Welcome to the COREY PEARSON- CIA SPYMASTER SERIES!

             Whether you’re looking for a quick, thrilling short-story read or an immersive spy novel to sink into, Corey Pearson's world has something for every adventure lover. Buckle up, explore the world of espionage, and join Corey Pearson on his next mission today! 

COREY PEARSON- CIA SPYMASTER NOVEL SERIES: Enter the deadly world of Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster, where deception is survival and the enemy hides in plain sight in these full-length novels. In Mission of Vengeance, Pearson hunts Russian agents behind a Caribbean massacre. In Shadow War, he uncovers a sleeper cell plot threatening millions on U.S. soil. From covert ops to nuclear threats, these gripping thrillers fuse real spycraft with breakneck action. The line between ally and traitor blurs—and only Pearson’s team can stop the chaos before it’s too late. Then, In Payback, a ruthless assassin is on the loose, murdering young CIA operatives- rising stars handpicked for a secret CIA Mentorship Program.

COREY PEARSON- CIA SPYMASTER SHORT STORY SERIES: These quick, 20-30 minute reads are perfect for spy thriller enthusiasts who crave high-stakes missions packed with real-world espionage and gripping spycraft. Read them in any order and get whisked away into Corey Pearson's daring adventures- devour each one in a single sitting!

CIA Spy Network Exposed in Iran: U.S. Intelligence Failure Raises National Security Fears

 

When American Spies Get Caught Abroad

     Human sources are the backbone of U.S. national security in places where you can’t just scroll online to see what’s really going on. Missiles and propaganda don’t tell you everything. People do. But when those networks get exposed, that backbone can snap. Suddenly Washington is left in the dark, and adversaries know exactly how we were watching them.

     In recent years, U.S. intelligence took a major hit in the Middle East when several secret informants in Iran and Lebanon were uncovered. These weren’t random tipsters. They were paid CIA assets recruited to keep tabs on Iran’s nuclear program and to track Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militia the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. Losing them wasn’t just embarrassing. It meant losing direct insight into two of the biggest threats in the region.

     Details remain scarce because the CIA rarely speaks publicly about operations. But current and former officials describe a troubling picture: over several months, adversary counterintelligence forces dismantled two separate espionage networks the CIA had spent years building. Even worse, officials fear some of the people who took those risks for the U.S. may have been killed by Iranian or Hezbollah security forces.

     Here’s the harsh reality: when a recruited source is exposed in places like Tehran or Beirut, they don’t get a slap on the wrist. They face interrogation, prison, and in many cases, execution. That’s how Iran and its allies have historically treated suspected spies.

     Put simply, the U.S. didn’t just lose sources. It lost eyes and ears on some of the most serious threats in the region. Iran’s nuclear program relies on secrecy and deception. Hezbollah, as both a military force and an Iranian proxy, works hard to hide its capabilities and plans. Without trusted human sources, it’s much harder for the U.S. to anticipate dangerous shifts.

     What really worries national security officials isn’t just that these sources were blown. It’s how it happened. Experts say basic tradecraft may have slipped — predictable meetings, repeated contacts, patterns adversaries could track. In the spy world, mistakes can cost lives and leave the U.S. with dangerous blind spots.

     Seasoned analysts privately acknowledged this wasn’t a small setback. It left the U.S. “flying blind” against Iran and Hezbollah at a time when both are more assertive than they’ve been in years. Iran backs militant groups across the region and challenges U.S. allies through proxy forces. Hezbollah has a long history of deadly attacks on Americans.

     There’s also a broader ripple effect. When Iran and its allies show they can shut down U.S. spy operations, it sends a message that America isn’t untouchable.

     Future sources are watching. An engineer inside a nuclear facility or a scientist with sensitive knowledge will think carefully about the risk of helping the U.S. If they decide it’s too dangerous, that’s a win for America’s adversaries.

     Why should Americans care about spies half a world away? Because intelligence guides decisions about troop deployments, negotiations, and economic stability. If Iran edges closer to a nuclear weapon or Hezbollah sparks a wider war, the fallout affects oil prices, regional stability, U.S. allies, and possibly American troops.

     When America’s human sources are exposed, it doesn’t just end careers in the shadows. It creates real national security risks that can reach far beyond the intelligence community.

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Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the full-length Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers reveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.

Five Eyes at Risk? How Global Intelligence Protects America From Hidden Threats

 

Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance Shields U.S. Security

This story in Newsweek, titled America-Led Spy Network Risks Collapse Over Trump-Russia Fears, disturbs me because it hits at something most Americans rarely think about but rely on every day. We assume the worst threats will be stopped before they reach our neighborhoods, airports, or power grids. We trust someone is watching the shadows so we don’t have to. The system that makes that possible is the Five Eyes alliance, and the idea that political missteps could weaken it should concern anyone who cares about national security.

     Five Eyes was born out of World War II, when the United States and the United Kingdom discovered that sharing intercepted enemy communications gave them an edge. In 1946, they formalized that partnership in the UKUSA Agreement. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand later joined, forming a tight intelligence circle built on common language, shared democratic traditions, and reliability. Over time, it became the most integrated intelligence-sharing network in the world.

     At its core, Five Eyes is about listening in on the bad guys. The U.S. reviews intercepted communications picked up by British stations. Australia passes along chatter gathered across the Indo-Pacific. Canada watches suspicious digital traffic moving through North America. New Zealand covers regions the U.S. cannot easily monitor alone. The information flows nonstop. It works because each country trusts the others to handle sensitive intelligence carefully and keep it out of political fights.

     Trust is the whole ballgame. Intelligence sharing is not like trade deals where countries argue in public and still swap goods behind the scenes. If one partner thinks its secrets might be leaked or politicized, it holds back. If allies are unsure Washington is steady, they slow down. Even small pullbacks create blind spots, and blind spots in this business can get people killed.

     Five Eyes protects Americans in ways you rarely see on the news. If a terror suspect overseas contacts someone in London, British intelligence can tip off U.S. agencies fast. If Australian analysts pick up extremist chatter aimed at Western targets, officials can warn people or disrupt the plot. If Canadian cyber experts spot a Russian hack targeting energy systems, that insight helps lock down U.S. defenses. No country can watch every threat alone. Five Eyes covers what we would otherwise miss.

     This is not theory. It has saved lives. In 2006, British authorities broke up a plot to sneak liquid explosives disguised as sports drinks onto flights leaving London for cities like New York and Washington. Intelligence shared through Five Eyes, including intercepted messages and tracked money transfers, helped piece it together.

     Because agencies were working from the same information, police made arrests before anyone boarded those planes. That protected Americans heading home and families waiting at U.S. airports. Similar intelligence sharing has shut down ISIS-inspired plots in Australia and Canada before they became mass-casualty attacks.

     If you have read my Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, you have seen how vital this kind of intelligence is to mission planning. In those novels, the CIA, Corey Pearson and his elite CIA team rely heavily on Five Eyes intelligence to map terrorist cells, track rogue states, and operate safely in hostile regions. That reflects reality. American intelligence officers depend on British intercepts, Australian surveillance, and Canadian cyber expertise when planning operations overseas.

     For years, the alliance has kept a steady eye on Russia and China, tracking troop movements, cyberattacks, spy networks, and influence campaigns. When leaders question alliances or sound friendlier toward rival powers, it shakes that foundation. President Donald Trump’s tone toward longtime allies and his approach to Russia have made some partners wonder whether the United States is still a steady anchor. Even a hint of unpredictability can make allies think twice about how much intelligence they share.

     Intelligence work depends on stability. Analysts must trust the flow of information will continue and that shared secrets will not become leverage in political fights. When allies talk about limiting cooperation, that is a red flag.

Five Eyes is about practicality. Geography makes it invaluable. The United Kingdom sits close to Europe and Russia. Australia anchors the Indo-Pacific. Canada covers the Arctic approaches. New Zealand reaches into the South Pacific. Together, they create a wide net that helps catch threats early.

     In my Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, when Corey and his team enter a hot zone, they move in with a complete intelligence picture built from allied sources. Take that away, and they are operating half blind. In the real world, weakening Five Eyes would have the same effect on American security. Keeping that trust intact helps keep danger a safe distance from our shores.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the full-length Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers reveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.

Secrets, Cigars, and 300-Year-Old Wine: Why Graycliff Anchors the Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series

 

The Graycliff- Luxury, Intrigue, Wine, Cigars, Caribbean Espionage

Where Spies Sip Vintage Wine: Inside Nassau’s Legendary Graycliff Hotel

Secrets, Cigars, and 300-Year-Old Wine: Why Graycliff Anchors the Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series

Behind the Stone Walls of Graycliff: Luxury, Intrigue, and a CIA Spymaster in the Caribbean 

     If you’ve ever walked through the carved wooden gates of the Graycliff Hotel in Nassau, you know it’s not just a hotel. It’s a mood.

     Tucked behind thick stone walls in the heart of old Nassau, Graycliff feels like a secret the island has been keeping for centuries. Pirates once passed through. British nobility slept under its roof. Today, it’s where power brokers sip rare wine under chandeliers and where, in my Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series intelligence deals quietly unfold over candlelight and crystal.

     If your idea of a good evening includes vintage Bordeaux, a hand-rolled cigar, and a meal that doesn’t rush you out the door, Graycliff is your place.

Corey Pearson certainly thinks so.

     In the Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series, Graycliff isn’t just background scenery. It’s neutral ground. Corey meets sources here, trades coded remarks over dinner, and occasionally enjoys the perks that come with government expense accounts. He may prefer a cold Kalik or a Bahama Mama on the beach, but when business calls for something serious, he goes downstairs to one of the most impressive wine cellars on the planet.

     Graycliff’s wine cellar holds more than 275,000 bottles, making it the largest private collection in the Caribbean and one of the largest in the world. Walking through those underground chambers feels like stepping into a time capsule. Bottles dating back centuries line the walls. In one scene, Corey eyes a legendary 1727 Rüdesheimer Apostelwein from Germany. Don’t worry, he doesn’t actually pull the cork on that one. Even CIA budgets have limits. He settles for something far less historic… a modest $400 bottle.

     Not bad for a night’s work.

     And then there’s the food.

     Graycliff has long been known for fine dining, but it also leans into bold flavors. Its Brazilian-style churrascaria concept brings the spirit of southern Brazil straight to the Bahamas. Skewers of grilled meats carved tableside. Perfectly seasoned beef, lamb, pork, and chicken served in steady rotation. A buffet spread that ranges from crisp salads to rich, savory island-inspired dishes. You don’t just eat here. You pace yourself.

     That slow, indulgent rhythm is exactly why Corey uses it. No one rushes a meal at Graycliff. Conversations stretch. Deals unfold. Classified intel get exchanged between courses.

     And then there are the cigars.

     Graycliff is home to one of the Caribbean’s most respected cigar operations, with its own factory on property. The Graycliff Cigar Company produces premium hand-rolled cigars that have become legendary among aficionados. The hotel’s walk-in humidor is an experience in itself. Even if you don’t smoke, it’s worth stepping inside just to take in the scent of aged tobacco and polished cedar.

     In recent years, Graycliff has continued to polish its reputation as one of the Caribbean’s grand dames. It remains family-owned, carefully restored, and consistently recognized for its wine program and culinary excellence. While Nassau has grown with new mega-resorts and cruise traffic, Graycliff stays deliberately intimate. Fifty-six rooms. Lush gardens. Quiet courtyards. It feels exclusive without being stiff.

     That contrast is exactly what makes it perfect for a spy series.

Sunlight outside. Secrets inside.

     The Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series moves through lush tropical settings across the Caribbean, but Graycliff stands out. It offers history, elegance, indulgence, and just enough shadowy corners to make you wonder who’s watching from the next table.

     So if you’re drawn to places where luxury meets intrigue, where a 300-year-old wine might sit a few feet from a whispered intelligence exchange, you’ll feel right at home.

     Pour a glass. Light a cigar. Pull up a chair.

     Corey Pearson is already there.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the full-length Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers reveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.

The New Cold War Inside America: Espionage, Insider Threats, and Homeland Security Risks

 

Insider Espionage Threats Unfolding on U.S. Soil

When most Americans think about foreign threats, we picture the big, dramatic stuff. Missiles flying. Tanks rolling. Explosions lighting up the sky. Soldiers in uniform. Something loud and obvious that leaves no doubt we’re under attack.

     But now, that’s rarely how it actually works.

     The most effective attacks against the United States don’t come with warning sirens. They slip in quietly. They’re built to be denied. They move through middlemen, compromised insiders, and carefully staged acts of violence that look random or accidental. At first, nothing connects. Each piece feels isolated.

     By the time people see the pattern, the damage is done.

     That’s the uncomfortable truth at the center of modern national security. It’s also the world explored in the Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series. The threats in those stories aren’t far-fetched. Versions have happened before. They’re happening again now, just packaged differently.

     Foreign adversaries learned long ago that a direct military strike on the U.S. is a losing move. Instead, they aim for confusion, fear, and overreaction. We’ve seen it before. The 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut killed 241 American service members—not in declared war, but through a proxy attack meant to send a message. The USS Cole bombing in 2000 followed the same logic. So did the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa. These attacks weren’t about territory. They were about pressure.

     Intelligence agencies worry most about the next evolution of that strategy—an attack on U.S. soil where attribution is unclear, the weapon unexpected, and responsibility murky. An event like that doesn’t just kill people. It fractures public trust and forces leaders to make decisions in the dark. That’s the scenario at the heart of the Corey Pearson novels when the war comes home: a looming attack, an unknown weapon, and an enemy hoping America tears itself apart while searching for someone to blame. That isn’t fiction. It’s doctrine.

     Big attacks may shake a country. Insiders do worse. They hollow it out.

     Some of the deepest damage to U.S. intelligence didn’t come from bombs or invasions. It came from trusted people. Aldrich Ames, a CIA officer who spied for the Soviet Union and Russia, didn’t need explosives. He passed along the names of U.S. sources. Many were executed.

     Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent, did the same for years. He didn’t need a weapon. He had access. That was enough.

     Between them, American assets were compromised, lives were lost, and trust inside the intelligence community was deeply scarred.

     The fallout from an insider goes beyond leaked secrets. A mole poisons trust. Agencies turn inward. Officers second-guess colleagues, mentors, and even leadership pipelines.

     That’s why modern intelligence warfare focuses so heavily on infiltration. It’s slow. Patient. Effective. The Corey Pearson–CIA Spymaster Series captures that reality when the hunt turns inward—when young CIA officers are targeted and Pearson realizes the enemy isn’t just outside the building. It’s buried inside the system, shielded by time, bureaucracy, and misplaced trust.

     That’s not an over-the-top twist. It’s a worst-case scenario counterintelligence professionals openly discuss.

     What makes these stories feel real is how closely they mirror actual intelligence conflicts. Foreign services don’t move fast. They move smart. They use defectors to feed selective truths. They destabilize regions like the Caribbean or Eastern Europe not to conquer them, but to deny the U.S. stability and influence. They operate in gray zones where responses are slow, debated, and divided.

     The assassinations, covert surveillance, and betrayals in the Corey Pearson series reflect historical patterns. The Cold War never truly ended. It traded uniforms for algorithms, bombs for influence, and battlefields for institutions.

     That’s the core message running through the series. Survival depends on staying two steps ahead of adversaries who never intend to be seen. The most dangerous wars aren’t the ones we declare. They’re the ones already underway while we’re still looking for signs they’ve begun.

     The most unsettling part is this: these operations work best when the public isn’t paying attention.

     America’s greatest vulnerabilities aren’t loud. They’re quiet, patient, strategic. They don’t show up on radar screens. They show up years later in damaged institutions, lost lives, and a public left wondering how things went so wrong without warning.

     Countering those threats takes more than technology or force. It requires vigilance, strong counterintelligence, and leaders willing to confront uncomfortable truths about how enemies operate—and how deeply they may already be embedded.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the full-length Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers reveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.

CIA and the Dominican Republic: The 1961 Trujillo Assassination, 1965 U.S. Invasion, and Cold War Power Struggle

CIA Ghosts Haunt Dominican Republic Power Games

 

     Caribbean history isn’t all beaches and piña coladas. Sometimes it’s violence just out of sight and secrets nobody wants dug up.

     Look at the Dominican Republic.

     For thirty years, Rafael Trujillo ran the country like it was his personal property. He smiled for the cameras, but behind the scenes he ruled with fear. His secret police, the SIM, kept people in line with torture, threats, and midnight knock-on-the-door disappearances. And Washington put up with him for a long time because he was fiercely anti-communist. Back then, during the early Cold War, that alone was enough to earn a free pass.

     By the late 1950s, though, Trujillo had become more trouble than he was worth. Too violent. Too reckless. Too hard to defend. The CIA, which had once ignored the mess, started paying attention. When Dominican insiders began plotting to kill him, the Agency didn’t shut it down. Declassified files show the CIA supplied weapons to the plotters in 1961. It wasn’t some big-budget spy movie operation. Just enough help to tip the scales. Trujillo was ambushed and shot on a lonely highway, and just like that, the balance of power in the Caribbean shifted.

The SIM was officially dissolved in 1962. On paper, it was gone. In reality, its agents scattered fast when the heat came down. Some vanished. Some changed identities. Some kept their heads low and waited.

     The chaos that followed opened the door to something even bigger. In 1965, the country exploded into civil war after reform-minded president Juan Bosch had been pushed out. Washington saw it and thought one thing: not another Cuba. President Lyndon B. Johnson sent more than 20,000 U.S. troops into the Dominican Republic. And while the soldiers were visible, the CIA was working hard in the background. At one point, it had its second-largest station in the world there, behind only Saigon. That tells you how seriously the U.S. took the idea of communism gaining ground just ninety miles from Puerto Rico.

     The CIA’s mission was simple on the surface. Prevent a communist takeover. In practice, it meant intelligence gathering, political influence, cultivating assets, and shaping outcomes. The Dominican Republic became a chessboard, and the pieces were very real people.

     Fast forward to today, and history doesn’t feel so distant.

     That shadow world is the backbone of my spy thriller Mission Of Vengeance, set against the modern Dominican Republic. In the novel, the current DR president isn’t just haunted by Trujillo’s legacy. He’s weaponizing it. He’s been using remnants of Trujillo’s assassins to threaten political opponents, breathing life into something that was supposed to be buried decades ago.

     The SIM may have been disbanded, but in fiction, as in life, networks don’t just evaporate. They evolve.

     In Mission Of Vengeance, Corey Pearson uncovers that the old SIM torturers were replaced by a new generation. One of the descendants, Jose Garcia, slipped away years ago with a fortune and landed in Nassau, Bahamas. He set up a phony trust fund for his kids, a clever front for darker ambitions. That money helped launch a rogue assassin squad alongside his brother Carlos and other SIM loyalists. The originals are gone now, but Carlos’ two sons picked up the torch. The family business lives on. SIM’s still kicking.

     And here’s where modern intelligence tradecraft collides with Cold War ghosts.

     In the novel, the U.S. President Rhinehart and General Morrison confront the Dominican president with hard evidence. The NSA has been listening. They’ve intercepted communications ordering SIM descendants to rough up political adversaries. The Americans hold the leverage and aren’t shy about it. Let Corey Pearson operate on Dominican soil to take down former KGB spies hiding on a Russian oligarch’s yacht, or watch the incriminating intel go public.

     Those Russian operatives aren’t small-time players. They’ve murdered an American family and orchestrated a suicide bombing at a summit of Caribbean officials, killing and wounding CIA operatives on Pearson’s team. The stakes are personal. They’re geopolitical. And they echo the same Cold War tensions that once turned the Dominican Republic into one of the CIA’s busiest outposts on the planet.

     What makes the Dominican Republic such fertile ground for a thriller isn’t just the beaches or the politics. It’s the layered history. A dictator backed, then undermined. An intelligence service dissolved but never fully erased. A U.S. intervention that left deep fingerprints. A CIA station once second only to Saigon.

     In places like this, the past never really stays buried. It waits. It adapts. And sometimes, it picks up a gun again.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the full-length Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers reveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.

China Satellite Hacking Threat: How Beijing’s Space Warfare Strategy Could Cripple U.S. National Security

 

China Satellite Hacking Threat: Space Warfare, Cyber Attack, Military Satellites, National Security Crisis

The article from DW, “China building ability to hijack enemy satellites: report,” genuinely upsets me. Not because it sounds dramatic, but because of what it implies for national security and the very real possibility of putting Americans in harm’s way. According to the report, classified US intelligence shows Beijing is developing tools that could seize control of our satellites during wartime.

     That’s not science fiction. That’s not a theoretical risk. That’s a direct threat to the systems our military, intelligence agencies, and even civilian infrastructure depend on every day.

     The article, which cites reporting from the Financial Times, explains that China’s focus isn’t just on blowing satellites out of orbit. It’s more subtle and potentially more dangerous than that. The goal appears to be control. Instead of destroying a satellite and creating debris that affects everyone, the strategy is to hijack it. Take over its communications. Redirect its signals. Turn it against its owner.

     That changes the game entirely.

     Modern warfare runs on satellites. GPS navigation, missile guidance, battlefield communications, reconnaissance imagery, encrypted command signals, it all flows through space. If you can seize an enemy’s satellites, you don’t just blind them. You confuse them. You feed them bad data. You scramble their coordination. And you do it without firing a shot.

     The report also notes that both China and Russia have been making advances in satellite jamming and other counter-space capabilities. We’ve known about jamming for years. That’s disruptive, but it’s noisy and temporary. Hijacking is different. Hijacking is quiet. It’s precise. It’s deniable.

That’s what makes this so unsettling.

     Think about what that means in a crisis. A US naval fleet relies on satellite data for navigation and targeting. An aircraft carrier group depends on secure communications to coordinate aircraft, ships, and submarines. Intelligence analysts rely on satellite imagery to assess threats. If those systems are quietly taken over, commanders might be operating on manipulated information. Orders might not reach their destination. Weapons systems could be misdirected.

     And the scariest part? It might not be obvious it’s happening.

     This is exactly the kind of scenario I explored in my spy thriller novel Ghost Signal. In that story, the Falcon X, the newest drone in the US Navy’s arsenal, had its controls taken over by a mysterious signal and was sent crashing into the Caribbean Sea. The Falcon X wasn’t some outdated relic. It carried fully encrypted control systems, AI-assisted flight, and sensors so advanced it could see threats before they existed. Shooting it down was impossible. Hacking it was unthinkable. But it happened. A signal reached in, commandeered it, and sent it plunging into the ocean.

     The Pentagon called it a technical anomaly. Naval Intelligence has no answers. Inside the CIA, though, one conclusion is unavoidable: someone didn’t destroy the drone. They took control of it.

     CIA spymaster Corey Pearson and his team follow the trail to Nassau, Bahamas, uncovering a Russian intelligence operation that’s only the beginning. The drone wasn’t the target. It was the test. Beneath layers of encrypted code lies a blueprint for seizing America’s surveillance satellites, blinding US intelligence and crippling national defense without firing a single missile.

     That fictional scenario doesn’t feel so fictional anymore.

     The DW article suggests China is actively developing the ability to do something very similar in real life. The aim isn’t dramatic explosions in orbit. It’s dominance in the shadows. If you can hijack satellites, you can paralyze an adversary at the opening of a conflict. You can disrupt response times. You can sow confusion. You can reshape the battlefield before the first conventional weapon is used.

     And here’s what really bothers me: our entire modern economy runs on satellite infrastructure too. Commercial shipping, banking transactions, air traffic control, emergency response systems, all depend on space-based assets. A sophisticated hijacking capability wouldn’t just threaten soldiers. It could ripple into civilian life in ways most Americans never consider.

     This is a wake-up call. Space is no longer a distant frontier. It’s the backbone of national power. If adversaries are learning how to quietly seize control of that backbone, then defending it has to be a top priority.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the full-length Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His thrillers reveal the shadowy world of covert missions and betrayal with striking realism.