🔥 ‘Breathtakingly Fast'

Good Morning. Did you happen to catch our most recent episode of the America Builds podcast with leading China policy expert Jon Pelson?

If you have, let us know what you think about the question posed by host Will Allen!

— 🐈‍⬛ Acoustic Kitty

THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

China’s Space Development Happening ‘Breathtakingly Fast,’ Says US Space Command Chief

Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, has highlighted the rapid advancement of China's military capabilities in Space, expressing concerns over the "breathtakingly fast" development of counter-Space weapons and the increased use of Space assets to bolster terrestrial military operations.

Escalating Capabilities

China has markedly expanded its fleet of intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, tripling its numbers in orbit, which enhances its ability to monitor and potentially disrupt U.S. Space assets.

International Collaboration and Future Prospects

In response to these challenges, Gen. Whiting stressed the importance of international cooperation, particularly between the United States and Japan. Efforts are underway to improve space domain awareness through collaborations like those between Japan’s Space Operations Group and the U.S. Space Command.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & DIPLOMACY

Counterterrorism

• Militants attacked a police checkpoint in Russia's Karachay-Cherkessia, killing two officers and wounding four; all five attackers were subsequently killed, officials reported Monday. This incident follows a pattern of violence in the North Caucasus, where extremists previously targeted another checkpoint in the region.

• A suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels damaged a Malta-flagged container ship in the Red Sea near Mokha, Yemen, with no injuries reported to the crew, authorities stated Monday. The Houthis' military operations targeting international shipping in the region are part of their broader campaign to pressure Israel to end its actions in Gaza, according to a statement from the group.

• Four teenagers in Sydney were charged with planning a terrorist act targeting Jewish individuals, days after a related attack where an Assyrian Orthodox Bishop was stabbed during a church service, according to police documents.

• A bomb attack in El Wak, northern Kenya, killed five people and injured another five, with the bomb hidden on a donkey cart to elude detection, the interior ministry reported Monday. The attack, not immediately claimed, occurred near the Somalia border where al-Shabab militants have previously targeted the area.

• Iraq has repatriated nearly 700 of its citizens, mostly women and children, from Syria's al-Hol camp, a site primarily for families of Islamic State militants, to undergo rehabilitation programs near Mosul, Iraqi and Syrian officials announced Monday.

Military & Defense

• Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah killed at least 22 people overnight, according to Palestinian health officials, with the attacks targeting three residences as part of Israel's military efforts against Hamas.

• Russell Bentley, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen known as "Texas" who fought with pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, has been confirmed killed in Donetsk after being reported missing earlier this month, according to Al Jazeera.

Cybersecurity

• Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister and member of the European Parliament, has been identified as a victim in a Chinese state-linked espionage campaign aimed at officials in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, according to a report by Belgian newspaper Le Soir.

• A new cyber threat named Muddling Meerkat, likely linked to the People's Republic of China, has been manipulating domain name system (DNS) activities since October 2019 to bypass security and scout global networks, according to cloud security firm Infoblox.

• Telegram has reinstated access to chatbots used by Ukrainian security and intelligence agencies for monitoring Russian military movements after a temporary suspension, a decision initially criticized by Ukraine's military intelligence as unjustified.

Counterintelligence & Espionage

• The InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community has revealed a partnership between a Russian company, ALBATROSS, and Kaspersky Lab, focusing on developing AI systems for drones, in the second part of their investigative series following the interception of sensitive data by the Cyber Resistance team.

• The European Union is preparing to investigate Meta for its management of election-related content, with concerns centered on deceptive advertising and political content that could influence the upcoming parliamentary elections.

• Despite running a massive disinformation campaign since 2017, China's efforts known as Spamouflage have been largely ineffective, lacking the cultural nuances and audience-specific content that characterize successful nation-state campaigns.

Transnational Organized Crime

• The credibility of a major drug trafficking trial in Spain is at risk after the arrest of key witness and high-ranking police officer Juan Carlos Carrión López, who is accused of leading a criminal network that facilitated cocaine smuggling from Colombia to Spain.

• In a significant operation led by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, deputies disrupted a Mexican drug trafficking organization and seized 14 kilograms of fentanyl, marking the largest amount of the drug ever confiscated in the county and enough to potentially kill one-third of Florida's population.

• Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the dismantling of an organized crime group led by Sezai Gülmez in Istanbul, with nine suspects, including Gülmez, arrested in the "Mahzen-34" operation.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

China is set to launch a series of sophisticated lunar missions, starting with a robotic spacecraft to the moon's far side, marking a significant step towards establishing a crewed lunar base at the south pole. Building on the success of its lunar program that began with the Chang'e mission in 2007, China aims to bridge the technological gap with spacefaring nations like the United States and Russia.

Challenging Ascents and Strategic Outposts

The Chang'e-6 mission will be especially challenging as it attempts to collect samples from the moon's far side—a region unreachable by direct communication with Earth—and will rely heavily on the relay satellite for navigation and data transfer.

Rising International Tensions and Hopes for Cooperation

As China progresses with its lunar ambitions, concerns have surfaced from international stakeholders such as NASA, with fears of potential resource claims by China. Despite these tensions, China's lunar missions continue to involve international payloads from countries like France, Italy, and Sweden, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to global scientific collaboration.

In other news…

⛅️ A new report from Cloudflare Inc. identifies the primary cause of internet disruptions in the first quarter as damage to terrestrial and submarine cables, notably from a Houthi Rebel attack on key cables in the Red Sea, coupled with government-directed shutdowns and cyberattacks.

🛳️ South Korea's defense procurement agency has announced enhancements to its navy's capabilities for intercepting ballistic missiles and unmanned vehicles, focusing on the development of an advanced indigenous close-in weapon system (CIWS-II).

👨‍💻 London recently hosted its inaugural defense tech hackathon, focusing on enhancing Ukraine's asymmetric warfare capabilities against Russia, drawing technology experts, venture capitalists, and security professionals to innovate on drones and electronic countermeasures.

DEALS & FUNDING

Despite efforts last year to secure a major project with Intel for an advanced chip packaging plant in Italy, the investment was postponed, with Intel reallocating its resources to other European locations like Germany.

Rising Startup Contributions

Amidst broader governmental initiatives, Silicon Box is set to contribute significantly to the local economy by building a new plant, expected to create 1,600 direct jobs plus additional indirect employment opportunities throughout the construction and operational phases.

In other news…

⚡️ X Shore, a Swedish company known as the 'Tesla of boats,' has secured €8.5 million in funding to continue its development of electric, silent, and connected leisure boats, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of motorboat cruising. The company, which has previously raised substantial funds to increase production capabilities, is leading the shift towards sustainable boating with its innovations in electric propulsion and minimal environmental impact.

✈️The US Army has concluded Option 2 of the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft System (FTUAS) Rapid Prototyping Program, advancing Textron Systems and Griffon Aerospace to Options 3 and 4 for building and testing their respective Aerosonde Mk 4.8 and Valiant UAS models. This move follows the selection of these companies in September 2023 to progress through critical design review, the final phase before prototype testing begins.

🪖 Australia has announced a $65 million military aid package to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, including drones, defense systems, and training support, bringing its total support to over $650 million. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles highlighted Australia's commitment during his visit to Ukraine, emphasizing continued support through initiatives like the multinational drone coalition and comprehensive sanctions against Russian entities.