Do you remember getting that lump in your throat because you were nervous before executing something? That kind of feeling came from getting on stage in front of people to give an impromptu speech, jumping out of an airplane or going on a mission with your mates for the first time? Do you remember the…
Avro Vulcan – Last Flight over Farnborough 11th October 2015, Photo credit: Alastair Barbour / CC By 2.5. The Avro Vulcan, officially the Avro Type 698 Vulcan, was a strategic bomber that served as a vital part of the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent during the early stages of the Cold War. Designed and manufactured by…
The La Coupole V-2 launch site at Wizernes in France was destroyed by bombing before it could be brought into use. Photo by Clare Wilkinson / CC By 2.0. Operation CROSSBOW was a pivotal initiative during World War II, born from the urgent need to confront an unprecedented menace. As the war escalated, Germany’s development…
Major Samson, an officer at Latchmere House, MI5 Intelligence Centre in World War II. Photo courtesy Imperial War Museums. The newly declassified British Security Service (MI5) World War Two “watcher” advice provides a unique insight into the day-to-day realities of wartime espionage. This guidance, reveled in a wartime booklet in issued to newly recruited MI5…
Three German Silbermöwe-class motorboats, used during the last phase of Operation Jungle. Operation JUNGLE was a daring and clandestine program conducted by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly referred to as MI6, from 1949 to 1955. It aimed to infiltrate intelligence and resistance agents into Soviet-occupied Poland and the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—to support…
“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” — Acts 17:28 The only way to overcome the absurd emptiness of this world is to become truly Christian, trusting in Christ as the one reality deeper than death. —D. + + + The only cure for the absurd lies at its root: we…
Charles Howard “Dick” Ellis Colonel Charles Howard “Dick” Ellis CMG CBE TD was an extraordinary figure in 20th-century intelligence, with a life story that traverses continents, governments, and crucial moments in history. Born on February 13, 1895, in Sydney, Australia, Ellis became one of the most influential intelligence officers of his era. His contributions were…
Soviet SWL A. Kozlow (URS3-108-B) with his short-wave receiver KUB-4. Broadcast receiver SI-235 on foreground. Borisoglebsk city, 1941. Numbers stations are one of the most intriguing phenomena of shortwave radio. They have captivated curious minds for decades with their eerie broadcasts of seemingly random numbers, strange tones, and cryptic messages. But what are they? Who…
By Michael Kurcina Mike credits his early military training as the one thing that kept him disciplined through the many years. He currently provides his expertise as an adviser for an agency within the DoD. Michael Kurcina subscribes to the Spotter Up way of life. “I will either find a way or I will make…
The 2025 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, often referred to as the “ATA”, is a comprehensive report that provides an unclassified summary of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s evaluation of current threats to U.S. national security. The report reflects the collective insights of the Intelligence Community and is committed to providing nuanced, independent,…