Spotlight | Austria, Egypt, UAE
Erik Prince's shadow hovers over Egypt's secret spy plane project

Russia, Ukraine, United States
Ex-Blackwater trains pro-Kyiv Russian volunteers

Russian volunteers fighting on the Ukrainian side have benefited from the expertise of Erik Prince's private American military company Academi, the former Blackwater.

France
French military intelligence hires CAE to cover ISR missions before Archange

As they wait for project Archange to be operational, the French armed forces have turned to their long-standing provider CAE Aviation to provide a temporary airborne SIGINT solution.

United States
Former conservative undercover operative Tarah Price re-emerges in the far-right ecosphere

Price disappeared from public view after her role in an aborted 2018 sting against National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was exposed. Now she works for Steven Crowder, a leading media figure in MAGA World. Price is a relentless defender of her currently embattled boss, and has built a growing following of her own.

Europe
Frontex renews arrangement with ISR suppliers

The European border security agency Frontex has published a new framework deal for long-range maritime surveillance with existing approved suppliers EASP Air, DEA Aviation and ISR Support Europe, an offshoot of Canada's PAL Aerospace.

The Intelligence Gazette
Criticism in the Sinai, drones in French skies, Astana nears Baku

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from Paris to Baku via Cairo.

FranceCommando unit drones in French skies.

Kazakhstan/Azerbaijan/TurkeyKazakh military intelligence moves closer to Azeri counterpart.

EgyptTimid criticism of Sisi's Sinai strategy emerges in Cairo.

France, Iraq
CAE Aviation deploys new spy plane in Erbil

As large numbers of Islamic State fighters continue to hide out in Northern Iraq, a new IRS plane from CAE Aviation, a supplier to French intelligence, began monitoring the area on 14 April.

The Intelligence Gazette
Mukhabarat in Sinai, Jordan's GID and Ukraine, Wang Yi, France's ANSSI

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from Amman to Paris by Tokyo.

EgyptAbbas Kamel oversees new tribal group fighting against Islamic State in Sinai

JordanAhmed Husni deals with fallout from Amman's position on war in Ukraine

FranceANSSI's threat intelligence department gets new chief

Spotlight | Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
Arab Gas Pipeline deal to supply Lebanon still faces obstacles

Between complex pipeline maintenance contracts and negotiations about the lifting of sanctions against Syria, the Arab Gas Pipeline deal to supply gas to Lebanon is not yet complete. But Egypt, which is receiving some supplies from Israel's Leviathan field, is expected to start deliveries soon.

Europe, United Kingdom
Britain's Horizon and Austria's Airborne join forces to cater to law enforcement

The British interceptions specialist has teamed up with an integrator owned by the former Austrian finance minister Andreas Staribacher to design a pod able to accommodate its intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance system BlackFish.

Egypt, France
Marc Baréty appointed French ambassador in Cairo

The former French ambassador in Baghdad and current Islamabad ambassador Marc Baréty has landed the coveted top slot at the Egyptian embassy, where he will work to cultivate Franco-Egyptian defence and security cooperation.

Egypt, France
Sisi makes loud show of cooperation with DGSE

DGSE chief Bernard Emié's supposedly secret visit to Cairo last week to boost Franco-Egyptian intelligence cooperation ended up in the Egyptian press.

China, Israel, UAE, United States
China Dorian Barak joins dots between UAE, Israel, Beijing and Erik Prince

Founded shortly before the normalisation of relations between the UAE and Israel on 13 August, the Gulf Business Council (GIBC), [...]

Palestinian entrepreneurs struggle as Sisi's promised Gaza reconstruction drags on

Promised by Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the $500m aid package for several construction sites in the Palestinian enclave is experiencing numerous delays.

Sissi steps up efforts to secure Sinai pipelines, at the heart of EU-Egypt-Israel gas deal

Egyptian gas terminals are a recurring target for an Islamic State branch in Sinai. After the EU signed in June an MoU to receive Israeli gas liquefied in Egypt, confronted with the boycott of Russian gas, the protection of these infrastructures has become a major issue for Cairo.