Imagery And Analysis

[SOC]

This thread is for discussions and commentary related to the latest Image of the Week entry at my site. If you have a suggestion for a site or object to be featured, throw it in here! I'll be sure to credit anyone who provides a site or an idea.
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"Peace through kinetic solutions"

[ylr]

Some (general) suggestions...

- Military Ports, with some comments on what make the port usefull (location, capacity, installations, etc).

- Civilian Ports, because they have such a big economic impacts today.
This could produce some articles on what make a good port (for containers : number of cranes, multi-modal, container park, etc), all feature that can be seen in overhead.
There is also some interressing features to observe : curious track patterns in Rotterdam (due to the use of robotic trucks that take - literraly - the same path), or square island in Tokyo (artificial ?), both having some economic significations.
The general evelution of the Dubai port can be deduced, but how such a mess as Shangai reached the top is puzling, etc.

- Indistrial complexe, which are often co-located with ports. This is not neutral on defense policy (in France, 25% of industrials complexes are on the shores) and provide some interressing structures (chemical, auto-plants, etc).

- Deactivated/closed airbases/airports that have become museum. They often have aircraft on display that can be identified like Le Bourget for France, or Kbely near Prague for the Czech Républic (whose runaway was still not depicted on city maps 2 years ago, a left-over from the old regime...).

- Restricted site like the Ile Longue for France (and the missile assembly complex a few kilometer south). Alert pad for Vulcan and B-52 bomber from the Cold War (UK and US seemed to have different philosophy or space constrain here).

- Consequence of overhead imagery, like the proliferation of cover over (submarine) dry-dock.

[SOC]

A lot of those are interesting ideas. Some of them might do better as full-scale features instead of brief Image of the Week bits though, especially port analysis bits. Airbase museums? I did Poltava a while back. Ile Longue is covered in the SSBN home port piece. But you have still given me a bunch of interesting ideas that are a bit "outside the box" from normal military facilities, good job.
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"Peace through kinetic solutions"

[RoAF]

Since most of the blog revolves around SAMs, it would be interesting to have at the image of the week some of the factories producing them - if available in high-res.

[SOC]

Hey that's actually a pretty good idea. I'll see if I can locate the Almaz facilities first.
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"Peace through kinetic solutions"

[ylr]

[ylr]

[ylr]

Other suggestions, this time more ussual :

- OP Alpha : this was an observation point of the 11th ACR in Germany in the Fulda gap. It is now a museum, with a reconstitued part of the Iron Curtain. Interringly, you can follow for quite some time the Iron Curtain mark on the landscape track (mainly in forest) by going to the north (it's more difficult to the south).

- In the same line, but still active : the DMZ in Korea. Plenty of interressing stuff (trench, anti-tank ditchs, the JSA, observations posts, bases, etc).

- They may other Wall in other place (Israel, North Ireland, USA-Mexico, China-North Korea, Spanish cities on Morroco shores, etc).

[ChristianNL]

Nice image*, if you locate it on Google Earth you can see a missile under the tree's at : 50° 7'30.48"N 14°32'10.00"O , It could be a SAM missile. There's an (anti-air?) artillery unit next to it. (german 88mm flak from WWII?)

* Talking about Image of the Week: Kbely

[ylr]

Aaah, you have noticed the Phantom and Draken/Viggen !
There is also some Dakota (more probably Li-2, the Soviet clone).

There is also a T-34 in one remote corner of the city in front of the military museum (50° 5'15.64"N 14°26'41.45"E).
It used to be shown at an important crossroad, but was moved to this quiet place after the students painted it pink following the fall of communism.

[ChristianNL]

No not the phantom, If you look at the helicopters near the phantom, go a bit more south-west, now you can see the Anti Aircraft Artillery unit and, if you look closely, you can see a missile in the shadow of the tree's.

[ylr]

[GeoSpectrum]

I would have put my money on an SA-3 missile under the trees. Any
takers?

[SOC]

That's an S-75 (SA-2 GUIDELINE) series missile right there. The shape of the wings is a dead giveaway.
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"Peace through kinetic solutions"

[RoAF]

It's an SA-2:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:S-75-JH01.jpg

[SOC]

The next image of the week will be uploaded tomorrow, I've been under the weather this weekend.
_________________
"Peace through kinetic solutions"

[SOC]

Image of the Week for Friday the 24th has (finally) been uploaded, and the SAM Site Overview has been updated as well. Sorry for the delays!
_________________
"Peace through kinetic solutions"

[ChristianNL]

Nice image of the week, It would be very cool if someone finds a B-2 bomber in flight. (But that will be very unlikely to happen)

[RoAF]

Not as cool as a B-2, but still...
C-130 B in flight
45.018901 26.437600

[ChristianNL]

Nice one! This one hasn't been marked before on the GE community forum:

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/360116/an/0/page/0#360116

(large database with aircraft in flight, with a special map for Military Aircraft in flight)