RH 2.27.26 | China Purges Generals, Spoofs Drones, Hacks Telecoms, F-22s Exposed

👉 Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast  https://www.restrictedhandling.com/  China is not easing into the weekend. It is reshuffling generals, spoofing aircraft identities, probing telecom networks, and watching US stealth fighters from orbit. In this episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast, we break down a fast moving 24 hours that show how Beijing is operating across military, cyber, political, and economic fronts all at once.  We start in Beijing, where nine senior military officials were removed from China's National People's Congress just days before the annual Two Sessions political gathering. This includes full generals from the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and even the Information Support Force. If you follow PLA modernization, you know this is not routine paperwork. It is another chapter in Xi Jinping's ongoing military purge, and the timing ahead of a major policy event matters.  Then we head south to the South China Sea and Taiwan's doorstep. Chinese Wing Loong 2 drones have reportedly been flying long endurance missions while broadcasting fake aircraft identities. Yes, you read that correctly. These drones spoofed transponder codes from a Belarusian cargo plane and even a British fighter jet. We talk through what that means, why the Bashi Channel keeps showing up in the flight paths, and how this fits into broader Taiwan contingency planning.  On the cyber front, a China linked hacking group known as UNC2814 was disrupted after compromising telecom and government targets in 42 countries. Their command and control infrastructure? Google Sheets. Not a Hollywood hacker bunker. A spreadsheet. We break down how that works and why telecom networks remain a strategic target in global competition.  There is also an update on influence operations targeting Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, including attempts to use AI tools to amplify negative narratives during election season. At the same time, Japan is moving forward with plans to deploy Type 03 surface to air missile systems to Yonaguni Island, just miles from Taiwan.  In the United States, a former Air Force F-35 instructor pilot has been charged with allegedly training Chinese military aviators. That case connects directly to long standing concerns about talent recruitment and technology transfer.  And finally, Chinese commercial satellite imagery publicly revealed 11 US F-22 Raptors deployed to Israel's Ovda Air Base alongside a Patriot missile battery. Forward basing is now visible to the world in near real time.  If you care about US China relations, Taiwan, the South China Sea, military modernization, cyber espionage, AI influence operations, or great power competition, this episode connects the dots in a way that is sharp, grounded, and actually listenable.  👉 Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast  https://www.restrictedhandling.com/  Get the daily intelligence brief Ryan and Glenn read covering Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, geopolitics, sanctions, military and intel operations. Save a few hours of your time getting ahead of the news cycle at restrictedhandling.com.