Investigations & analysis
Specialist support for complex illicit supply-chain, weapons and component investigations.
Discuss a requirementAnticipatory & investigative services
Evidence for action against illicit networks.
Heimdall provides discreet investigative, analytical and capability-development support to governments, organizations and responsible companies.
Explore our expertiseBased in Europe · Working internationally
Anticipation · Connection · Consequence
Selected expertise
Specialist support where evidence, risk and action meet.
Capability development
Operationally grounded training, exercises and institutional support for demanding environments.
Discuss a requirementSupply-chain integrity
Independent assessment of diversion exposure and the controls intended to prevent it.
Discuss a requirement15+
Years of international investigative and operational experience across conflict, law-enforcement and supply-chain environments.
Supporting public institutions, international partners and responsible industry.
Fields of focus
Complex challenges demand specialist judgment.
01
Illicit supply chains
02
Weapons and components
03
Uncrewed systems
04
Export control and diversion
05
Operational training
06
Corporate supply-chain integrity
Insights
From evidence to action.
Heimdall connects technical exploitation, supply-chain investigation and practical disruption. These publications examine how evidence can support investigations, anticipate adaptation and sustain pressure on illicit supply chains.
Russia’s Turn to China Under Sanctions
Sanctions Decay, Substitution Elasticity, and the Challenge of Sustaining Pressure
Sanctions should make it harder for Russia to build and use weapons. Damien Spleeters examines how that pressure can fade as restricted components, suppliers and acquisition routes are replaced, and how governments can anticipate those changes, identify dependencies that are harder to replace, and measure whether controls continue to impose costs, delays and performance losses.
Read at CSISBeyond Tracing: Anticipatory Technical Exploitation and Smart Friction
Technical exploitation should not stop at explaining how an adversary acquired yesterday's technology. Identifying critical dependencies and anticipating likely substitutions can help policymakers and industry act earlier, making adaptation slower, costlier, less reliable and more visible.
Read at CSISFrom Battlefield to Courtroom: Attribution, Supply-Chain Forensics, and the Evidentiary Value of Material Artifacts
Components, packaging and markings can bridge the gap between apparently legitimate commercial transactions and prohibited end use. Systematic documentation and comparative analysis can strengthen sanctions, export-control and material-support cases.
Read at the ABAAbout Heimdall
Built on fifteen years of field experience.
Specialist judgment for complex challenges at the intersection of evidence, supply chains and security.
Heimdall is a specialist organization addressing illicit supply-chain and security challenges through investigative, analytical and capability-development support.
It was founded by Damien Spleeters, an internationally recognized specialist in supply-chain diversion, illicit procurement networks and export-control enforcement. His fifteen years of frontline experience span conflict, law-enforcement and supply-chain environments.
Damien is a Senior Associate (non-resident) with the Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
View CSIS profileWorking principles
See earlier. Understand further. Make insight count.
Anticipation
Look beyond the immediate incident to the risks, adaptations and opportunities that are taking shape next.
Connection
Place individual findings within the wider systems, actors and supply chains that give them meaning.
Consequence
Turn evidence and analysis into practical decisions, stronger capabilities and action.