, showing that its AN/AQS-24 minehunting system can be integrated with an uncrewed surface platform to meet emerging U.S. Navy operational requirements. According to a company statement, Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully demonstrated the integration of its AN/AQS-24 minehunting system with a Mine Countermeasures Unmanned […]View the full article

China’s newest long-endurance stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, the CH-7, has completed its maiden flight. State broadcaster CCTV said on Monday that China’s new high-altitude, high-speed, long-endurance CH-7 had recently completed its first flight. The outlet reported that the aircraft demonstrated long endurance, stealth, and high cruising speed, and was designed to meet “the needs of […]View the full article