/CIG/ Telegram | Counter Intelligence Global

🇲🇱 ⬜️ JNIM's center of gravity has shifted west. FLM refers to Katiba Macina, the biggest individual Katiba in JNIM. As you can see, they are well beyond the Macina. The manpower required for this is in the tens of thousands. https://www.counterextremism.com/blog/sahel-monitoring-september-2025 📎 Dilawar Karwan

🚀 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 China moving fast to become the "most powerful space force on the planet" @mikestudeman "They intend on dominating this frontier... If they have two taikonauts that plant the Chinese flag in 2029, the 80th anniversary of the CCP taking over, they're going to make a big deal about it in the information domain. And the perception will be that the Americans are slipping behind and maybe, in fact, your descent is all but inevitable." "The Chinese ambitions are more than just putting two taikonauts on the moon and then moving on to Mars. Their concept is much bigger than what we appear to be talking about as a nation. This is part of their grand strategy. When they talk about becoming a self-reliant techno-economic superpower, there's a space portion involved in this grand strategy they've resourced well." 📎 Ian Ellis

🇦🇺 Pickets, Pouncers, and Protectors How the Australian Defence Force Can Use Uncrewed Systems for Twenty-First-Century Deterrence

BRYAN CLARK AND DAVID BYRD CENTER FOR DEFENSE CONCEPTS AND TECHNOLOGY, HUDSON INSTITUTE

📎 Hudson Institute

🇦🇺 New strategic plan to protect Australia by @clarkdefense & David Byrd of @HudsonInstitute 📎 Dr. Elizabeth Buchanan

📝 ⚓️ Naval Power Projection as We Know Is probably Dead | Patricia Marins The concept of naval power projection has existed for thousands of years and is studied in every naval academy on the planet. Just as land doctrines are being completely reshaped by the emergence of drones, the same transformation is occurring at sea. The revolution in land doctrines has been driven by the war in Ukraine and its advances in drone warfare, while the concept of naval power projection is being redesigned by Chinese technological breakthroughs. Sea control, a cornerstone of naval power projectionis fundamentally changing with the advent of UUVs, USVs, aerial drones, and long-range hypersonic missiles. Here are some key points: - Denying the enemy the use of the sea You no longer need to deploy large naval forces to blockade ports. A hundred UUVs in the area, combined with a fleet positioned 4,000 km away supported by high-altitude drones ready to acquire targets, is enough to prevent any ship from leaving port. - Projecting force onto land (e.g., amphibious operations, carrier-based air strikes) This is perhaps the only aspect that has changed relatively little. Troop landings will still need to occur largely as they have for thousands of years, but aircraft carriers now face threats unlike any seen before due to technological advances. They will no longer operate with the freedom they enjoyed 20 years ago. - Deterring threats Under current technologies, deploying large surface ships would be more likely to invite threats than deter them. Such a force would be vulnerable to ambush when approaching areas equipped with anti-ship batteries with ranges of 3,000–5,000 km, not to mention the risk of attacks by hundreds of UUVs. What we saw in Yemenseveral vessels withdrawing from the strait after days of attacks is nothing compared to a coordinated naval ambush against a major power. - Protecting or blocking sea routes Again, blocking ocean routes can now be achieved with UUVs and high-altitude drones. Submarines remain an option, but there is no longer a need to deploy large forces. Drones do the job for 5% of the cost. Today, the traditional concept of a navy capable of power projection is giving way to one of omnipresence: hundreds of UUVs, constant monitoring by high-altitude drones, and operations conducted within the envelope of long-range missiles. Ships can be target from other continent. We never had this technological situation before. The old idea of global projection, maintaining presence in multiple oceans with advanced logistics (at-sea replenishment, alliances, and distant bases), will increasingly be seen as a massive waste of money and a collection of high-priority targets that would be struck first by missiles. China’s leading surveillance and target-acquisition drones can currently stay aloft for 10–48 hours. With solid-state batteries, that endurance could reach 2–6 days. Stealth, Operating in large numbers and at high altitude, aided by AI, they can provide global-level monitoring of military vessel movements. Missiles like the DF-26, with a range of 3,000–5,000 km, will receive mid-course guidance from these platforms. THIS IS THE NEW CONCEPT OF POWER PROJECTION OVER ANY OCEAN. It doesn’t stop there: the DF-27 hypersonic glide vehicle can reach up to 8,000 km and operate in the same way. When combined with swarms of high-speed UUVs and aerial drones, this will turn naval warfare into something never seen before. And again, the new solid batteries are key in this revolution. Of before an UUV had speed of 5-6 knots, with solid batteries they can cruise at 10-14 and split at 25 depending of the size. I’m using the Chinese as reference but soon every navy will operate at the same way. Naval power projection as we know is probably dead. 📎 Patricia Marins

🇺🇦 🇷🇺 🇹🇷 The Black Sea has seen the most Maritime Security incidents in the past month than any other region At least 7 attacks against shipping in the Black Sea were reported in the past 4 weeks only, which underscores the growing risk to shipping in the Black Sea, and at Russian and Ukrainian Ports. Russia has attacked three ships at Ukrainian Ports or in Ukraine’s EEZ using Iskander ballistic missiles and UAVs (Probably Iran -ian origin Shahed 136). Ukraine has attacked at least 4 ships which are scheduled to call at/recently called at Russian Black Sea ports. ⚡️ Not all ships attacked by Ukraine are sanctioned or are designated as Dark Fleet shipping by OFAC/EU etc. 📎 Martin Kelly

🇿🇦🇺🇸 Ernst Roets on X: "Renewing the Afrikaner Vow in English in New York City with Joost Strydom, the NYYRC and friends from all over the world. It was an absolute pleasure to speak at the NYYRC's 113th Annual Gala." 🔗 Ernst Roets

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Southfront's Russo-Ukrainian War updates for December 15th and 16th 🔗 https://southfront.press/military-situation-in-ukraine-on-december-15-2025-maps-update/

For nerds: 🗺 Gulf Clan and FARC-EMC control most of the "Eastern Pacific" drug routes 🗺 Meanwhile, the drug routes related to Maracaibo Bay and the La Guarija are in the hands of ELN (Venezuelan proxies), FARC 33rd Front and the CDF-EB (Border Command – Bolivarian Army, another Venezuelan Proxy) 🇨🇴 About FARC - Segunda Marquetalia 🇨🇴 About Comandos de la Frontera – Ejercito Bolivariano 🇨🇴 About Colombia's National Liberation Army 🇨🇴 About the Gaitanista Army of Colombia / Gulf Clan

🇺🇸❌🇻🇪🇨🇴💊 — US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the Venezuelan and Colombian narcoterrorist strikes:

"A highly successful mission to counter designated terrorist organizations... poisoning the American people for far too long. We're proud of what we're doing."

🔗 Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47)

🇺🇸❌🇻🇪🇨🇴💊 — US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio after briefing Senators on the Venezuelan and Colombian narcoterrorist strikes.

"It's our 22nd or 23rd bipartisan engagement, "[We're] focused on dismantling the infrastructure of these terrorist organizations that are... poisoning Americans."

🔗 Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47)

🇺🇸❌🇨🇴 — United States State Department declares Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan aka the Gaitanista Army of Colombia) as a Foreign Terror Organization

Today, the Department of State is designating Clan del Golfo as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Based in Colombia, Clan del Golfo is a violent and powerful criminal organization with thousands of members. The group’s primary source of income is cocaine trafficking, which it uses to fund its violent activities. Clan del Golfo is responsible for terrorist attacks against public officials, law enforcement and military personnel, and civilians in Colombia. The United States will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation and stop the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational criminal organizations. We are committed to denying funding and resources to these terrorists. Today’s actions are taken pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224. FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register.

🇭🇳🌹❌🗳 — The leftist president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, and Manuel Zelaya call for chaos in Tegucigalpa in an attempt to remain in power by force, disregarding the electoral results, seeking to break the constitutional order, and claiming that their government is the victim of a coup:

"To the Honduran people: I inform, with historical responsibility, that based on verified intelligence information, Juan Orlando Hernández, pardoned in the United States, is planning to enter the country to proclaim the winner of the elections, while an aggression is underway aimed at breaking the constitutional and democratic order through a coup against my government. In light of this serious situation, I urgently request the conscious and peaceful support of the Honduran people. I call on the people, social movements, collectives, grassroots organizations, militants, and citizens to gather urgently and peacefully in Tegucigalpa to defend the popular mandate, reject any coup attempt, and make visible to the world that a new coup is being forged here."

Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (@XiomaraCastroZ) on 𝕏 🖇️

🇿🇦 "Tens of thousands of Afrikaners attended the 187th Day of the Vow (16 December) celebrations today at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria." 📸 "I also know of at least one Englishman who was there as well to document the occasion (@AkkadSecretary)." 📎 Concious Caracal

📖 🇿🇦 The Battle of Blood River, 16 December, 1838. #GelofteDag 📎 ScrollbyHistory

📖 🇿🇦 "Today, December 16, Gelofte Dag (the Day of the Vow) stands as a testament to Afrikaner faith and unbreakable spirit during the Great Trek. Our Voortrekker ancestors left British rule in the Cape, only to face savage clashes with the Zulu empire." "When treacherous Dingane betrayed and butchered Piet Retief's delegation (70 massacred) then unleashed the horrific Weenen Massacre (500 innocents slaughtered, including women and children), our people rose in righteous fury under Andries Pretorius." "In a divine covenant with God, just 464 Voortrekkers formed an iron laager against 10k-15k Zulu hordes. We crushed their charges, with only 3 of us wounded while over 3k enemies fell." "We remember and honor 16 December unapologetically." #GelofteDag 📎 Rieb van Janbeeck

🇨🇩🇷🇼🇺🇬⚡- DR Congo sources report heavy military reinforcements have been arriving from Rwanda into Goma and the North Kivu region over the past 24-48 hours. After successfully capturing Uvira in South Kivu, DRC sources believe M23 are now turning their attention to the North Kivu region. Reports indicate M23 are preparing to launch a large-scale offensive in an attempt to capture the major cities of Lubero, Butembo and even Beni. Unlike in South Kivu where M23 faced off with the Congolese, Burundian and Wazalendo armies, the three cities in North Kivu are under the control of the Ugandan Armed Forces, UPDF. The presence of the UPDF in eastern Congo is shown on the map in light blue. Kinsasha had invited Kampala to assist fighting extremist groups in the Ituri region, such as the Islamic State, but more importantly CODECO. Uganda has been accused of supporting the Rwandan-backed M23 in the past, though those reports were never confirmed. However, in the past Kampala let Kigali 'secretly' know it did not appreciate the build-up of M23 along its borders, which led to the unusual exchange of territories between the UPDF and M23 just south of Lubero.

🇨🇩🇷🇼🇧🇮⚡- M23 says it is ready to withdraw from Uvira, South Kivu, as a "goodwill gesture," following Qatari mediation. M23 in return expects the city to remain "demilitarized."

🇨🇩 🇷🇼 In today's Congo War Security Review: M23 advanced south from Uvira town into Fizi district in South Kivu. The Congolese army (FARDC) reportedly bombed M23-aligned positions in the highlands near Minembwe town in Fizi district. The FARDC bombed an M23 position near Nyabiondo town in Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in southern Masisi district. 📎 Critical Threats

🇺🇸❌🇻🇪 — NEW: White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles confirms that the lethal strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean are aimed at pressuring Venezuelan President Maduro to step down, not at stopping drug trafficking.