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This summer, the fourth summer of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in the winter of 2022, we find the first serious and determined effort towards a genuine negotiation to end this grinding war in Eastern Europe. The experiences and lessons of this war aren’t only changing how nations throughout the world prepare for their next war, it has forced even greater changes on both combatants how they fight now and plan structuring their national defense post-war. Returning to Midrats again to discuss this and related issues this Sunday at 5 pm Eastern will be Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg, a Senior Research Scientist in the Strategy, Policy, Plans, and Programs division of CNA, where he has worked since 2000. You can listen live and join the show chat at this link. Dr. Gorenburg is an associate at the Harvard University Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and previously served as Executive Director of the American Association of the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS). His research interests include security issues in the former Soviet Union, Russian military reform, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and identity. Dr. Gorenburg is author of Nationalism for the Masses: Minority Ethnic Mobilization in the Russian Federation (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and has been published in journals such as World Politics and Post-Soviet Affairs. He currently serves as editor of Problems of Post-Communism and was also editor of Russian Politics and Law from 2009 to 2016. Dr. Gorenburg received a B.A. in international relations from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University. If you are reading this after the show, refresh the Substack page Sunday night when I update with the show notes and link to the podcast. 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 trailer linked to the U.S. Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system caught fire during transport on 15 August, sending seven soldiers to the hospital for evaluation. According to Fort Bliss, the incident occurred at about 1:20 p.m. on U.S. Highway 54 near mile marker 10. A military convoy belonging to the […] The post THAAD missile system catches fire in Texas first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Beijing has begun fielding a new air defense system designed to counter mass drone attacks, as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) adopts measures against the growing threat of low-cost, expendable unmanned aircraft. The FK-3000, first showcased at the 2022 Zhuhai Air Show, was seen during rehearsals for an upcoming military parade. According to Chinese sources, […] The post China fields new FK-3000 anti-drone system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Rumors surrounding China’s next-generation missile defense system have materialized into reality. During rehearsals for an upcoming military parade in Beijing, launch vehicles carrying the newly designated HQ-29 were observed for the first time. Until now, the HQ-29 existed only in speculation, fueled by scattered photographs and analysis on Chinese social media. A week ago, images […] The post China debuts HQ-29 “Satellite Hunter” system first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A new version of China’s DF-26 ballistic missile system has been spotted during rehearsals for an upcoming military parade in Beijing. The DF-26, officially known as Dong Feng-26 and designated by NATO as CH-SS-18, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile operated by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force. It is produced by the China Aerospace Science […] The post China develops new version of “Guam Killer” missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukrainian forces have introduced a new naval drone designed for operations on the Dnipro River, according to a report from the defense news outlet Militarnyi. The system, named Barracuda, was developed by the special unit “Barracuda,” which operates under the 40th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade, part of the 30th Marine Corps. The report said the […] The post Ukraine’s Marines develop new naval drone for littoral warfare first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Swedish-Estonian shipbuilder has unveiled a new modular rigid inflatable boat (RIB) designed to give defense and security operators the ability to reconfigure missions in minutes. XW Production, a startup operating across Sweden and Estonia, announced the launch of its XW Modular 750, an aluminum RIB platform tested by professional divers, border guards, and naval […] The post Swedish-Estonian team unveils modular combat craft first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

German-based ARX Robotics has introduced its first combat-capable unmanned ground vehicle, developed with Ukrainian partners and designed to increase soldier survivability on the modern battlefield. According to a press release from ARX, the new system, called Combat Gereon, is built around the company’s “Unmanned First Contact” concept. The approach places unmanned platforms at the front […] The post ARX and Valhalla develop armed ground drone for Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Footage broadcast on Chinese state television has revealed new training exercises featuring unmanned ground vehicles armed with rocket launchers. According to observer of Chinese military developments Jesus Roman, the exercises involved an armored infantry squad from the 83rd Group Army, part of the Central Theater Command. The unit conducted semi-urban assault drills using Type 08 […] The post China tests new ground drones with rocket launchers first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A Chinese company has begun producing mobile replicas of the U.S.-made HIMARS rocket artillery system, offering the mockups for training and limited export. Videos shared on Chinese social media platforms show a private firm demonstrating moving versions of the system, designed to resemble the American launchers. According to the company, the replicas are being produced […] The post Chinese firm builds HIMARS replicas first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

A dozen years ago when I first posted this, Mrs. Salamander managed to find a few more direct ancestors of mine who fought in the American Revolution on the American side, ahem, from militia "Private" to Colonel ... and even a LT on RANGER. At last, all that "Tory Militia" slander can fade into the background ..... It is helpful that we are careful about talking too much about our generation's wee "War" on Terror. Perspective is important. Look at what other generations endured, risked, what they suffered, what many never came back from. Little spots of horror many people look over and don't even know it. Do you know who Philip Freneau is? I didn't, though I wish I did earlier. Sure, as a passing paragraph I have heard of prison ships, but not paused to let it soak in. Via the National Humanities Center; The British Prison Ship as the first-person account of a six- week ordeal on British prison ships, on which an estimated 11,500 Americans died during the war. Although some facts in the poem conflict with ships’ records and Freneau’s own prose account, it is likely that Freneau was describing his own experiences as a young prisoner in his twenties. Presented here are the imprisonment sections of the first and least-known version, published only months after Freneau’s release in summer 1780. Having spent a fair bit of time on the water in calm and heat - one thing that comes to mind for me in what it must have been like in those ships ... the smell. CANTO II. The Prison Ship. THE various horrors of these hulks to tell, These Prison Ships where pain and sorrow dwell; Where death in tenfold vengeance holds his reign, And injur’d ghosts, in reason’s ear, complain; This be my talk - ungenerous Britons, you, Conspire to murder those you can’t subdue; Why else no art of cruelty untry’d, Such heavy vengeance and such hellish pride? Death has no charms - his empires barren lie, A desert country and a clouded sky; Death has no charms except in British eyes, See how they court the bleeding sacrifice! See how they pant to stain the world with gore, And millions murdered, still would murder more; This selfish race from all the world disjoin’d, Read it all .. and think that in time, hate between nations can fade - but the knowledge of the sacrifices of those who suffered to give us the comfort and freedom we have now should not. Our world was not granted, taken, given, or designed - it was earned, bought and paid for. We should be thoughtful about how poorly we steward or cheaply we give away those things others paid so dearly for in order that we may enjoy them. 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 U.S. Air Force’s 500th F-35A Lightning II fighter jet arrived at the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville on July 9, 2025, marking a milestone in the service’s transition to fifth-generation airpower. The aircraft is one of the first three F-35As permanently assigned to the wing, known as “the Thunder,” and […] The post U.S. Air Force marks 500th F-35A delivery first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The U.S. Army has awarded contracts to AeroVironment and Edge Autonomy to rapidly deliver the first Long-Range Reconnaissance (LRR) unmanned aircraft systems. The systems selected — AeroVironment’s P550 and Edge Autonomy’s Stalker Block 35X — are Group 2 drones designed to provide Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) at the maneuver battalion level. According to […] The post U.S. Army taps AeroVironment, Edge for new recon drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Two German defense technology companies, STARK and Quantum Systems, have demonstrated a new integrated reconnaissance-strike capability in Ukraine, combining the VECTOR intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drone with the VIRTUS precision strike system. According to the companies, the concept allows operators to move from target identification to destruction within minutes, bridging the gap between surveillance […] The post German tech firms show drone-strike integration in Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Authorities in Colombia confirmed that a police Black Hawk helicopter was destroyed in a drone strike while carrying out a counternarcotics mission in the Antioquia region. According to officials, the UH-60 Black Hawk was transporting personnel to rural areas near Amalfi to eradicate coca crops, the raw material for cocaine production. As the helicopter hovered […] The post Colombian Black Hawk shot down by FPV drone first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukrainian officials have released new details about their ambitious FP-5 Flamingo missile program, confirming that the weapon was conceived, developed, and fielded in less than nine months. According to POLITICO, Iryna Terekh, CEO and Chief Technology Officer of Fire Point, said the rapid development underscores Ukraine’s ability to deliver advanced defense capabilities under wartime conditions. […] The post Ukraine reveals details of new long-range cruise missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

German shipbuilder NVL Group has announced the establishment of a joint venture with UK-based Kraken Technology Group to accelerate the development and production of uncrewed surface vessels for both military and civilian use. The new company, NVL Kraken, will operate from NVL’s Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg and complement existing facilities in the United Kingdom. According […] The post German shipbuilder, UK startup team up to build naval drones first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $52 million contract modification by the U.S. Navy for production of the AN/SPY-6(V) family of radars, the Pentagon announced this week. The fixed-price incentive (firm-target) contract option was issued under contract number N00024-22-C-5500. According to the Department of Defense, the funds come from […] The post Raytheon wins $52.9M U.S. Navy radar contract first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Ukraine’s largest private weapons manufacturer, Ukrainian Armor, has begun mass production of new VOLS military buggies in response to battlefield demand for a low-cost, versatile vehicle designed for logistics and frontline support. According to a report from Oboronka, the company identified a gap in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ equipment compared to Russian units, which employ […] The post Ukraine’s private company begins mass production of VOLS buggy first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

East Timor. Over four centuries of neglectful Portuguese rule, a spat of 1970s violence, a few decades of Indonesian rule, and then independence shortly after the turn of the century. Is that all you really need to know about this small, poor, and generally forgotten part of an insignificant island? Is it insignificant? The People’s Republic of China (PRC) doesn’t think so. Follow the money. As always, let’s head to the chart room. There she is in the center. That red circle is the 360 nautical mile circle that meets where the USMC base is at Darwin, Australia. East Timor has a population of 1.3 million. Roughly the population of San Diego, CA or Estonia. In size, her part of the island not owned by Indonesia is roughly the same number of square miles as Connecticut. Her GDP is roughly that of Samoa. It isn’t its size or resources that are driving the below. It sure isn’t goodwill. An economic powerhouse? No. Strategic geography powerhouse? Unquestionably. It isn’t a Gibraltar, Singapore, or a Malta in that regard…but perhaps one echelon below that. Like the smaller nations in the Southwest Pacific we’ve covered before, it is long past time for the West and its friends to start paying attention. Again, the PRC has stolen a march on her opponents. Via The Telegraph UK on Sunday (you can read the whole thing on Press Reader here) Its strategic position in the contested Indo-Pacific and nearby shipping lanes make the country ripe for Chinese influence. “We do not view China as a threat, least of all as an enemy,” José Ramos-Horta, East Timor’s president, said, insisting his country remains neutral in the battle for control of the Pacific. Well, that may be his view. By their actions, the PRC believes differently. So do I. East Timor sits crucially near the Second Island Chain, a series of islands stretching from Japan through Guam—a US territory with a key military base—to Indonesia’s eastern islands. East Timor is also situated near the Ombai-Wetar Strait, a deep-water passage that’s critical for movement between the Indian and Pacific oceans. You cannot wish away geography and what, in the event of a Great Pacific War that bleeds over into the Indian Ocean, will make or break sea control or denial. China has attempted to increase its military presence on the island, proposing the construction of a radar facility in 2007, which it claimed would only be used to detect illegal fishing. Oh, that is rich. Yes, the PRC…well-known stalwart on the international stage opposing illegal fishing. East Timor relies mostly on security agreements with its neighbors: Australia and Indonesia. While open to participating in joint military drills with China, Mr Ramos-Horta said there was only so much East Timor could offer a country such as China when it comes to defense. Dude, it is your geography they want, not anything else. Chinese aid has funded East Timor’s presidential palace, foreign ministry and military headquarters, and Chinese state-owned companies build and currently control the national power. Do you need more? No. You don’t. Here is the real long game where you have to give a nod of respect to the PRC. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the region by GDP per capita, it earns close to half a billion dollars in petroleum revenue annually, which funds nearly 90 percent of the state budget. However, its main oil fields are predicted to be fully depleted within the next decade, meaning the country could be left bankrupt. We can all see the game four moves ahead, yes? Australia needs to step in and step up. No one else can or should lead here in a way that would benefit the interests of the West. The game is afoot all over the Indo-Pacific. Heck, also in the news on the other side of Australia is Manus Island. Nice update via Brent Sadler on an effort there I last wrote about almost four years ago. h/t PaulLeave 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

Show LinksGaza COA Decision Brief, 11 October, 2023 We're Burning Another Amphib: this time the USS New Orleans (LPD 18) The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century, by Kenneth F. McKenzie Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South Hardcover, by Elizabeth Varon (Author) SummaryIn this episode, Sal discusses various pressing top… Read more View the full article

Via Brian McElhiney and Keishi Koja at Stars and Stripes: Japan’s coast guard and military are helping the Navy battle a blaze that broke out aboard an amphibious transport docking ship off Okinawa’s southeastern coast on Wednesday evening. “Crews are responding to a fire aboard USS New Orleans (LPD 18) this evening, Aug. 20, (Japan time) which is in the vicinity of Okinawa, Japan,” U.S. 7th Fleet wrote in an unsigned statement emailed to Stars and Stripes. “We will provide more details as they become available.” … The fire started in the front part of the 684-foot-long vessel, a coast guard spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. “We do not know if it started on the outside or the inside of the ship; we are still investigating,” he said. Two tugboats and an unspecified Self-Defense Force vessel were participating in firefighting efforts at 6 p.m., the spokesman said. Camp Foster withdrew the firefighting request at 5:55 p.m. and asked all vessels to stay about a mile away, the coast guard said. The request was reinstated at 7:28 p.m. The coast guard initially dispatched one vessel and was preparing to join firefighting efforts as of 8:30 p.m., the spokesman said The video below is helpful to the timeline above. news.az_internationalA post shared by @news.az_internationalIt looks like the fire is not contained. Doing a last-minute check of the news, as of 11:30 am Wednesday Eastern (12:30 am Thursday Okinawa time), it is still burning. She has been on fire for almost seven hours so far. That is not good for any ship. In time, we will know more about what is burning (though lack of significant dark smoke gives me some hints), but we do have possibilities. As an amphibious ship, the layout is a bit different than a normal warship. This fire appears to be forward and below the main deck. That is where “stores” are in the above diagram. It is also where the MK-41 VLS void is, but no ships in the class were ever fielded with this capability. One saving grace is that we are being helped by the Japanese. When in trouble, you could not ask for better help. Say a prayer for the Americans and Japanese fighting this fire…and be careful as news comes out. First reports are often wrong…but what is happening is clear as day. I’ll update here for any significant updates. UPDATE: As expected, Sal Mercogliano has a solid video review. UPDATE II - Electric Boogaloo: She burned 12 hours. As per C7F: A fire aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18), which is anchored near White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, was declared extinguished at 4 a.m., Aug. 21. The fire began at approximately 4 p.m., Aug. 20. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. New Orleans Sailors’ firefighting efforts were supported by the crew of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22), which is moored at White Beach Naval Facility. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force; Japan Coast Guard; and U.S. Navy commands from across Commander, Fleet Activities Okinawa also provided critical support to the firefighting efforts. Two Sailors were taken to New Orleans’ medical for minor injuries. 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 British Army announced that its Boxer armored vehicle has successfully completed a Javelin integration trial, marking what it described as a major step toward providing its forces with the ability to fire the anti-tank missile from under armor. According to the Army, “Earlier this year, Boxer successfully completed its Javelin integration trial! This achievement […] The post British Boxer successfully fires Javelin missile first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The French defense supplier Arquus has confirmed a contract to deliver 61 Bastion armored vehicles to Ukraine. According to the latest Rapport de mission released by John Cockerill, Arquus, which operates as a subsidiary of the company, said it “has also signed a contract for the delivery of 61 Bastion vehicles for Ukraine.” The report […] The post Arquus to deliver 61 Bastion vehicles to Ukraine first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

The Royal Navy has awarded the University of Plymouth a contract to supply a C-Enduro Unmanned Surface Vessel integrated with Robosys Automation’s VOYAGER AI software, enabling advanced over-the-horizon data-gathering operations. Robosys Automation, a developer of maritime autonomy systems, announced the agreement alongside the University of Plymouth, highlighting that the vessel—named Bauza—will be equipped with the […] The post Royal Navy awards contract for AI-powered unmanned vessel first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article