HG S2 (Intel Bot)

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

BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP has secured a $184.4 million contract modification from the U.S. Marine Corps for the production of 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) variants equipped with medium caliber cannons. The award is part of a larger contract that could reach $3.86 billion if all options are exercised. The Department of War […]View the full article

Austria’s Ministry of Defense has finalized the long-anticipated purchase of 12 M-346FA light combat and trainer aircraft from Italy’s Leonardo. According to the Austrian government, the aircraft will be based in Linz-Hörsching starting in 2028, replacing the Saab 105 fleet retired in 2020. Each M-346FA unit is priced at approximately €80 million ($93 million), with […]View the full article

ImageSat International, a provider of space-based intelligence solutions, has introduced a new satellite platform named RUNNER, capable of real-time movement tracking from orbit—a capability the company says marks a new era for operational intelligence. According to ISI, RUNNER is the first satellite of its kind to provide dynamic, in-orbit surveillance enhanced by embedded artificial intelligence. […]View the full article

The Portuguese Air Force has formally signed a contract with ICEYE for the direct acquisition of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, marking the first time the service will fully own and control a space-based intelligence asset. The announcement, made jointly by ICEYE and the Portuguese Air Force, represents a major step in expanding Portugal’s […]View the full article

Echodyne, a radar technology company based in Washington state, announced today that California-based Zone 5 Technologies has selected its radar system for integration into the Paladin Low Collateral Effects Interceptor (LCEI), an autonomous counter-drone solution. The Paladin is the first drone of its kind to be added to the Department of War’s Blue UAS Cleared […]View the full article

Axon Vision has entered into a new strategic cooperation agreement with Leonardo DRS to jointly pursue opportunities in advanced situational awareness, lethality, and survivability technologies for the U.S. defense market. The companies made the announcement on Monday, outlining their intention to co-develop next-generation combat systems with a strong focus on Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS). According […]View the full article

Hanwha Aerospace opened its exhibition at the Egypt Defence Expo (EDEX) 2025 today with a broad showcase of ground and air defense systems aimed at deepening cooperation with the Egyptian Armed Forces. The South Korean company is positioning its offerings as comprehensive modernization solutions tailored for Egypt’s operational requirements. At the center of Hanwha’s presentation […]View the full article

A Russian military blogger affiliated with the Russian Aerospace Forces has triggered a wave of criticism in China after publicly suggesting the use of Kh-31A anti-ship missiles to sink China’s newest and largest amphibious assault ship, the Type 076 Sichuan. The remarks were posted on Telegram by Ilya Tumanov, a well-known Russian blogger writing under […]View the full article

The Royal Thai Air Force has selected the BARAK MX air and missile defense system from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) as part of its plan to upgrade national base protection under its Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) program. The procurement contract, valued at 3.44 billion baht (approx. $107 million), includes one full BARAK MX unit, […]View the full article

Images of a new prototype attack helicopter in China—designated the Z-21—have surfaced on Chinese social media, showing what appears to be a twin-seat, twin-engine platform closely modeled after the American AH-64 Apache. The Z-21, painted matte black and bearing the tail number 6232, was photographed during a new test flight. Based on visible design features, […]View the full article

China and Egypt have agreed to cooperate on the local production of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), signaling a new stage in bilateral defense ties. The deal was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed today between Egypt’s Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) and China’s NORINCO, officially known as the China North Industries Corporation. According […]View the full article

A Ukrainian military specialist has published photographs of a downed Russian reconnaissance drone allegedly equipped with a Starlink satellite terminal and a locally manufactured onboard systems. The images, shared by Serhiy Beskrestnov—also known by the callsign “Serhiy Flesh”—provide further evidence that Russia may be using civilian satellite internet services to conduct battlefield surveillance. “Now I […]View the full article

A Ukrainian military expert says Russia has begun arming its Shahed one-way attack drones with Soviet-designed R-60 air-to-air missiles in an apparent attempt to counter Ukrainian aerial interceptors. In a statement published by Ukrainian military specialist Serhiy Beskrestnov, known by the callsign “Serhiy Flesh,” confirmed the first documented case of an R-60 missile integrated with […]View the full article

Ukrainian emergency crews were forced to deploy robotic demining systems after a Russian Shahed attack left unexploded submunitions scattered across a residential neighborhood in the city of Vyshhorod. The strike, which targeted civilian buildings during an overnight assault, caused casualties and extensive property damage. According to a statement from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS), the […]View the full article