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27 Mar 25. Senators request inquiry into military secrets shared on Signal app. Top Senate lawmakers on Thursday formally requested the Defense Inspector General’s office investigate whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated national security laws and protocols by sharing sensitive military information in a non-government chat group ahead of airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., in a letter to acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins said the inquiry is needed to resolve outstanding questions about the incident and security of military secrets. The move comes after three days of controversy over a chat group on Signal, in which Hegseth shared military operations information with other top administration leaders, including national security adviser Michael Waltz, Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was also included on the app, apparently in a mistake. He released a transcript of the discussions on Wednesday after White House officials insisted that it included no classified or secret information. The screenshots include details of attack plans hours before the launch of F/A-18s and Tomahawk missiles at Houthi militant sites in Yemen, particulars the lawmakers called concerning in their letter to the inspector general’s office.
“If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know,” they wrote.
White House and Pentagon officials have insisted that no information was improperly shared on the commercial app. More than 30 Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, have called for Hegseth to resign or be fired, calling his actions a serious breach of public trust.
“[Hegseth] lacks the judgement and character to lead America’s national defense,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a floor speech on Thursday.
“The information he shared on Signal is shocking. He sent very specific details about military plans over unsecured text messages. We need more answers, because more damage may have been done than the public and all of us know.”
White House officials said they will cooperate with the probe, while still insisting the scandal is a media-driven hoax.
“We have never denied that this was a mistake, and the national security adviser took responsibility for that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press event Thursday. “And we have said we are making changes. We are looking into the matter to ensure it can never happen again.”
Hegseth and Pentagon officials have taken an even more aggressive approach, attacking Goldberg for what they call exaggerations and fear mongering. Wicker has not committed to committee hearings on the issue, even as Democratic lawmakers have pushed for Hegseth to testify publicly on the controversy. House Armed Services Committee leaders also have not said whether they expect to hold open sessions on the information sharing concerns. (Source: Defense News)
26 Mar 14. Stratcom Ready to Respond to Threats, Needs Nuclear Modernization. The nation’s nuclear forces, which are foundational to national security, are safe, secure, effective and credible, said Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, who testified today at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington. Stratcom stands ready to respond decisively, whether on the ground, in the air or beneath the seas, should deterrence fail, he said. The Stratcom mission has never been more critical than today. The United States, its allies and partners face a deteriorating security environment. Cotton said the Chinese Communist Party is rapidly expanding its nuclear forces into a fully functional triad with more than 600 nuclear warheads and counting.
“Russia has modernized the majority of its nuclear arsenal. North Korea continues with its unlawful and destabilizing programs in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, and Iran continues to pursue uranium enrichment,” he said.
He added that the tools of war are changing, from novel missile systems to counter U.S. space capabilities, from cyberattacks against critical infrastructure to competition in the electromagnetic spectrum.
“To effectively deter adversaries across the spectrum of threats requires sustained legacy triad systems and urgently completing the multigenerational, decades-long modernization of all three legs of the nuclear deterrent and its critical systems,” he said.
No portfolio needs recapitalization more than the nuclear portfolio, he said, noting that modernization requires continued, uninterrupted funding and an industrial base capable of steady and continuous production.
“Commitment to modernization will ensure that U.S. strategic weapons continue to deter aggression, assure our allies and partners and allow us to achieve national objectives if deterrence fails,” he said.
In testimony prepared in advance and submitted to lawmakers, Cotton wrote, “People are the cornerstone of our organization — they make deterrence credible. U.S. Stratcom relies on a team of nearly 41,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel, steadfast in their dedication to our diverse mission. We must continue to attract, develop, and retain this valuable resource through career-enhancing experiences, targeted professional development and a robust internship program to ensure personnel are postured to meet challenges ahead.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
26 Mar 14. BIS Adds 80+ to the Entity List to Further Restrict China’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Capabilities and for Other Purposes. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has added 80+ entities to the Entity List from China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa, Iran, Taiwan, and others. Specifically, these revisions to the Entity List include:
* 12 entities—11 under the destination of China and one under the destination of Taiwan—are added for engaging in the development of advanced AI, supercomputers, and high-performance AI chips for China-based end-users with close ties to the country’s military-industrial complex.
* 13 entities, including under the destinations of China, are added for their contributions to unsafeguarded nuclear activities.
* Seven entities are added for contributions to ballistic missile programs.
* 27 Chinese entities are added for acquiring or attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of China’s military modernization. These entities have demonstrable ties to activities of concern, including the development of hypersonic weapons and the design and modeling of vehicles in hypersonic flight.
* Seven entities located in China are added for acquiring or attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of advancing the CCP’s quantum technology capabilities, presenting serious ramifications for U.S. national security given the military applications of quantum technologies.
* Two Chinese entities are being added for selling products to parties on the Entity List, including Huawei and affiliated entity HiSilicon.
* Two entities in Iran and China are added for attempting to procure U.S.-origin items for Iran’s defense industry and unmanned aerial vehicle programs.
* Ten entities under the destinations of China, South Africa, and the UAE are added due to their links to the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) —a party added to the Entity List on June 12, 2023—and the training of Chinese military forces using Western and NATO sources.
BIS has also modified one existing entity, Dart Aviation, under four entries on the Entity List under the destinations of France, Iran, Senegal, and the United Kingdom. This entry is modified by adding two additional aliases and one additional address. Dart Aviation was added to the Entity List in 2019 for transshipping U.S.-origin items to sanctioned destinations. The texts of the formal notices scheduled for publication on March 28 in the Federal Register are here and here. (Source: glstrade.com)
25 Mar 14. Navy Seeks Ways to Streamline Shipbuilding. The United States projects its presence around the globe through its warships, impacting geopolitical decisions daily while maintaining the American way of life, said Brett A. Seidle, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. Seidle testified today before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on seapower regarding the state of conventional surface shipbuilding.
“We have fielded the finest Navy ever assembled in the history of the world, and I believe that is still true,” he said.
The backbone of a strong Navy is its shipbuilding enterprise, Seidle added. Those who build ships are passionate about what they do and their role in supporting national security.
He said there’s a need to reinvigorate the nation’s industrial might, particularly in shipbuilding. Various challenges hinder more ships from being delivered on time and budget. Costs are rising faster than inflation, and schedules on multiple programs are delayed one to three years.
“We need increased modernization, infrastructure investment, better workforce hiring and retention, and improved supply chain performance,” Seidle noted, adding that the assistance of Congress and the Navy’s industrial partners will be key to solving these challenges.
Navy Vice Adm. James P. Downey, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, also testified.
Downey said Navsea is committed to appropriately evaluating cost, schedule and technical requirements to deliver the right capabilities to the warfighters.
He said the command continually reviews its shipbuilding military specifications and is committed to collaborating with industry to simplify and streamline wherever possible. Also, the command is transitioning design plans into digitized formats, thereby reducing the burden on shipbuilders.
Downey said Navsea continues to face mounting challenges, from shifting demographics and workforce shortages to supply chain disruptions that collectively continue to pressurize shipbuilding contracts.
“We need strategic solutions to improve waterfront productivity, and we are evaluating contracting approaches and incentives while also centralizing that data to better access what levers are needed to improve shipbuilding performance,” the vice admiral said.
Currently, the Navy has 92 ships under contract, with 56 vessels actively in construction. In addition to these prime shipbuilding contracts, Navsea has several shipyards that outsource work. Downey said the process results in a more distributed shipbuilding model with somewhat more complex oversight required. He said Navsea is committed to helping industry create productive and safe workspaces on the waterfront to attract and retain the skilled workforce needed to build the Navy the nation needs.
“When you visit the shipyards and speak to the workers, whether it’s welders, machinists, front office staff or engineers, you understand what it means to them to build a great ship from the keel up, to start with nothing, and then to deliver a fully capable warship — that’s the product of teamwork in its purest form of execution,” he said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
24 Mar 25. Top Trump officials accidentally shared war plans with media. Senior national security officials coordinated airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen earlier this month using an unsecure group chat which accidentally included the top editor of The Atlantic, a move that appears to have broken a host of federal laws and protocols. In a story released Monday titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg said he was added to the group on Signal — an open-source, privacy-focused messaging app — earlier this month by someone identifying themself as Michael Waltz, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. The conversation — which eventually included messages from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others — included “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” according to Goldberg. Because of messages sent in the group chat, Goldberg learned of the airstrikes more than two hours before they were made public by government officials, he said.
“The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility,” Goldberg wrote.
U.S. military units struck more than 30 targets in Yemen over several days earlier this month as part of an ongoing campaign targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a terrorist group that has halted international shipping for more than a year. Defense Department officials referred questions on the issue to the National Security Council. NSC officials did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said that “the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.” He also asserted that the thread “is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our service members or our national security.” But officials may have violated rules regarding sharing secure military information, sensitive operations data and preservation of government records, whether Goldberg was included on the list accidentally or intentionally. Goldberg wrote that in addition to the sensitive military discussions, senior leaders discussed concerns with Trump’s strategy in the Middle East and complained about European allies’ lack of action in the region. He also said that Hegseth assured chat participants that “we are currently clean on OPSEC” despite the accidental inclusion of a journalist in the conversation, and the use of an outside-of-government platform. (Source: Defense News)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need.
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