HG S2 (Intel Bot)

South Korea has officially launched a 435.9 billion-won ($296 million) project to develop indigenous short-range air-to-air guided missiles for its domestically produced KF-21 fighter jets. According to a statement from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the missile development initiative is scheduled for completion by 2032. The effort aims to provide the KF-21 with domestically […]View the full article

South Korea has finalized its national defense budget for 2026 at KRW 65.8642 trillion (approximately $44.7 billion), representing a 7.5% increase over the 2025 allocation, the Ministry of National Defense said on December 3. Although the original budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly anticipated an 8.2% increase, lawmakers reduced the final figure by KRW […]View the full article

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has confirmed it will acquire 36 Rui Yuan II drones under a newly authorized special defense budget totaling NT$12.6 billion (approx. USD $402 million). The procurement is scheduled to take place between 2026 and 2029, with the platforms intended to support long-range surveillance, electronic intelligence, and maritime reconnaissance missions. The […]View the full article

The Australian Army has successfully conducted its first live-fire exercise of the AS9 Huntsman 155mm self-propelled howitzer, a next-generation artillery system based on South Korea’s K9 Thunder platform but customized for Australian battlefield needs. According to a release from the Australian Department of Defense on December 3, “This was the first time the new AS9 […]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

SummaryIn this episode, Sal discusses various pressing topics including the ongoing drug war, military operations, the situation in Ukraine, and the recent controversy surrounding the Pentagon press pool. He expresses gratitude to his subscribers and reflects on the complexities of military decisions, the implications of the war in Ukraine, and the impo… Read more View the full article

First of all, as we do, let’s go to the chart room to look at one of the most geographically perfect places on this planet to have shipyards and naval bases: San Francisco Bay. As our nation faces again a challenge in the Pacific that necessitates an increased basing requirement on our West Coast, it is only natural we would look first at where nature provided us such a blessing. From top to bottom, San Francisco Bay used to be covered thickly with naval bases, shipyards and everything else you would expect from a world dominating naval power. However due to a political climate hostile to both the military and industry, grasping developers, and the domination of green-eyeshade accountants over strategists and national-security-minded people, as we see a challenge on the other side of the Pacific not seen since Imperial Japan, the bay’s once potent military ecosystem is almost completely abandoned and derelict like some forgotten remains of a once great empire—which they might be. Either that, or like Hunters Point, a little aglow. In essence, not available for tasking. It is easy to point out all the problems. Goodness knows, from this seat is makes for easy content, but it is much more difficult to come up with solutions. Yes, to all the problems, but the requirement remains. If you can’t refurbish, claw back, restart, reclaim, or otherwise take back what the Jesus Jones Era took away—what do you do? Is all lost? No, not really. Head about 160T from Vacaville, and there you see a glimmer of hope, an option, an opportunity. There is California Forever: In July 2025, Congress appropriated $29 billion to strengthen shipbuilding in the United States. Soon after, Japan committed $550 billion in U.S. investments—including significant shipbuilding initiatives— while South Korea pledged an additional $150 billion dedicated specifically to shipbuilding. With the focus for shipbuilding concentrated on the West Coast, California is uniquely positioned to capture these multi‑billion‑dollar investments and generate tens of thousands of high‑wage jobs—provided California acts with urgency to create a clear pathway for groundbreaking. It’s time to build ships again. It isn’t just shipbuilding, but an entire city on what is now a forgotten corner of California. Not some modernist nightmare, but what looks like a very livable new urbanist project. California Forever’s Founder and CEO, Jan Sramek, has a solid vision that is new and refreshing. In essence, he is looking at a similar concept as business parks, but on a much more ambitious scale. Housing, infrastructure, zoning, regulatory approval, CF will prepare that ground for you. All it needs is for the businesses to show up and make it economically feasible. Is it doable? Perhaps, but a lot of work needs to be done. Spend some time bouncing around the website linked above. It is one of the more ambitious and imaginative answers to the West Coast problem of “where?” Still, we are talking about California here. Let’s look at how the locals view it. Did you notice part of the problem of sea blindness in the reporters’ script? Next up from the locals is the view from Sacramento. If you want to Make American Great Again, you need to do great things in great places. I’m keeping this project in my scan. 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

Germany has received its first Arrow 3 missile defense systems from Israel, making it the first country outside Israel to deploy the advanced anti-ballistic weapon. The delivery marks a major step in Germany’s missile defense posture as the country expands its role in European and NATO security. The Arrow 3, jointly developed by Israel Aerospace […]View the full article

The U.S. Southern Command has reported that U.S. Marine Corps forces recently conducted an air-to-air missile exercise in the Caribbean Sea, using an AH-1Z Viper helicopter armed with an AIM-9 Sidewinder. The live-fire training occurred on November 25, 2025, and was publicly announced by the command on December 3. According to the announcement, the helicopter […]View the full article

The Australian government is reviewing a Ukrainian request to transfer retired Tiger attack helicopters as it prepares a new round of defense aid to support Kyiv’s ongoing war with Russia. According to a report from ABC News Australia, the potential transfer of European-built Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters comes as Canberra finalizes an additional military support […]View the full article

Japan is moving forward with live trials of its new 100-kilowatt-class laser weapon system aboard a military test ship. The high-energy laser was recently installed on the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (JMSDF) testbed vessel Asuka and is now being readied for sea-based testing at Japan Marine United’s shipyard. The newly fitted laser system—developed by the […]View the full article

The U.S. military has activated its first one-way-attack drone squadron under a new task force based in the Middle East, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on December 3. The move comes four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered an accelerated push to field affordable unmanned systems capable of delivering decisive effects in contested […]View the full article

Electra announced on December 3 the creation of “Electra Defense,” a new business unit aimed at advancing the company’s work with the U.S. military through the development of the EL9, a hybrid-electric aircraft with ultra-short takeoff and landing (ultra-STOL) capabilities. The EL9 is a nine-passenger fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate from spaces as short as […]View the full article

U.S.-based defense technology firm CX2 has introduced Wraith, a lightweight airborne electronic warfare (EW) platform designed to detect, geolocate, and track jammers, radars, and other RF emitters in high-threat, GPS-denied environments. According to a statement from CX2, Wraith is “purpose-built to weaponize the RF spectrum for forward elements in contested environments.” The company describes the […]View the full article

Renegade UxS has confirmed that its Nightmare FPV drone platform is now officially listed on the U.S. government’s BLUE UAS Cleared List, making it available for use by American military units under the Department of War’s procurement frameworks. According to a company statement, the Nightmare FPV is available in both analog and digital configurations and […]View the full article

New images have surfaced online of a Chinese armored vehicle that closely resembles the German-Dutch Boxer platform, reigniting speculation about China’s push to develop modular armored solutions for export markets. The photos, which appeared on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, show the vehicle moving in an industrial zone in Baotou, located in China’s Inner […]View the full article

The Swedish Armed Forces has placed an additional order for 94 Patria 6×6 armored vehicles, designated Pansarterrängbil 300 in Sweden, as part of the expanding Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) initiative. According to a statement issued on December 1 by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), the order includes troop transport, command and control, and […]View the full article

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded contracts to more than 1,000 companies as part of the initial phase of the Golden Dome initiative, a major U.S. missile defense program intended to provide layered protection against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats. According to a Department of War announcement, this first set of awards under […]View the full article

Rostec, a Russian-owned arms and technology company, says its High-Precision Systems holding has delivered a new batch of BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles to Russian units, adding protective kits and electronic warfare systems that the company describes as upgrades shaped by battlefield use. The announcement comes as the platform continues to draw criticism inside Russia and […]View the full article

A top-secret US government body called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a new solicitation seeking proposals for a high-rate, energy-efficient method of producing nitric acid directly from air and water. The initiative, known as the High-Efficiency Nitrogen Oxidation, or HNO3 program, is aimed at protecting critical U.S. defense-industrial supply chains and […]View the full article

Promotion and selection are zero-sum games. For every bad leader given the nod, a better leader is left on the cutting room floor. No system is perfect, there will always be bad selections and the correct selections. The key is if your system is very good at making the good selections, and minimizes the odds of bad selections. If you are unhappy with the results of the system you have, then you should change it. Systems in a rut generally trend towards increasing error, as they have lost the ability to self-correct as circumstances and requirements demand. A little positive disruption, if you have the right disruptive agent, will make a system better. A gentle way to disrupt a system is to make a little change that impacts mostly those who are content with and feel entitled to the fruits of the existing system. It was a good move to adjust things at the U.S. Naval Academy when Lieutenant General Michael J. Borgschulte, USMC, was appointed Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the first Marine to hold that position. That is but a shadow of what happened over at the mother country. Their equivalent of the Chief of Naval Operations is the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. In May of this year, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, Royal Marines, was appointed to the job. He is the first Royal Marine to hold that position as well. This raised eyebrows, and that is good. Both USNA and the Royal Navy have not had a good run of things as of late—and breaking the wheel of entitlement and expectations by giving the honor to their respective Marines as opposed to another Admiral sets a tone, and provides an opportunity for review, change, and hopefully improvement. Let’s look at what is happening across the pond. General Jenkins has had some very interesting things to say about a topic we visit on a regular basis here: the how, why, and who we select for promotion. Anyone who tells you we only select the best, brightest, and most qualified is either delusional, self-serving, or unaware. We all can tell stories of exceptional officers we served with who were passed over while others clearly inferior were promoted. Or as company or field grade officers, they simply took an off-ramp early to the civilian sector, as they saw nothing higher in the military they wanted to jump through the various hoops to get to. Incentives and disincentives matter. We promote people who best respond to, and reflect the incentives and disincentives of, the system we have in place for career advancement. From the rigid Millington Diktat that still has changed little since I was a Midshipman, to what personalities thrive under other personalities and get the nod. Everyone is one FITREP, a boss who does not like where you went to high school, or an ill-timed PCS cycle—regardless of their objective fitness—from being off-track and career unrecoverable. The system is what it does, and you shall know it from its fruits. When you look at the last quarter century, are you sure we have the best system? I’m still waiting for someone senior enough on our side of the pond to start that conversation, but General Jenkins has made the point clear he’s up to experiment. What he is saying sounds solid. Via Forces News: At the First Sea Lord’s conference in Portsmouth Guildhall, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins cast doubt on how the Royal Navy promotes its leaders. “I have a real issue with the way that we assess our needs at the moment,” he told the audience. “I think we are very subjective in our leadership assessment tools. It’s very top down. How your superior feels about the way you present yourself largely dictates how you get reported upon.” Gen Sir Gwyn believes this can lead to the wrong people being promoted. “[This] makes us very vulnerable to promoting toxic leaders, if we’re not careful, who, by their nature, are very persuasive up even while they’re damaging below.” The First Sea Lord announced that several trials have been running with the goal of identifying different ways to assess leadership, as well as collecting data to prove these individuals are top-notch leaders. … “We’ve already got a couple of really powerful vignettes on the negative side, where we’ve identified leaders who are, again, getting really good reports, [but] appear to be having quite corrosive effect on their people. “That’s a really interesting insight. And on the flip side, [there are] people who aren’t getting the outstanding reports but appear to be creating exceptional team environments.” ... The First Sea Lord believes these are the people who deliver rather than those who organise. The largest barrier to improving, modernizing, or in any way changing how we evaluate is that you need a senior leaders secure enough to admit, “Yes, I rose to the top in our present system, but I’m not sure this is the best system to produce the cadre of senior leaders our service and our nation deserve.” I don’t think anyone would push back. It would be a nice statement of institutional humility…something we are in dire need of. 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 Army has released a set of new Requests for Information aimed at advancing the Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher, or CAML, a next-generation autonomous fires platform intended to reshape how the service moves, loads, and employs missile systems across future battlefields. The notices, issued through the PAE Fires CAML Product Office, outline three […]View the full article

The United States Navy has opened a new solicitation aimed at expanding corrosion-control work across the surface fleet, outlining assessments, training, and material support for combatant and amphibious ships. The notice, released on December 2, details a program intended to help crews manage long-standing maintenance pressures that continue to affect ship readiness in the Atlantic […]View the full article

Delphinus Engineering Inc., based in Newtown, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $14.5 million contract to develop, fabricate, produce, integrate, and test a new sonar array and lift system for Canada’s Victoria-class submarines. According to a Department of War contract announcement, the award includes Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds fully allocated to Canada and may grow […]View the full article

Aerospace giant Boeing has been awarded a $104 million delivery order by the U.S. Navy for the repair of advanced cockpit display systems used in F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. According to a Department of War contract announcement, the order (N00383-26-F-0YY0) falls under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00383-22-G-YY01). The deal […]View the full article