Test Your Skills

While fumbling around the web I came across a very interesting page on the Australian MoD's website:

Testing Your Skills in Imagery Analysis

Basically, you have fifteen minutes to answer questions about an overhead image. This is not a military facility of any sort, so it will really test your ability to figure out some of the answers. It's not a representative example of the intense amount of training that professional imagery analysts must endure, but it is a pretty good example of the kinds of details you have to be able to pick up on when analyzing overhead imagery. Give it a try and see if you can hack it!

DNI Open Source Conference

I have been asked to advertise the fact that the Office of the DNI will be hosting an open source conference on 11 and 12 September this year. This is basically a way for intelligence consumers to discover a lot of the open source intelligence sources that are available, and learn how to effectively employ them. The event is open to the public provided you register in advance, and is obviously of great benefit to intelligence consumers in both academic and professional career fields. Anyone interested in attending must register by 31 July. Registration has to be done online at the link provided below.

Download a fact sheet on the conference here.

Visit the DNI's Open Source Conference 2008 website to register.

For an idea of the kinds of information on offer, you can view the presentations made at the 2007 conference at the following link: 2007 DNI Conference Sessions

Certainly sounds like a very interesting event. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend this year because of professional obligations, but this is something I'll definitely keep my eye out for in the future!

The S-300P: A Detailed Analysis

REMOVED PENDING PDF CONVERSION

One Year Later

It's been one year since I started this blog, and I have to say that I am pleased with the result so far. I've gotten a lot of traffic from interesting places, came into contact with a lot of interesting people, and even gotten my work mentioned various times in Jane's Missiles & Rockets, an industry-leading publication.

My plans for the next year are pretty much more of the same. The Image of the Week feature has gotten some good feedback and will of course continue. Various in-depth features are currently at various stages of completion, expect to see them appearing with greater frequency. The next feature to appear will be the S-300P SAM System Analysis feature, which is nearly complete. After that, I plan on giving some old features much-needed updates, and move into more of the SAM Network Analysis pieces like the ones available on China, Iran, and Syria.

My current goal, once the S-300P feature is finalized, is to produce at least three imagery-based updates a week: a major feature, like the report on US Restricted & Classified Test Sites, a minor feature, such as the piece on Russia's Typhoon SSBN fleet, and of course the Image of the Week.

I also expect to get back to analytical work, such as the piece on Samoderzhets. I have a bunch of topics I've already started on that relate to current defense issues nationwide.

That about sums up the past, present, and future of this place. My work schedule and the resident 2 year old sometimes keeps me from posting updates as often as I'd like, but I have a better handle on a lot of things now so I hope to be a lot more active (which you may have heard before, but you know how it is!).

In closing, I'd like to offer my thanks to the readers of this site. Without people reading and sending me feedback, this place might have died out a long time ago. Thanks for the support, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future!

Sean O'Connor