Operation Ivy Bells: A Cold War Espionage Masterstroke
View of USS Halibut departing San Francisco, likely in the mid 1970s. U.S. Navy photo. Operation Ivy Bells was a top-secret mission during the Cold War, jointly executed by the…
The IUSS: America’s Sentinel Beneath the Waves
U..S. Navy photo (Released) The Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) is a crucial component of the U.S. Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The system was born out of the Cold War…
The Discovery of the Titanic: A Secret Cold War Navy Mission
View of the bow of the RMS Titanic photographed in June 2004 by the ROV Hercules during an expedition returning to the shipwreck of the Titanic. Courtesy of NOAA/Institute for…
Area 51: A Declassified CIA History
Area 51 seen from Tikaboo Peak. Wikimedia / Public Domain. Area 51 is a mysterious Nevada test site that has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. The U.S. government’s…
Flying the Covert Skies: The CIA’s Secret Airlines
An Air America Pilatus PC-6 Porter (N355F) over Southeast Asia. Often forced to operate from short, crude and isolated landing strips known as Lima Sites, Air America relied on helicopters…
The Vinh Wiretap: A Pivotal CIA Operation of the Vietnam War
A later model OH-6 Cayuse, modified with black paint, similar to the helicopters used in the operation. Photo: James Dale / CC BY 2.0 DEED. The Vinh wiretap was an…
Agent Zigzag: The Enigmatic Eddie Chapman
Eddie Chapman beside his Rolls Royce. Source: MI5 – UK National Archive declassified documents (over 50 years). Edward Arnold Chapman, known as Eddie Chapman, was born on November 16, 1914,…
Operation Luna: Audacious Espionage During the Space Race
A 1:1 scale model of a Luna 3 satellite at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow. In the early days of the Space Race, the United States Central Intelligence…
DNI 2024 Annual Threat Assessment
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Annual Threat Assessment, often referred to as the “ATA”, is a comprehensive report that provides an unclassified summary of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s evaluation…
From Countess to Spy: The Story of Krystyna Skarbek
Maquisards (Resistance fighters) in the vicinity of Savournon, Hautes-Alpes in August 1944. SOE agents are second from right, Krystyna Skarbek, third John Roper, fourth, Robert Purvis. Source: Imperial War Museum.…