Tag: Defense and Military Forces

An Arms Race Quietly Unfolds in Space

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U.S. Fears Russia Might Put a Nuclear Weapon in Space

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When Russia conducted a series of secret military satellite launches around the time of its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, American intelligence officials began delving into the mystery of what, exactly, the Russians were doing. Later, spy agencies discovered Russia was working on a new kind of space-based weapon that could threaten the thousands of satellites that keep the world connected. In recent weeks, a new warning has circulated from America’s spy agencies: Another launch may be in the works, and the question is whether Russia plans to use…

U.S. Disrupts Hacking Operation Led by Russian Intelligence

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The F.B.I., working with other countries, disrupted a Russian hacking operation that infiltrated more than 1,000 home and small-business internet routers in the United States and around the world, the Justice Department announced on Thursday. Russian intelligence, collaborating with cybercriminals, created a botnet, or a network of private computers infected with malicious software, to spy on military and security organizations and private corporations in countries like the United States. Using a court order, the F.B.I. secretly copied and deleted stolen data and malware from hacked routers. Doing this stopped Russia’s…

American Firms Invested $1 Billion in Chinese Chips, Lawmakers Find

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A congressional investigation has determined that five American venture capital firms invested more than $1 billion in China’s semiconductor industry since 2001, fueling the growth of a sector that the United States government now regards as a national security threat. Funds supplied by the five firms — GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Walden International — went to more than 150 Chinese companies, according to the report, which was released Thursday by both Republicans and Democrats on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The…

Two Cases Aim to Cut Off China and Iran From U.S. Technology

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The U.S. government announced charges in two separate cases on Wednesday aimed at enforcing laws blocking the transfer of critical technologies, part of a broader campaign to hamper military efforts and weapons production in rival countries. One of the complaints was against a U.S. citizen born in China who has been arrested and accused of stealing trade secrets from a private company. The technology, according to court documents, “would be dangerous to U.S. national security if obtained by international actors.” A Justice Department complaint filed in U.S. District Court in…

Fear and Ambition Propel Xi’s Nuclear Acceleration

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Nineteen days after taking power as China’s leader, Xi Jinping convened the generals overseeing the country’s nuclear missiles and issued a blunt demand. China had to be ready for possible confrontation with a formidable adversary, he said, signaling that he wanted a more potent nuclear capability to counter the threat. Their force, he told the generals, was a “pillar of our status as a great power.” They must, Mr. Xi said, advance “strategic plans for responding under the most complicated and difficult conditions to military intervention by a powerful enemy,”…

U.S. Hits Back at Iran With Sanctions, Criminal Charges and Airstrikes

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In the hours before the United States carried out strikes against Iran-backed militants on Friday, Washington hit Tehran with more familiar weapons: sanctions and criminal charges. The Biden administration sanctioned officers and officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran’s premier military force, for threatening the integrity of water utilities and for helping manufacture Iranian drones. And it unsealed charges against nine people for selling oil to finance the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. The timing seemed designed to pressure the Revolutionary Guards and its most elite unit, the Quds…

Taiwan Raised an Alarm About a Chinese Satellite. Chaos Ensued.

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Taiwan’s defense ministry issued an urgent alert Tuesday about a Chinese satellite launched on a rocket flying over the island, an alarming message that interrupted the final days of campaigning before a major election and spurred accusations of a political ploy. The alert was sent to mobile phones across the island of 23 million people, where presidential and legislative assembly elections will be held Saturday. In English, the initial alert cautioned there was a missile flyover — an error quickly corrected by Taiwanese officials. “It was a satellite, not a…

Experts See a Message in Chinese Balloons Flying Over Taiwan

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The balloon flights may, nonetheless, be part of the “gray zone” tactics that China uses to warn Taiwan of its military strength and options, without tipping into baldfaced confrontation. The timing of the balloon flights, close to Taiwan’s election, was telling, said Ko Yong-Sen, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a think tank in Taipei funded by Taiwan’s defense ministry. Mr. Ko has analyzed the pattern of recent sightings. “It’s more an intimidating effect in what happens to be a quite sensitive time, with…

China Appoints Adm. Dong Jun as Defense Minister

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China on Friday appointed a naval commander with experience in the South China Sea as its minister of defense, filling a monthslong vacancy created by the unexplained disappearance of the previous minister, who appeared to have fallen in an investigation into possible corruption or other misdeeds. The appointment of the commander, Adm. Dong Jun, as defense minister was finalized by China’s Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, after formal approval by lawmakers, the Xinhua news agency reported. Speculation spread earlier in the week that Admiral Dong would be named to that…