Videos and photos seen by Intelligence Online show that brand-new pistols and assault rifles made by an Abu Dhabi arms manufacturer are increasingly being sold in Houthi-controlled areas.
Moscow is stepping up its drone attacks as it tries to overwhelm Kyiv’s air defence systems. Ukrainian low-cost interceptors remain essential, but are no longer enough to counter Russia’s airborne threat.
The Pakistani defence industry is looking to make the most of the country’s diplomatic momentum. One private firm has the ambition of competing with China in a sector encountering high international demand, especially in Ukraine.
Published on 27/07/26 at 13:55 GMT: After being held in custody by the DGSI domestic intelligence service, Pierre-Henri Chuet, who formerly flew Rafale jets in France’s naval aviation force, has been placed under judicial supervision and formally charged over training pilots of the People’s Liberation Army.
Published on 28/07/26 at 17:35 GMT: With its partners Knack, Le Soir and Follow the Money, our sister publication La Lettre has investigated a Canadian woman of Chinese origin arrested at NATO military headquarters in Belgium this week. She had undertaken several internships, most recently with the Alliance’s cyber unit.
Behind the rapid warming of ties between China and Syria lies a sensitive issue: the fate of 20,000 Uighurs who have settled in the country. While Beijing makes its investments conditional on limiting the community’s rights, Damascus maintains a deliberate ambiguity.
Despite being under electronic surveillance since the Mindich affair, former presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak has been meeting a slew of Ukrainian security officials.
Russia’s federal government is leaving companies to protect their own infrastructure from Ukrainian strikes in a move that conceals the country’s struggling national air defences.
In the wake of the Kazan summit, the Russian embassy in Phnom Penh is keen to deepen bilateral military cooperation, with a focus on maritime access.
Published on 29/07/26 at 12:00 GMT: Allegations have emerged concerning repeated breaches of security regulations at the French embassy in Bangui, which is currently headed by ambassador Bruno Foucher, a heavyweight of the French diplomatic corps.
French cyber intelligence agencies have observed an increase in offers from cyber criminals looking to recruit personnel from law enforcement agencies and intelligence services. Moscow is suspected of being behind some of these job offers.
The company has hired the services of a lobbying firm as it seeks to regain procurement opportunities with US agencies.
Documents show businessman Chao Yi-Long tried to form an investor consortium in Muscat earlier this year in a bid to acquire a stake in Chinese-held microchip designer Imagination Technologies. It was the first step in a plan to redomicile the firm, which has been under scrutiny by UK lawmakers.
New intelligence specialists, a strengthened Latin America team and military cooperation: regardless of the difficulties in relations between the two countries, Washington is quietly bolstering its security presence in the British capital.
Moldova-born businessman Alex Sekler claims to have collected dozens of complaints against CGI Group, following a publicity drive against the firm, its founder Zvika Nave, and its listed president, former Shin Bet head Yaakov Peri.
The Politburo convened a meeting in May with representatives from China’s foreign affairs and business communities to rally diplomats and the diaspora against extraterritorial legislation, primarily from the US and Europe, which threatens the interests of Chinese firms and the Party.
Rivalries between Russian intelligence agencies are intensifying against a backdrop of slow progress on the front lines in Ukraine, economic tensions, and heightened security risks.
The Chinese Communist Party is preparing to deploy elite police units in Central Europe to protect Chinese interests. This move, which comes as tensions between China and the European Union are running high, will also serve to establish contingents to monitor and influence the region.
For the first time ever, the UAE carried out direct strikes against Iran at the height of the conflict. But faced with urgent operational needs, Abu Dhabi turned to foreign platforms, whilst those developed by its own EDGE Group remained on the sidelines.
John Kiriakou has become prominent in the social media sphere, even as he continues intelligence-related work in the private sector.
The French foreign intelligence agency had this month to call back three of its officiers based in Tblisi after Georgia’s State Security Service exposed the DGSE’s recruitment of a key figure close to former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, sparking a rift between the countries.
The United Arab Emirates has secured exclusive access to the Shahed drone interceptors made by Ukraine’s Skyfall, beating out Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The first deliveries arrived last week, but their deployment is hampered by a lack of operators and incomplete integration into local command systems.
A key ally of US President Donald Trump, Sergio Gor is now a vital liaison for Central Asian governments seeking to curry favour with Washington. Currently US ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asia born, the diplomat born in Tashkent has become a key liaison between the region and US business interests.
Based in the United Arab Emirates and presented as a multilateral advisory centre for countering extremism, Hedayah is consolidating its position as a key player in the country’s major diplomatic strategies.
A comparative study on China’s informational campaigns led in all G7 countries and published in late May, recommends the setting up of a task force to fight common weaknesses, and particularly at local level.
Sources on Japan’s Okinawa island, which hosts numerous US military bases, reported to the Japanese agency responsible for countering foreign interference that in late 2025, pseudo-academic activity in China related to “Ryukyu studies” increased, with the aim of promoting a pro-independence narrative.
GAMI and SAMI, the bodies set up by Mohammed bin Salman to equip Saudi Arabia’s defence forces, are under increasing internal pressure. Weakened by Iranian attacks, the Saudi national oil company Aramco is looking to set up its own anti-drone unit, having already developed in-house programmes in the naval and secure telecoms sectors.
The UK’s anti-corruption agency’s investigation into the strategic British signals intelligence firm Ultra Electronics has indirectly revealed highly influential business networks in Oman.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has capitalised on Washington’s ambiguous stance on Taiwan to implement a discreet strategic overhaul. Lawmakers, journalists, and media outlets from Japan and other non-US Western democracies that express solidarity with either Taiwan or the Lai Ching-te administration are being monitored and may be barred from entering China.
De-anonymising Starlink users, who are on the rise in most conflict zones, is fast becoming a lucrative business in the field of global cyber. A Cypriot-Israeli company, backed by a successful supplier of Israeli cyber tools to Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, has seized this new opportunity.
Through a little-known foundation, the Ukrainian State Special Transport Service has enlisted the services of a longtime US energy executive with business experience in Ukraine.
During his nomination hearing to head the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Michael Vance told the Senate Intelligence Committee that his unusually political essay criticising several European countries, was consistent with current US foreign policy.
From new appointments to job extensions, France’s foreign intelligence service is making its final staff adjustments ahead of next year’s presidential election.
In their reports submitted on the eve of Japan’s intelligence reform, the country’s ruling party and the House of Councillors’ Research Office strongly emphasised the need to draw on foreign expertise given Japanese intelligence agencies’ serious shortcomings. Alongside Five Eyes, France is regularly cited as a model.
Made up of the intelligence community’s top analysts, the National Intelligence Council has recently added a new unit to reflect White House priorities.
A succession of exposés concerning the Emirati and Saudi response to Iranian aggression has been fuelling speculation over negative PR campaigns.
In response to transnational repression campaigns by Chinese authorities in Europe, security services across the continent are increasingly coordinating their efforts and stepping up exchanges.
Soldiers from France’s cyber defence regiment are carrying out rotations in Ukraine to study Russian services’ methods. Working alongside CERT-UA and the SBU’s Cyber Security Situation Centre, they help France learn how to protect the army’s future tactical networks.
People linked to Global Security Services Group are recruiting Latin American First-Person View drone operators in Ukraine who have served on the front against Russia. An initial contingent of these pilots was recently flown to the Kivu region, in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Operating outside any legal framework, the ‘Only’ draws SBU agents, criminals and Western contractors wanting to mingle with locals in a cosy venue that happily ignores the curfew.
UAE diplomats and investment officials are making fewer visits to the UK, advisory sector sources say, after deciding the country is unfriendly to its sovereign wealth money and with a problematic stance on tackling political Islam.
Beijing’s spies have shifted from recruiting agents among Taiwan’s elite to targeting soldiers, police, and local officials in the self-ruled island through criminal gangs, underground banks and money lenders.
The British consultancy Connect Advisory, headed by former FBI and British Army officers, is set to secure a number of contracts with the Saudi defence ministry, posing a serious challenge to established players in the field.
The current US ambassador to Greece is working to secure a deal which would involve American, Greek and Bulgarian energy companies.
Thanks to unprecedented cooperation, EU member states’ and Kyiv intelligence services have found that Turkey has become a hub for Russia’s shadow fleet. A network of companies in Istanbul now provides Moscow’s preferred way to smuggle oil, an activity that remains legal under Turkish law.
Pro-Iranian groups on the social media platform are sharing satellite images of sensitive sites in the Middle East, curtailing Washington’s attempts to limit exposure of its facilities. The images are thought to be coming from Chinese companies.
Nearly two years after the Burmese fiasco, French intelligence officers are still monitoring networks of former Foreign Legion soldiers working as private security contractors. Investigators recently travelled to Estonia.
The Chinese leader is preparing to welcome Donald Trump to Beijing. That visit goes beyond mere diplomatic concessions and is part of a delicate internal dynamic: the run-up to the 2027 Party congress, where Xi Jinping is focusing his efforts to consolidate his position.
As the National Intelligence Directorate changes hands, tensions are running high, with reprisals against Tulsi Gabbard’s allies and fears of massive purges.
The official scrapping of the landmark Franco-German fighter jet project has prompted Paris to speed up its search for new funding. Dassault has turned its focus towards the UAE, which is proving very receptive to these new developments.
A UK police investigation of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct while in public office is looking at the former prince’s contacts during foreign trips. Former officials say some meetings were part of a damage limitation strategy by the foreign office simply to keep the prince busy.
Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous places to meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, Intelligence Online visits the Funky Monkey in Brussels, nestled between the offices of the EU’s diplomatic service and those of China’s state news agency.
The Technology Innovation Institute, an institution focused on creating a sovereign R&D ecosystem to support the UAE’s defence sector, is undergoing serious upheaval. A power struggle within the institute’s senior leadership lies at the root of this turmoil.
World View’s stratospheric observation systems were discreetly integrated into Washington’s ISR architecture during operations against Iran. Using Palantir, the balloons also feed GEOINT to US special operations command and support image and signals intelligence collection across the Indo-Pacific.
Videos and photos seen by Intelligence Online show that brand-new pistols and assault rifles made by an Abu Dhabi arms manufacturer are increasingly being sold in Houthi-controlled areas.
French cyber intelligence agencies have observed an increase in offers from cyber criminals looking to recruit personnel from law enforcement agencies and intelligence services. Moscow is suspected of being behind some of these job offers.
Ten years after the construction of the famous site in Wuhan, China is finishing the buildings of a new high-security laboratory at the prestigious Sun Yat-sen University. The project has been entrusted to a renowned researcher from the People’s Liberation Army.
Every morning at 04:00 GMT
For 40 years, Intelligence Online has been providing exclusive news on the intelligence community, on the men and women for whom information is a critical tool, and on the networks that bind them.
Peruse our daily story summaries and stay informed as our reporters decode the low-frequency signals on the horizon.
We will not use your address for advertising or commercial purposes.
Consult our offers page to find the right subscription for your organisation.
We use cookies to optimise our website and measure traffic. You can choose to accept, personalise or refuse optional cookies. Mandatory cookies remain active.
To find out more, consult our Cookie management page.
We use cookies to offer a secure, personalised and enhanced user experience. You can select those you wish to authorise below:
These cookies are required to provide a simplified connection and ensure that our website functions correctly. Mandatory cookies cannot be modified.
These cookies allow us to collect anonymous navigation information to improve your user experience.
These cookies allow us to measure the success of our social media campaigns. Marketing cookies include X pixel, Meta pixel, LinkedIn pixel and Google Ads.
Consult our offers page to find the right subscription for your organisation.
Sign up for real-time alerts and be notified of new editions!
Once registered, you will be notified by a short message on your computer or mobile phone as soon as a new edition of our publication or an alert is published. Stay informed anytime, anywhere!