🔥 Ukraine Sets Up Military Office Inside Russia

Good Morning. 

The Space Force is collaborating with allies, particularly the U.K. and Canada, to develop a strategy for strengthening the global space supply chain, addressing concerns about the industrial base's ability to meet growing satellite production demands.

The effort, which began last fall and could be completed by Fiscal Year 2025, aims to enhance collaboration, reduce vulnerabilities, and overcome challenges such as over-classification that limit information sharing among international partners.

— 🐈‍⬛ Acoustic Kitty

THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

Ukraine has set up a military administrative office in Russia's Kursk region, where its forces have advanced 35 km into Russian territory, controlling 1,150 sq km and 82 settlements.

The incursion, now in its 10th day, has prompted Russia to declare a federal emergency in the Belgorod region and plan additional measures to safeguard its border areas.

Western-supplied military equipment, including UK-donated tanks, is being used in the Ukrainian offensive, raising concerns about potential escalation and Russia's response.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & DIPLOMACY

Counterterrorism

• The Taliban continue to exert pressure on media in Afghanistan through license suspensions, arrests, and closures of news outlets, according to watchdogs.

• North Korea plans to reopen its mountainous city of Samjiyon to foreign tourists in December, marking the first time the country will allow widespread international tourism since closing its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

• Iranian police shot and severely injured Arezou Badri, a 31-year-old woman, while trying to seize her car over an alleged hijab law violation.

Military & Defense

• Ukrainian forces have made significant advances into Russian territory in the Kursk region, aided by superior intelligence and U.S.-provided weapons like HIMARS, though some analysts argue their progress could be faster if allowed to use more sophisticated Western weapons.

• The Philippines is upgrading Basa Air Base with U.S. funding to boost military readiness and deter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the two countries.

• Mongolia is strategically balancing its relationships with China and Russia while strengthening ties with Western democracies like the U.S., Japan, and European countries, positioning itself as a neutral ground in complex geopolitics.

• U.S. and Botswanan military personnel participated in a workshop addressing challenges facing women in Botswana's military, including issues like sexual harassment and the need for tailored equipment.

Cybersecurity

• Google reports increased Iranian phishing attacks targeting U.S. presidential campaigns, government officials, and Israeli institutions, using sophisticated tactics to steal login credentials from high-profile individuals.

• The Jia Tan hack and similar incidents have highlighted the vulnerabilities in the open-source software ecosystem, exposing issues of trust, resource scarcity, and burnout among maintainers.

Counterintelligence & Espionage

• US-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Russian court on treason charges for allegedly raising money for the Ukrainian military.

• Citizen Lab researchers have uncovered a sophisticated two-year phishing campaign called "River of Phish," conducted by Russian-aligned cyber espionage groups Coldriver (linked to FSB) and Coldwastrel, targeting Western and Russian civil society entities.

• China's Ministry of State Security claims to have uncovered and disrupted over 1K cases of Taiwanese espionage during recent special operations, vowing to maintain pressure on Taiwan's pro-independence forces.

Transnational Organized Crime

• Resorts World Las Vegas, a major Strip property owned by Genting Group, has been accused by the Nevada Gaming Control Board of catering to individuals with ties to organized crime and illegal gambling, including welcoming known felons and contracting with a suspected criminal, potentially violating state gaming regulations.

• Guatemala's anti-corruption President Bernardo Arévalo faces escalating legal attacks, in what appears to be a politically motivated campaign to derail his administration's efforts to combat entrenched corruption and organized crime networks.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX successfully launched the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission constellation, which includes two satellites for Space Norway and two U.S. military payloads, from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The mission marks the first time an operational U.S. military payload is being hosted on a commercial satellite operated by a foreign partner, showcasing increased international collaboration in space.

The launch aims to enhance connectivity in the Arctic region for both commercial and military applications, aligning with the U.S. Department of Defense's 2024 Arctic Strategy.

In other news…

Nvidia and other tech companies are exploring advanced liquid cooling technologies, including circulating liquid in tubes and immersion cooling, for data centers to reduce power consumption and increase computing density, as AI applications drive up energy demands and traditional air cooling becomes less efficient.

NASA's Perseverance rover is set to begin a challenging monthslong ascent up the western rim of Mars' Jezero Crater, aiming to collect valuable scientific data and samples from higher elevations.

Indonesia will showcase Chinese-built autonomous trackless trains during its 79th Independence Day celebrations in its new capital Nusantara, highlighting the country's ambitious plans for a smart, green city and its deepening collaboration with China.

Elon Musk's xAI has partnered with Black Forest Labs, a new AI startup, to power Grok's controversial image generation feature, which lacks many of the safeguards found in other AI image generators and has flooded X with outrageous images.

DEALS & FUNDING

Lockheed Martin is acquiring satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital in a $450M deal, buying out the company at $0.25 per share and retiring its existing debt.

The acquisition comes as Terran Orbital faces financial difficulties, with dwindling cash reserves and the removal of a major $2.4B satellite contract from its backlog.

This deal marks the second space company to leave the public markets after entering them at billion-dollar-plus valuations, following Astra Space's similar trajectory earlier this summer.

In other news…

Natron Energy, a startup developing sodium-ion batteries, plans to invest $1.4B in a new factory in North Carolina, aiming to produce cheaper and safer alternatives to lithium-ion batteries and bolster the domestic battery supply chain in the U.S.

World Labs, a stealthy AI startup founded by Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li, has raised $100M in a NEA-led round, reaching a valuation of over $1B within 4 months of its founding, as it aims to create AI models for accurate 3D object and environment estimation.

Hadrian, an autonomous factory startup, has acquired Datum Source, a software company that uses AI to match hardware companies with manufacturers.

Anduril's Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicles have been selected for the Pentagon's Replicator 1.2 initiative, aimed at rapidly mass producing advanced un-crewed systems to deter China.

CodeRabbit, an AI-powered code review platform, has raised $16M in Series A funding to expand its services and team, despite ongoing debates about the effectiveness of AI in code review processes compared to human-led reviews.