An 'uncomfortable reality' revealed in Ukraine

Dear reader,

This will be a Rundown-only dispatch with news on a jailed Chinese spy, more gear going to Ukraine, potential Russian prison swaps, and more. I’m traveling this week but will be back on a regular schedule in December. Until then, there’s a lot of national security news to catch you up on. Let’s go…

🚨 The Rundown

• Drones and artificial intelligence helped stop 70 tons of explosives from reaching Yemen.

  • Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, recently shared details of a Nov. 8 operation to seize a stateless dhow in the Gulf of Oman. The boat was apparently picked up by “networked sensors” of surface drones, buoys, and other probes that detect illegal activity.

  • “The team in the operations center received an immediate signal. So did the drones,” Kurilla said. “And, without any orders and without the team in the operations center even pushing a button, the closest drone took pictures.”

  • A patrol craft arrived in 30 minutes to encircle the four-man crew. It took another five days for sailors and Coast Guardsmen to unload what was packed in the cargo hold: A massive haul of explosive material believed to have been sent from Iran to Houthi rebels—Tehran’s proxy force against regional rival Saudi Arabia.

  • "This was … enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles depending on the size," said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, 5th Fleet commander.

• The first Chinese intelligence officer ever extradited to the United States to stand trial was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Nov. 16.

  • Xu Yanjun, 42, a deputy division director of China’s Ministry of State Security, used “aliases, front companies, and universities to deceive aviation employees and solicit information,” such as aircraft design secrets from GE Aviation.

  • “The Chinese government tasked an officer of its spy service to steal U.S. trade secrets so it could advance its own commercial and military aviation efforts, at the expense of an American company,” said FBI Director Chris Wray. “As long as the Chinese government continues to break our laws and threaten American industry and institutions, the FBI will work with its partners across the globe to bring those responsible to justice.”

  • Xu