Adversary Intelligence — 2026-08-08

FDD Analysis Documents Expanding Intelligence Sharing Between Russia China Iran and North Korea Citing DIA Assessment

BLUFAggregating previously delivered congressional testimony into a unified axis framework, FDD's analysis functions as defense-budget advocacy rather than an independent threat indicator.

An FDD analysis published Friday, accompanying a new book by Bradley Bowman, Elaine Dezenski, and Mark Montgomery, cites Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine's July 21 testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are "sharing intelligence, combat capabilities, and technology" 12. The analysis cites DIA's 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment, which concluded North Korea holds its strongest strategic position in decades due in part to Russian military assistance 1. It also cites testimony from US Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson that Russia is expanding transfers of space, nuclear, and missile-applicable technology to Pyongyang 1, and April 2025 INDOPACOM testimony that China supplied 70 percent of the machine tools and 90 percent of the legacy chips used to rebuild Russia's military production 1.

Analysis
The FDD analysis, paired with a commercial book by the piece's own authors, aggregates months-old testimony (Caine's July 21 remarks, DIA's 2025 threat assessment, Brunson's and INDOPACOM's testimony on machine-tool, chip, and technology transfers) into a single narrative of institutionalized Beijing-Moscow-Tehran-Pyongyang cooperation, recasting four largely transactional bilateral relationships as a coordinated axis. Sourcing rests entirely on FDD's own analysis, with RealClearDefense merely syndicating it and no independent outlet corroborating the underlying testimony, leaving the piece better read as advocacy timed to the defense-industrial-capacity budget debate than as a fresh threat indicator. The repackaging of already-public testimony suggests the piece is primarily aimed at shaping the authors' policy agenda rather than disclosing new intelligence.

2 sources

Axis of Aggressors Military Cooperation Is Worse Than You Think - Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Axis of Aggressors Military Cooperation Is Worse Than You Think - RealClearDefense