The FBI has officially opened a permanent legal attaché office at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand. FBI Director Kash Patel inaugurated the upgraded facility, which seeks to strengthen the Five Eyes intelligence partnership and enhance NZ’s domestic security. Judith Collins, the NZ minister responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau and New Zealand...
Category: Policy Updates
NATO Highlights Role of Centers of Excellence in Promoting Innovation, Interoperability
NATO’s Allied Command Transformation has highlighted the strategic impact of its 30 accredited centers of excellence in accelerating innovation and interoperability across the alliance. On Tuesday, it listed some of its COEs, detailing how they are turning emerging concepts into practical tools. The Air Operations COE, for instance, has developed ALEXO, a real-time planning tool...
Poland Receives $4B US Loan Guarantee to Boost Defense Procurement
The United States has granted Poland a $4 billion Foreign Military Financing loan guarantee to support the country’s continued investments in American-made defense systems. Announced on Friday by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the agreement brings the total U.S. loan support to Poland to over $15 billion in the past three years. Signed by DSCA...
Cadence Design Agrees to $140M Settlement Over Export Violation
Cadence Design Systems has agreed to pay $140 million in fines for illegally sharing Electronic Design Automation hardware and software, as well as semiconductor design technology, with a Chinese military university. The Department of Commerce said the fine comprises $95 million from the Bureau of Industry and Security and an additional $45 million in forfeitures...
UK, Australia Sign 50-Year AUKUS Treaty to Expand Submarine Program
The United Kingdom and Australia have entered a 50-year bilateral AUKUS treaty that supports a long-term industrial collaboration to build a new class of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. Announced on Thursday, the pact is projected to generate up to $27 billion in U.K. exports over the next 25 years and create over 7,000 new jobs...
New Zealand Enacts Law to Safeguard Ground-Based Space Infrastructure
New Zealand has enacted new legislation to regulate ground-based space infrastructure, aiming to protect national security and prevent foreign interference. According to Space Minister Judith Collins, the Outer Space and High-Altitude Activities Amendment Bill has passed all stages in Parliament and will take effect on July 29. The new law grants the government immediate authority...
US Lawmakers Seek to Reform Foreign Arms Sales Process
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced six bipartisan bills designed to overhaul the U.S. foreign arms sales process and strengthen the domestic defense industrial base. The legislative action took place Tuesday during the committee’s second markup session of the 119th Congress, led by Chairman Brian Mast. The measures were introduced by the Foreign Arms...
OpenAI, UK Partner to Enhance AI Infrastructure, Public Services
OpenAI and the U.K. government have signed a new partnership to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, collaborate on AI safety research and deploy the technology across key public services. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman signed the agreement on Monday. Under the partnership, OpenAI will support infrastructure priorities identified in the United Kingdom’s...
US Army Official Calls for FMS Process Reforms
Maj. Gen. Ronald Ragin, the commanding general of the U.S. Army’s 21st Theater Sustainment Command, has suggested that the bureaucratic processes involved in the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program should be streamlined, as “not every step is required in the sequence.” Speaking at a panel discussion during the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANDEURO conference...
Policy Brief Recommends Improved NATO Maritime Cyber Posture
NATO needs to integrate cybersecurity when updating its maritime strategy amid an increasing number of cyberattacks targeting the sector, according to a recently published document from the alliance’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. According to the policy brief, “Addressing State-Linked Cyber Threats to Critical Maritime Port Infrastructure,” the NATO Alliance Maritime Strategy update must...










