HG S2 (Intel Bot)

Raytheon has been awarded a $258 million contract to advance the engineering, manufacturing, and development of the Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IIICU All Up Round, the Department of Defense announced. The deal covers the follow-on integration and test phase of a program already under contract and includes options that could raise its value to […] The post U.S. Navy awards Raytheon contract for next-gen SM-2 interceptors first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

I first read Jen Judson’s article in Defense News back when it came out … and was simply in awe. I simply respect the audacity and enthusiasm by a man whose love of land-centric thinking is only matched by his demand that time and space bend to his will. Please clap. It is a well known cynical, and correct, angle that all the post-Goldwater-Nichols diktat was simply a way for the Army to exert an artificially large influence on the strategic direction of the otherwise natural maritime and aerospace power that is the United States. It didn’t so much lift Army up, but kept the Navy and USAF thinking suppressed through institutional barriers, bureaucratic obfuscation, and generally a blurring of differences and hiding options that weren’t “joint” enough for Army’s taste. As the quarter century of imperial land policing actions in Central and Southwest Asia continues to fade from view, the events in Europe with the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022 give land component advocates a reprieve from the coming rebalancing towards the maritime and aerospace forces that a great Pacific war would require. As this day of budgetary reckoning gets harder to avoid, some of the most excitable Army leaders have become, well, shrill? Overwrought? Midnight televangelistic? Either they or their Zoomer speech writers just need to take a deep breath and step back from the energy drinks a bit. When it comes to land component hyperbole and hype-men, the bubbas in green need not by dismayed with the retirement last year of General Charles A. Flynn, USA (Ret.). I mean, Flynn was an Army-centric parochialism force of nature. I didn’t think he’d be easy to replace, but I was mistaken. Behold the commanding general of the United States Army Europe and Africa and commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command since December of last year, General Christopher Todd Donahue, USA. I’m just going to string together quotes of his at the Association of the U.S. Army’s inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany his from Jen’s article, with a scattered comment or two. Yes, yes, I know the venue…but that does not matter. …the Army, along with NATO, is first focusing on the Baltic states “to try to get to how do you actually make it so that industry and the nations know exactly what the requirements are — ultimately that is now known as the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line…We know what we have to develop and the use case that we’re using is you have to [deter] from the ground…The land domain is not becoming less important, it’s becoming more important. You can now take down [anti-access, aerial-denial] A2AD bubbles from the ground. You can now take over sea from the ground. All of those things we are watching happen in Ukraine. This next bit…where is the humility? Where is the understanding of our constant problem with overestimating what we can do and underestimating what our opponents can do? …Donahue noted, Kaliningrad, Russia, is roughly 47 miles wide and surrounded by NATO on all sides and the Army and its allies now have the capability to “take that down from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do…We’ve already planned that and we’ve already developed it. This next bit has a lot of certainty that simply has no place on the European continent. The mass and momentum problem that Russia poses to us … we’ve developed the capability to make sure that we can stop that mass and momentum problem…We already know exactly what we have to do with cloud and we know exactly the type of actual unmanned systems, brigades, everything else that we need for that. Have we, really? The next quote, and I understand the warning he is giving industry, but I’m sorry; we have got to stop demanding absolutes we cannot afford, and probably will not be able to deliver. We want everything to be optionally manned, whether that is an air defense or a long-range fires system. We want it to be one system, optionally manned, where we’ll be able to take munitions from any country and shoot through them. In the name of all that is holy, have we learned nothing from the last few decades about putting all our programmatic eggs in one basket. “…one system..” Yes, by all means, build one system for the enemy to hack. One system for the enemy to learn to counter. One system for industry to make that fails to thrive leaving us exposed, vulnerable, or after years and billions, with nothing. Have we learned anything? As a general rule, whatever you’re shooting at, whatever your weapon system or munition you shoot at, another adversary’s capability, it should be cheaper than what you’re shooting,…We have sent a clear demand signal to you of exactly what we need. If you are shooting something at me that costs $500,000, but for me to successfully intercept it I need to spend $2 million, is that really that bad if it works reliably? If I spend $300,000 on a weapon to shoot it down, but it takes six of them to only have a 70% chance of protecting my $2 billion warship…is that really smart? What if you do develop a $300,000 system to shoot down that $500,000 threat that is just as good as the $2 million system…but your $300,000 system displaces the other system, but cannot counter the enemy’s $4 million threat and as a result, lose your $2 billion warship…have you made the “efficient” decision? …If you sell us something, it has to be interoperable. You have to share the [Application Programming Interface]. The cost has to go down. Share with whom? Interoperable with what, whom, and why? What opportunity cost? How will overall cost go down? Via what expected mechanism? What capability are you willing to do without? How much security risk are you willing to accept? Don’t get me wrong, I like Donahue’s enthusiasm and aggressive promotion of his service, but if these are the new rules, then giddy-up, let’s ride. I am all about creative friction and the productivity of aggressive competition and argument. Let’s grab the nearest gut-hook and eviscerate the entire Joint concept that has served as an intellectual and institutional wet blanket over everyone since Reagan was President. From make-work Joint billet box-checking, to the JPME Industrial Complex jobs program, to the ossifying gates, windows, and career milestones it places around everyone making innovation and truly diverse experiences career damaging and nothing but ducks picking ducks because of the artificial requirement of webbed feet. We should play Donahue’s game. Where are our admirals making the same impassioned maritime-uber-alles argument? Also, “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line”? Child, please. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Share Leave a comment View the full article

Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. has reported a sharp rise in second-quarter revenues and earnings, citing strong domestic and international demand for its defense technologies. The Israeli defense company posted revenues of $2.0 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, up 21% from the same period last year. According to the company’s earnings release, GAAP […] The post Israeli defense giant reports 21% revenue growth first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. announced it has secured a $1.635 billion contract to provide a broad range of advanced defense systems to an undisclosed European country. The contract, set to run over five years, encompasses long-range precision strike capabilities, unmanned aerial systems, and state-of-the-art intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) technologies. According to the […] The post Israel’s Elbit wins $1.6B deal from undisclosed European buyer first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Mack Defense will continue building the U.S. Army’s M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck under a new five-year contract worth up to $221.8 million for as many as 450 vehicles. The award, finalized on June 24, 2025, follows the completion of the company’s initial 2018 contract and comes just three months after Mack marked the rollout of […] The post U.S. Army to receive more heavy dump trucks first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A critical navigation component used in Shahed-series attack drones is now openly available for purchase on a major Chinese e-commerce platform, according to Ukrainian electronic warfare specialist Serhiy Beskrestnov, widely known by his callsign “Serhiy Flesh.” Beskrestnov wrote that a Chinese-made, 11-element anti-jamming antenna — long identified as a core part of the Shahed’s guidance […] The post Shahed drone navigation brain now sells online first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Lithuania’s government is preparing to allocate €461 million ($540 million) for an advance payment on its planned acquisition of German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks, according to a draft proposal registered by the Finance Ministry on Monday. The funds will be borrowed by the state to finance the first stage of the program. Minister of […] The post Lithuania sets $540M advance for Leopard 2 tank purchase first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) has released the first images of its newly acquired Dassault Rafale. The aircraft, a two-seat Rafale B carrying tail number T-0301, represents the first of 42 jets ordered by Indonesia under a 2022 contract with Dassault Aviation. According to TNI AU, the photographs were taken in Mérignac, France, where […] The post Indonesia unveils first Rafale fighter jet first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine has released detailed footage for the first time showing Army Aviation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces intercepting Russian Shahed-type loitering munitions during nighttime operations. The video highlights a coordinated air defense tactic in which helicopter formations intercept enemy drones during recent large-scale night attacks. In the operations shown, a pair of helicopters takes off […] The post Ukrainian helicopters hunt Shahed drones in night operations first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has handed over new Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers to the Russian Ministry of Defense. According to UAC, the aircraft completed the full cycle of factory testing, were verified across multiple operating modes, and have already flown to their home airfield. The Su-34 is designed to strike ground, surface, and air targets — […] The post Russian Air Force receives new Su-34 combat aircraft first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Alas, poor American icebreakers! I knew them, Shipmate: a fellow of infinite use, of most excellent capability: he hath borne me honor, commerce, and discovery a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it! -Apologies to the Bard When you have the world’s largest navy, you soon realize you can be everywhere, all at once, because you want to. We all had fun at the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) navy and coast guard’s expense yesterday in Operation Bumper Boats, but now it is time to get back to serious things. As we discussed six months ago, the PRC is not an Arctic nation. It has, at best, a tertiary concern with the Arctic. Just look at the chart at the top of last week’s post, no PRC coastline to be seen. That isn’t stopping her. While we continue to try to figure out a way to catch up in the icebreaker game, the PRC is already there. They are not doing this for pure research; they are looking at how to leverage every corner of the planet for military and economic gain for themselves. They have no other reason to be there. Via Malte Humpert at gCaptain: In a significant show of Arctic prowess, China has dispatched five icebreaking research vessels to the region. This is the first time the country has operated more than three icebreaking vessels in the Arctic simultaneously. The flotilla is led by China’s largest domestically-built icebreaker Xue Long 2. The Polar Class 3 vessel departed from Shanghai on July 5. It has since been operating in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas adjacent to Alaska and Russia. Its ultimate destination is not currently known. Last summer the vessel concluded its Arctic sailing with a port visit to Russia’s largest Arctic city Murmansk. Both the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian military have shadowed Xue Long 2’s activities in recent weeks. Xue Long 2 was joined in the Arctic on July 30 by Shen Hai Yi Hao, an ice-class research vessel specialized on ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) and AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) owned by China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA). It carries the submersible Jiao Long designed for dives down to 7,000 meters. Shen Hai Yi Hao departed from Qingdao on July 16 and is currently operating in proximity of Xue Long 2 to the northwest of Alaska at the edge of Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. As with so many problems in the maritime domain that were appreciated for decades, and action deferred to someone else’s PCS or election cycle, the “out years” are now. More, faster, better, and while we are at it…make sure they are armed. The Arctic will be a war zone, and we will need to be ready at D+0. 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

Russia has built a rapidly growing and effective drone industry in a short period of time, despite facing international sanctions and political pressure from Europe and the United States. By focusing on proven, low-cost, and serially produced designs, the Kremlin has been able to quickly increase output of a wide range of systems, including loitering […] The post Russian drone industry gains speed first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Israeli defense technology firm SMARTSHOOTER has secured a new order for hundreds of its SMASH 3000 fire control systems from an undisclosed Asia-Pacific customer, the company announced. The systems will be used for counter-small unmanned aircraft systems (C-sUAS) missions and precision engagement of ground targets. The contract follows what SMARTSHOOTER described as a period of […] The post Mystery Asian customer buys Israeli-made computerized rifle sights first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

It was only a matter of time until there was a serious incident involving Chinese bullying in the South China Sea, but I didn’t have a Red-on-Red on my betting card. “The [Chinese coastguard vessel] CCG 3104, which was chasing the [Philippine coastguard vessel] BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky manoeuvre from the [Philippine] vessel’s starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy warship,” spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement. “This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy,” he said. The incident occurred as the Philippine coastguard escorted boats distributing aid to fishermen in the area, Tarriela added. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship hull number 164 is the 7,500-ton Type 053D (Luyang III class) destroyer Guilin. She’s just four years old. It’s interesting to see that the US Navy isn’t the only navy that seems to want its navy to do coast guard functions. While neither Chinese ship makes a Sailor proud, the PLAN is clearly the issue here. The Sun has the best video summary I’ve seen, and it tells the story better than a bunch of my typing, so give it a watch. Final note: BZ to the calm professionalism of the Philippine Coast Guard. 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

This fall, the U.S. Army will launch a new online marketplace for purchasing unmanned systems — an “Amazon-like” platform that will allow units to select vetted solutions by price and performance, bypassing the lengthy bureaucratic acquisition process. The U.S. Army will roll out a new online platform designed to classify and purchase unmanned aerial systems […] The post U.S. Army to launch ‘Amazon-like’ drone marketplace first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $160 million Foreign Military Sale to Canada for Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) and associated equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced. The agency has delivered the required certification to Congress, clearing the way for the proposed transfer. According to the DSCA, the Government of Canada […] The post U.S. approves $160 million sale of JLTVs to Canada first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The United States Coast Guard has officially brought the medium icebreaker USCGC Storis (WAGB-21) into service at its Juneau, Alaska, base, marking the first acquisition of a new polar icebreaker in more than a quarter century. The ship was commissioned on August 10 as part of the Coast Guard’s effort to expand its polar fleet, […] The post USCG commissions first new polar icebreaker in 25 years first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Russia’s defense industry has been rocked by another corruption scandal, with federal security agents detaining a former senior manager at the country’s primary infantry fighting vehicle manufacturer, AO “Kurganmashzavod.” According to the Federal Security Service (FSB) branch in the Kurgan region, the former head of the plant’s metals department is suspected of abuse of official […] The post Russian defense industry hit by new corruption arrests first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has completed development trials of its new-generation Zorawar light tank and will begin user trials in September 2025, DRDO chief Dr. Samir V. Kamat said. The Zorawar, developed jointly by DRDO and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), is designed to meet the Indian Army’s requirement for a highly mobile, […] The post India prepares to field new Zorawar light tank first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel sustained heavy damage Monday following a collision with a Chinese Navy warship during a tense maritime encounter with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) near Bajo de Masinloc, also known internationally as Scarborough Shoal. According to the PCG, the incident occurred as it carried out its “Kadiwa Para sa Bagong […] The post Chinese warship, Coast Guard vessel collide near disputed shoal first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

There is no better way to stay out of the summer heat than to take an hour to join us for a Midrats Podcast melee! Mark has my list of maritime and national security issues he wants to chat about, I have mine, and while we’re live you can join us in the chat room and propose your own. The best hour in national security returns live at 5pm Eastern this Sunday. You can join us at this link. If you miss the live show, check this page later Sunday on Substack and I’ll update with the podcast audio. See you soon! 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

A British Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning II fighter jet made an emergency landing at Kagoshima Airport in southern Japan on Saturday morning after the pilot reported a potential technical issue. No injuries were reported, and the airport has since resumed normal operations. According to Kagoshima Airport officials, the incident occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. […] The post British F-35B makes emergency landing in Japan first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The British Army has received its first domestically built Boxer armored vehicle, marking a key milestone in the United Kingdom’s £5 billion ($7 billion) program to deliver 623 units across multiple variants. Produced by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) at its Telford facility, the vehicle has been transported to Bovington, where it will serve as […] The post First UK-made Boxer joins British Army first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Polish prosecutors, counterintelligence, and tax authorities are investigating a Warsaw-based company that received nearly 100 million złoty (about $25 million) from a South Korean defense contractor shortly after multi-billion-dollar arms deals were signed between Warsaw and Seoul. The investigation, launched in June by the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office, is linked to Poland’s high-value defense purchases […] The post Poland launches probe into Korean arms contracts first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger says the German defense company anticipates receiving an order from the Bundeswehr later this year for additional Skyranger air defense gun systems worth between six and eight billion euros ($7-9 billion). Speaking during a conference call with analysts, Papperger declined to disclose specific quantities, citing agreements with the German Ministry of […] The post Germany plans to buy 500+ Skyranger air defense systems first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article