China

MBDA, Europe’s leading complex weapons systems manufacturer, and its subsidiary Matra Electronique (MEL) have inaugurated a new 4.0 production facility in Venette, Hauts-de-France. Officially opened on 18 November, the factory significantly increases MEL’s capacity, with weekly electronic component transfers rising from 200,000 to 500,000.

A blow dealt to Europe’s defence: China steps up control of strategic exports

On 9 October, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced an expansion of oversight of foreign sales of dual-use civilian and military goods, including rare earth metals and the technologies used to produce them, advanced lithium-ion batteries, synthetic graphite anodes, and selected superhard materials.

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On 9 July, Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) announced the arrest of two Chinese nationals in Kyiv, accused of attempting to illegally transfer classified documentation on the Ukrainian RK-360MC Neptun missile system to China. The Neptun system is designed to engage both land and naval targets and gained prominence after two of its missiles were used to sink the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship, the cruiser Moskva.

Ukrainian counterintelligence arrests two Chinese citizens for espionage on Neptun naval missile programme

  The investigation revealed that one of the suspects is a 24-year-old former student of a Kyiv technical university, who remained in Ukraine after being expelled in 2023 for poor academic performance. The second individual involved is his father, a permanent resident of China who travelled to Ukraine periodically to coordinate his son’s alleged espionage

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