Image: seattletimes.com
The Story
The Pentagon’s NOC program is reported as a plan, not an operation, and the department denies it exists.
The reported initiative is a sensitive proposal, not a confirmed operating program. Six people familiar with the effort describe NOCs aimed at economic intelligence, while the Pentagon says the account rests on false information. Existing U.S. intelligence activity against Chinese technology firms makes the strategic direction plausible, but the program’s authorization, structure, and oversight remain unconfirmed.
- The Washington Post reports that six people familiar with the initiative described a planned NOC program targeting China and other competitors.
- The Pentagon denies the effort exists and says the reporting is based on false information or deliberate misdirection.
- The reported program is not operational, and its eventual place inside the Pentagon has not been decided.
Deeper Insight
A business card becomes a spy credential. Oversight gets left at the border.
A private-sector job could become a military disguise. Six people describe a planned Pentagon program using nonofficial cover officers to gather economic intelligence on China and other rivals, while the department denies it exists. The old phony-business playbook is back, but the legal lines are harder to see. Congress still has to find them.
- The reported NOC model would place operatives in private-sector roles without overt government affiliation, making commercial life part of covert competition.
- CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis has publicly described expanded intelligence activity against Chinese AI, biotechnology, and semiconductor companies.
- The Pentagon previously planned overseas espionage using phony businesses, showing that commercial cover has an institutional precedent.
Sources · 8
- 4 News reporting
- 1 Forum, video, personal
- 3 Other / unclassified
What do these mean?
- News reporting. Journalism: newspapers, magazines and news sites.
- Forum, video, personal. Forums, social posts, video, blogs and personal accounts.
- Other / unclassified. A site we have not classified yet. This says nothing good or bad about it.
Featured · Analysis · reddit.com
Pentagon looks to build a deep-cover spy program to confront China
Forum or personal account
The Pentagon is looking to build a more robust deep-cover spying program to conduct economic warfare against China and other U.S. competitors, according to half a dozen people familiar with the initiative. This new next-generation spying program — in which U.S. operatives would go undercover as businesspeople or other private-sector personnel, without any overt U.S. government affiliation — is int
Read sourceAnalysis · cna.com.tw
華郵：五角大廈擬布建深層臥底 對中國經濟戰 | 國際 | 中央社 CNA
Other
華郵：五角大廈擬布建深層臥底 對中國經濟戰 | 國際 | 中央社 CNA # 華郵：五角大廈擬布建深層臥底 對中國經濟戰 2026/10/22 10:20 （中央社華盛頓21日綜合外電報導）華盛頓郵報披露，五角大廈正著手建立一套深層臥底諜報計畫，以對中國及其他競爭對手展開經濟戰。美方計劃派遣特工偽裝成商人或企業人員深入民間機構，執行機密任務。 華郵引述知情人士稱，經濟諜報戰現已成為五角大廈新的優先要務，但五角大廈過去在人員情報蒐集方面的表現並不理想。 據知情人士透露，這項新諜報計畫由美國中央情報局（CIA）前資深官員拉庫森（Tom Rakusan）負責督導，諜報特工將採所謂「非官方身分掩護」（
Read sourceAnalysis · thebostonreport.com
Pentagon's Secret NOC Spy Plan Explained | The Boston Report
Other
Pentagon's Secret NOC Spy Plan Explained | The Boston Report # Pentagon Deep-Cover Spy Program Would Put Officers in China as Businesspeople October 23, 2026 by Avery Quest The Pentagon deep-cover spy program reported by The Washington Post on Oct. 21, 2026, would place U.S. operatives inside China
Read source