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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Matt Berg | |  In this picture taken during a media tour organized by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, soldiers visit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used to attack Israel through the Erez border crossing on October 7. | Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt With help from Maggie Miller and Mona Zhang The Israel Defense Forces are increasingly relying on inexpensive American-made drones to conduct hostage rescues and explore tunnels suspected to be used by militants as the country continues its military bombardment on the Gaza Strip. It’s been widely reported that soldiers have used such technology to map and explore tunnels where militants and hostages may be. But now, companies are providing drones that can push further than before, potentially saving Israeli troops’ lives. One of those companies is Shield AI, a defense tech startup created eight years ago by a former Navy Seal. In May, the company trained Israel on its quadcopters — small, inexpensive drones that can perform maneuvers with agility — which allow the military to search potentially dangerous areas without risking lives. “When Hamas invaded, we got immediate feedback that our quadcopter was used, it saved lives, and later we learned it was used on hostage rescue missions,” BRANDON TSENG, co-founder and president of Shield AI, told NatSec Daily. “It’s a really, really challenging environment.” Retrieving hostages taken by Hamas has been among Israel’s main objectives, but the equally difficult part is finding out where they’re being hidden. The militant group’s elaborate underground tunnel network in Gaza is too dangerous for IDF troops to explore on foot, not to mention the buildings where militants could be lurking. That’s where the drones come in: “It's like a self-driving car, but inside a compound,” Tseng said. Hamas’ tunnel systems have been tough for Israel to locate. On Wednesday, Israel claimed to have uncovered a major Hamas command center in Gaza — essential to its mission of destroying the cavernous network. Exploring the pitch-black tunnels, however, is a perilous endeavor for troops. Israel has turned to drones as one solution. It has also resorted to pumping seawater in with hopes of driving the militants out. South of Tel Aviv earlier this month, BLAKE RESNICK, CEO of Brinc Drones, helped train Israeli troops on his company’s drones in a simulated urban environment — like many areas in the densely packed Gaza Strip — and a tunnel network. The problem with sending technology deep into the ground is that, surprise surprise, they lose signal pretty easily. But Resnick’s drones can go further because they repeat each other’s signals. “So, you can take off your first aircraft, start flying in a tunnel until it starts to lose signal, then you can land it. Then, you use that as a repeater and send in another drone to go deeper,” Resnick told NatSec Daily. When multiple drones are used in this manner, the signal “breadcrumbs” back to the operator, allowing the drones to explore much further than troops could on foot, Resnick said. As the drone searches the tunnel, it generates “a map of the flying route,” sending back high resolution videos and thermal footage in real time, he added. Israel’s use of the small and cheap, yet efficient, technology will likely increase throughout Israel’s war with Hamas, SIMONE LEDEEN, the former deputy assistant defense secretary for the Middle East early in the Biden administration, told NatSec Daily. Such drones “can be carried in a soldier’s backpack,” she said, adding that they’re “critical in providing support with battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance.”
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | MIXED MESSAGING: A church and a convent that were struck in Gaza last week were listed among Christian facilities congressional staffers had flagged to Israeli authorities for protection, according to a series of emails from October obtained by our own ERIN BANCO. The emails show an increasingly frenzied back-and-forth between Catholic Relief Services — one of the largest Christian aid organizations in Gaza — and Senate staff over an effort to get a commitment from Israel to avoid targeting a number of buildings where its staff and civilians were sheltering. The Latin Patriarchate, the Catholic body that oversees the region, alleged in a public statement that an Israeli rocket landed in the Convent of the Missionaries of Charity and snipers shot and killed a mother and daughter walking on the grounds of the Holy Family Church last weekend. The two buildings are in a shared compound. The Israel Defense Forces has said it did not deliberately target the facilities, but that it is reviewing the Convent of the Missionaries incident as its forces were conducting an operation against Hamas near the building during the reported time of the shelling. LOST (AND FOUND) CONNECTIONS: Gen. C.Q. BROWN, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to his Chinese counterpart Gen. LIU ZHENLI this morning, ending a nearly year-and-a-half impasse between the two militaries, our own LARA SELIGMAN reports. Brown and Liu, China’s chief of the Joint Staff, discussed “the importance of working together to responsibly manage competition, avoid miscalculations and maintain open and direct lines of communication,” according to a U.S. readout. Brown “reiterated the importance of the People’s Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings.” He’s the first senior U.S. military official to speak with his Chinese counterpart since the two countries’ leaders agreed in November to resume military communications, and the Biden administration sees the conversation as a step in the right direction for U.S.-Chinese relations. But on a related note, the Chinese government appears to be brushing off Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN’s call for Beijing to assist an international coalition in protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militias, our own PHELIM KINE reports. SECURITY COUNCIL DELAYS CONTINUE: Pressure is mounting on the U.S. as U.N. Security Council negotiations on a Gaza resolution drag on into the fourth day, our own MONA ZHANG writes in. “Negotiations are going on in earnest and we want to be able to get to a place where a resolution can pass,” NATE EVANS, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the U.N., told NatSec Daily. He expressed concerns that the resolution “as drafted could actually slow down delivery of humanitarian aid by directing the U.N. to create an unworkable monitoring mechanism.” A vote on the resolution, which aims to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, has been delayed since Monday in hopes of avoiding a U.S. veto. As the delays continue, STEPHANE DUJARRIC, spokesperson for U.N. Security General ANTONIO GUTERRES, told reporters today that people in Gaza are facing unprecedented levels of food insecurity and a risk of famine. WAR WORRIES IN EUROPE: European leaders are increasingly concerned by the stalemated war in Ukraine, and with allies’ struggles in keeping ahead of new Russian arms production, our own PAUL McLEARY reports. A year that began with promises of a huge Ukrainian counteroffensive to match last year’s push through hundreds of miles of Russian-occupied territory devolved into a bloody, yard-by-yard fight across hundreds of miles of front, that saw little territorial gain despite a massive human cost. “Russia has the capability and the ability to go on with this war for years,” Finnish Defense Minister ANTTI HÄKKÄNEN said during a visit to Washington this week where he signed a new defense agreement with the United States. “Many are overestimating that the West is winning this, that Ukraine is winning.” DETAILS ON HOSTAGES KILLED: Almost a week after Israeli soldiers accidentally killed three hostages, an investigation found that the troops had come close to finding the men just days before. IDF spokesperson DANIEL HAGARI told reporters Wednesday night that Israeli soldiers were patrolling the area last week and engaged in a firefight with militants holding the hostages, per The New York Times’ AARON BOXERMAN and ANDRÉS MARTÍNEZ. The three men fled after their captors were killed. Five days later two of them were killed by an Israeli soldier who mistook them for a threat, and a third was wounded. “The third hostage fled into the building, from which a cry in Hebrew for help could be heard. The battalion commander ordered the forces to hold their fire. But the wounded hostage later re-emerged, after which he was fatally shot, the military said,” per the Times. Video footage from the firefight, which captured the hostages’ voices, had not been reviewed before they were killed, the military said. The investigation will continue, Hagari said, adding that the IDF will “do everything to ensure that this never happens again.” IT’S THURSDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on X at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, and @JGedeon1.
| | | |   | | | | | COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT: GOP presidential candidate VIVEK RAMASWAMY criticized NIKKI HALEY for linking the Hamas attack on Israel to Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN’s birthday. In a video from a campaign event, Haley noted the coincidence of Hamas striking on the Kremlin head’s special day: “Did Putin call [Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN] NETANYAHU? No, not for 10 days. You know who he did call? Hamas,” Haley said. “See the connection?” Just before midnight on Wednesday, Ramaswamy took to his keyboard, blasting the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. for the “psychotic” claim. He also hit at her ties to the defense industry, a criticism he has repeatedly voiced. “You can see the $$ signs flashing in her eyes. She needs to publish her tax returns & clients of her defense contractor — now,” Ramaswamy said. Haley’s campaign didn’t respond to NatSec Daily’s request for comment.
| | ON GUARD: Hackers are using last week’s major Russian-linked cyberattack on Ukrainian telecom giant Kyivstar to ramp up phishing attacks, Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team warned today, our own MAGGIE MILLER writes in. CERT-UA announced that a hacking group known as UAC-0050 recently began sending out phishing emails with the headline “Debts Under the Kyivstar Contract.” The emails include malicious attachments, which if clicked on downloads malware that can be used to control and monitor the device it's on. The new wave of emails is capitalizing on the cyberattack on Kyivstar, which left around 26 million Ukrainians without mobile and internet services for several days last week. The company is still working to fully respond, posting on X today that internet and television services were still being restored in some areas. BAD ROMANCE: The United Kingdom may soon offer victims of romance and investment scams up to the equivalent of around $525,000 in repayment, The Record’s ALEXANDER MARTIN reports. The U.K.’s Payment Systems Regulator announced this reimbursement program would begin in October of next year, and banks will be required to repay these victims unless the banks can prove the individual involved acted with “gross negligence.”
| | NEW YEAR, NEW PROBLEM: The Pentagon has never had to operate under a full-year continuing resolution. Next year, there’s a possibility that could change, our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report. You can expect the pushback against a full-year CR from Senate Republican defense boosters to intensify in the new year. Senate Appropriations Vice Chair SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) — who addressed the topic at a closed-door party lunch this week — later told reporters a full-year continuing resolution would be a “disaster,” “extremely damaging” and “end up costing taxpayers more money.” Such a move would be “devastating to military readiness,” Sen. DAN SULLIVAN (R-Alaska), the top Republican on the SASC Readiness panel, said Wednesday. Citing Collins, he said such a move would slash the Navy’s shipbuilding budget by 42 percent. “The one thing we need to do is build ships to keep up with the Chinese threat,” he said. “January is not going to be an enjoyable month,” Collins told reporters this week. “Let me just say that. So happy new year to all of you.”
| | | | ART OF THE DEAL: Senate Republicans are working closely with Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS as they try to craft a bipartisan border security deal, a tricky balance as House Republicans try to impeach him, our own BURGESS EVERETT, MYAH WARD and JENNIFER HABERKORN report. Mayorkas’ role in the high-stakes border talks is confined to policy proposals, not politics. He’s participating to assess border changes without deciding what the White House might ultimately back, a person familiar with the talks told our colleagues. “I’m skeptical” of the DHS secretary, said Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa), who has clashed with Mayorkas since the Obama administration. “Hearing for three years that the border’s secure when every day, you can see it’s not secure? He’s living in dreamland.” After the Senate left for the year on Wednesday, discussions are set to continue throughout the holiday season. Mayorkas’ involvement may not squash GOP support for any deal to pair new migration limits with Ukraine aid. But it undoubtedly complicates the already delicate task of selling that agreement to Republicans who are loath to compromise.
| | SOMEONE’S TRIGGER HAPPY: North Korean leader KIM JONG UN said he wouldn’t hesitate to launch nukes of his own if an adversary provoked him with nuclear weapons, Reuters’ SOO-HYANG CHOI reports. Pyongyang tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday, causing the U.S. and South Korea to respond two days later with its own joint military drills. Kim applauded his country’s test today, but also warned his foes to back off. North Korea’s nuclear tech is becoming increasingly advanced, he said while meeting with soldiers, adding that the regime would swiftly use “a nuclear attack when the enemy provoke[s] it with nukes,” he said. Kim’s sister joined in with a separate statement, blasting the U.N. Security Council, which bans such launches by North Korea, for holding a meeting over the ICBM launch. The Council “should place heavy responsibility on the irresponsible behavior and act of the U.S. and [South Korea], which have aggravated the tension on the Korean peninsula through all sorts of military provocations all year round.” Read: VIKTOR ORBÁN: The EU is blackmailing Hungary by our own CLAUDIA CHIAPPA
| | — SPENCER BOYER, DOD’s deputy assistant secretary for European and NATO Policy since February 2021, is departing the role. LISA SAWYER, a special adviser on European, Russian and defense matters to Vice President KAMALA HARRIS, is replacing him.
| | | — MARIETJE SCHAAKE, Foreign Affairs: The premature quest for international AI cooperation — Queen RANIA AL ABDULLAH, The Washington Post: Christmas is canceled in the land of Jesus’ birth — SAMER SINIJLAWI, The New York Times: MAHMOUD ABBAS must go
| | — It will be the Friday before the Christmas / New Year stretch, so we’re not too shocked to see that people are logging off a bit early. Take it easy tomorrow, you’ve earned it (especially for reading this far). Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who calls us cheap and inexpensive journalists. We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who provides the most value to NatSec Daily.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
