Lawmakers push IC for more commercial imagery acquisition, transparency

Lawmakers push IC for more commercial imagery acquisition, transparency
Lawmakers push IC for more commercial imagery acquisition, transparency

While Capitol Hill has been pushing the IC to buy more commercial imagery and geospatial analysis, “we still see some level of underinvestment,” said Frank Garcia, professional staffer at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

House Intel Committee OKs Space Force Intel Center

House Intel Committee OKs Space Force Intel Center
House Intel Committee OKs Space Force Intel Center

HPSCI cites the “increasingly complex” space environment as the rationale for the new National Space Intelligence Center.

Battle For NRO Takes Shape As Space, Air Forces Grapple With Acquisition

Battle For NRO Takes Shape As Space, Air Forces Grapple With Acquisition
Battle For NRO Takes Shape As Space, Air Forces Grapple With Acquisition

DoD officials are extremely aware, almost to the point of paranoia, that even discussing the issue of NRO potentially being subsumed by the Space Force is playing with fire.

The Global Battle Over 5G: Trump And Huawei

The Global Battle Over 5G: Trump And Huawei
The Global Battle Over 5G: Trump And Huawei

In the next six to 12 months, country after country is deciding what companies get to build new 5G networks. India and Italy remain open to a Huawei bid, at least for now; Britain, Canada, and Germany are on the fence; while France, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand have said no.

A Blueprint To Stop Chinese Espionage, IP Theft: Nick Eftimiades, Top Intel Expert

A Blueprint To Stop Chinese Espionage, IP Theft: Nick Eftimiades, Top Intel Expert
A Blueprint To Stop Chinese Espionage, IP Theft: Nick Eftimiades, Top Intel Expert

  Few espionage experts speak publicly. Even fewer experts in Chinese espionage do. I first met Nick Eftimiades at the airport when he was a top space intelligence expert. I was en route to my first Space Symposium and knew very little. Nick taught me a bit and was very tolerant of this new space puppy who didn’t know…

Trump Taps Former Rep. Heather Wilson As Likely Air Force Secretary;

Trump Taps Former Rep. Heather Wilson As Likely Air Force Secretary;
Trump Taps Former Rep. Heather Wilson As Likely Air Force Secretary;

WASHINGTON: The nation’s spy satellite agency, the NRO, is likely to get closer scrutiny under the presumptive Air Force Secretary, Heather Wilson, a disciplined former National Security Council staffer and member of Congress. I interviewed Wilson a number of times while she was on the Hill and was always impressed with her command of the…

Van Hipp Top SecArmy Pick; Hoekstra For DNI?

Van Hipp Top SecArmy Pick; Hoekstra For DNI?
Van Hipp Top SecArmy Pick; Hoekstra For DNI?

WASHINGTON: The next Director of National Intelligence may be Pete Hoestra, the Dutch-born former head of the House Intelligence Committee, and the next Army Secretary is likely to be Van Hipp, head of consulting firm American Defense International, according to a source who advises President-elect Donald Trump on national security issues. Van Hipp, a former Army officer, first…

Trump’s Pentagon, Trump’s World; Defense Stocks Soar

Trump’s Pentagon, Trump’s World; Defense Stocks Soar
Trump’s Pentagon, Trump’s World; Defense Stocks Soar

WASHINGTON: Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. It’s a standard military prescription for dealing with a sometimes hostile and usually unpredictable world. It’s also what an African-American chum told me this morning was his plan for life under President Trump. This guy is a fellow Chicagoan and Cubs fan, so he knows how to…

Cyber Attack On Satellite Could Be Act Of War: HPSCI Ranking

Cyber Attack On Satellite Could Be Act Of War: HPSCI Ranking
Cyber Attack On Satellite Could Be Act Of War: HPSCI Ranking

CAPITOL HILL: In a rare public event, the No. 2 member of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSCI), Rep. Adam, said a cyber attack on a US satellite could be considered an act of war. While this may sound like common sense to some, the question of whether using cyber to interfere with or disable…

DNI, NSA Seek Offensive Cyber Clarity; OPM Not An ‘Attack’

DNI, NSA Seek Offensive Cyber Clarity; OPM Not An ‘Attack’
DNI, NSA Seek Offensive Cyber Clarity; OPM Not An ‘Attack’

WASHINGTON: No one really knows what they’re doing in cyberspace: It’s all too new and it changes too fast. So it was refreshing — if unnerving — for two top intelligence officials to admit this morning that the US government’s lack of clarity makes it more difficult both to deter adversaries’ cyber operations and to conduct…

Rep. Thornberry Wins HASC Chair; Reform A’Coming?

Rep. Thornberry Wins HASC Chair; Reform A’Coming?
Rep. Thornberry Wins HASC Chair; Reform A’Coming?

WASHINGTON: The House Armed Services Committee will be led through the shoals of sequestration, military pay, weapons costs and a volatile world by a reform-minded and dynamic legislator. I’ve covered Rep. Mac Thornberry since before the turn of the century (that hurt) and have always found compelling his willingness to delve beneath the surface of what the…

Eye On Fewer Drone Civilian Deaths, MBDA Challenges Lockheed, Raytheon With Brimstone Missile

Eye On Fewer Drone Civilian Deaths, MBDA Challenges Lockheed, Raytheon With Brimstone Missile
Eye On Fewer Drone Civilian Deaths, MBDA Challenges Lockheed, Raytheon With Brimstone Missile

AUSA: As concern increases that too many innocents are killed in drone strikes, a European missile company is telling Congress it has a highly accurate missile called the Brimstone 2 that can do the job with fewer casualties and minimal collateral damage. “What we have found as a company is that this missile does not…

HPSCI Chair Thinks New Threat May Rekindle Cyber Bill; Slams White House On Executive Order

WASHINGTON: Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House intelligence committee, slammed the administration’s cybersecurity approach today but expressed guarded optimism that his own stalled legislation — which the White House has threatened to veto — might be revived when Congress reconvenes after the election. “There was a very good meeting with some members of the…

HPSCI Leaders Unveil Bill to Stem $1Trillion In Online Theft

CAPITOL HILL: The dynamic duo who run the House Intelligence Committee unveiled an interesting bill today designed to curb the wholesale online theft of America’s ideas and inventions by China, Russia and other countries. Gen. Keith Alexander, head of Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, has estimated that the U.S. has lost $1 trillion…