Image of the Week: COBRA DANE

AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANEThe image above depicts the COBRA DANE radar installation on Shemya Island in the Alaskan Aleutian Island chain. COBRA DANE is a large phased array radar (LPAR) employed in a monitoring capacity. The radar is situated to observe Russian ICBM and SLBM trajectories and eventual impacts on the Kura test range located on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The radar is also capable of monitoring the various impact zones in the Pacific Ocean where foreign ballistic missile flights terminate, most commonly those of Russia. COBRA DANE could potentially serve to predict erratic flight paths to impact, allowing operators to direct USN salvage assets to the area in order to collect specimens for analysis. Such analysis is useful in an ABM capacity, as it allows the designers of such weapon systems an insight into the materials employed in the creation of potential threat ICBMs. Having this knowledge allows a weapon designer working on, for example, a laser system to match the power output of the weapon to the structural components of the threat system, creating a weapon ideally suited to burn through the materials used in a threat ICBM or SLBM.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

Feel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.

SOURCES

-Overhead imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth

New Blackbird Reading

INTRODUCTION

One of the most interesting and researched topics in aviation history is the Lockheed Blackbird family of aircraft. Recently, three new books have been released, taking advantage of newly declassified information to shed new light on some of the more sinister aspects of these aircraft. A fourth book, a technical history of the program, has also been released, but has not yet arrived and will not be included in this review.

NEW BOOKS

Archangel: CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft - David Robarge
Written by the CIA's chief historian in 2007 and published for public release in 2008, this is an interesting reference on CIA OXCART operations. Available online here, Robarge does a credible job providing a concise look at the aircraft, the technology involved, and the operational history of the BLACK SHIELD program. The only thing lost in transferring Robarge's work to print is, amusingly, photographic resolution: the full color images found on the CIA website are reproduced in black and white in the printed work. Given that none of the images are previously unreleased, this is not a significant drawback. Where the printed work scores is in its inclusion of a number of declassified documents in its appendices. Kelly Johnson's OXCART history of 1968 is included, as well as a declassified OXCART Fact Sheet shedding light on numerous ECM systems carried by the aircraft. A reference list of every OXCART-related document held in the CIA's FOIO archives is also provided to make any researcher's job that much easier. While the two aforementioned documents are available at the CIA's FOIA archives, and the bulk of the text at the link provided above, Robarge's work is still an interesting reference work on one of the CIA's most advanced projects. Plus, how funny is it that he had to write the history without using the words "Groom Lake" or "Area 51"? Whether in print or online, this is a great read for Blackbird enthusiasts.

The Archangel and the OXCART - Jeanette Remak and Joseph Ventolo
Remak and Ventolo have teamed up in the past with 2002's A-12 Blackbird Declassified, at the time the most complete reference source for the CIA's OXCART program. Their current OXCART book is basically a thoroughly updated rehash of the older work, which given the amount of newly declassified reference material available in the intervening six years between publications is definitely a good thing. There is a wealth of interesting data to be mined from the book's 284 pages, more than double the pagecount of the previous "edition", including data on subjects such as anti-radar systems, ECM gear, and various support efforts aiding the OXCART test program. The problem here is in the execution. The book has been very poorly edited, and is full of typographical errors, particularly in the later chapters. Any serious Blackbird enthusiast would do well to still give this work a chance, however, as the value of the new material included outweighs the negative aspects of the book's formatting errors.

Lockheed SR-71 Operations in the Far East - Paul F. Crickmore
Paul F. Crickmore has made a name for himself among Blackbird enthusiasts for being one of the busiest authors, publishing numerous works on the aircraft since the 1980s. Every time a new wealth of information is uncovered or declassified, you can bet that Crickmore will have something new on the shelves in short order. In this case, he has written a volume in the Osprey Publishing Combat Aircraft series, this being number 76. This book basically details half of the Blackbird's operational career, covering OXCART and SR-71 operations out of Kadena AB in Japan, with a forthcoming volume slated to detail SR-71 operations out of RAF Mildenhall and the United States. It is important to note that this book is not an aircraft history, but rather focuses on the actual operational sorties themselves: the targets, the routes flown, and the interesting occurrences that took place on operational reconnaissance missions. While not as expansive as his last major Blackbird work, Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions (2004), this is a must-read for anyone interested in Cold War era reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. As an added bonus, the obligatory color photographs, line drawings, and color profiles that are typical of Combat Aircraft series volumes are also included.

CONCLUSION

The Lockheed Blackbird family has fascinated aviation buffs for more than forty years, ever since LBJ revealed the USAF's YF-12A to the public under the "A-11" moniker. These three reference works indicate that the complete story of this remarkable family of aircraft may not be written for some time, as more and more information is declassified with the passage of time. Until the complete story is written, we can only rely on authors such as those listed above to piece together one of the most interesting stories of aviation history.

Image of the Week: Ukrainian S-300PT

UKRAINIAN S-300PT STATUSThe image above, captured in 2002, depicts a Ukrainian S-300PT (SA-10A GRUMBLE) SAM site south of Odessa. This specific image is interesting as it depicts an operational S-300PT site hosting a co-located S-300PS battery (SA-10B GRUMBLE). More recent imagery captured in April of 2007 indicates that the S-300PT battery has departed, with the S-300PS battery taking up primary residence at the site. This could be indicative of a reconfiguring of the Ukrainian SAM force, placing the more capable systems along the periphery of the nation. Alternatively it could be indicative of the replacement of S-300PT batteries with S-300PS units. Whatever the case may be, this example highlights the capability of using open source imagery to conduct a chronological evaluation of military facilities. While commercial satellite imagery is not able to provide current up-to-date imaging support for every significant military facility, the ability to exploit imagery in this fashion by grasping the value of the dates when images have been captured is a useful analytical tool for the open source analyst.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

Feel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.

SOURCES

-Overhead imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth

Image of the Week: R-7 Launch Pad

THE R-7 LAUNCH PADThe image above depicts the test pad for Russia's first ICBM, the Korolyov R-7 (SS-6 SAPWOOD). The R-7 began testing from this location at Baikonur in 1957 and became Russia's first operational ICBM in February of 1959. The large size and restrictive handling procedures of the weapon precluded its widespread deployment, but it was an important stepping stone in the development of Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal, and a historically significant weapon system as it was the first operational ICBM anywhere in the world. It was also a very significant rocket outside of the nuclear arena, being the first space launch vehicle (SLV) to orbit a satellite (Sputnik) and the only SLV to launch Cosmonauts into space (Energia, Buran's booster, never launched a manned Buran). Derivatives of the original R-7 are still in use today as heavy-lift SLVs.

Forthcoming articles posted on IMINT & Analysis will detail Russia's space launch sites, ICBM testing grounds, and historical and current ICBM launch facilities.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

Feel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.

SOURCES

-Overhead imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth

The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword, Steven Zaloga, 2002

Image of the Week: Cavour

ITALY'S CAVOURThe image above depicts one of the newest aircraft carriers in the world, the Italian navy's Cavour (550). Cavour can be seen at Muggiano during fitting out and is scheduled to enter service with the Italian Navy later this year. Cavour will initially operate the AV-8B Harrier II, but will receive the Lockheed F-35B in the future. While the Cavour will not be able to serve as a serious power projection platform along the lines of Russia's Kuznetsov or America's CVNs due to her much smaller air wing and lack of serious surface-to-surface weapon systems, she will serve alongside the Giuseppi Garibaldi (551) to provide Italy with a modern naval air arm capable of performing small-scale operations. As the F-35 program begins to accelerate, it will be interesting to observe the potential development of smaller STOVL carriers such as the Cavour in the world's navies. While Italy and the Uk are the only current export customers for the F-35B, the aircraft could become an interesting option for other navies desiring a fast jet capability. Nations such as Spain and Thailand could become interested in the aircraft should they desire to replace their naval Harriers.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

Feel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.

SOURCES

-Overhead imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth

Image of the Week: Kamchatka

KAMCHATKA RANGE MONITORING STATIONThe image above depicts a sensor station on the Kamchatka Peninsula. This facility is likely associated with the Kamchatka missile impact range, where ICBM and SLBM test warheads are headed when they are fired from Plesetsk or near the Kola Peninsula. No impact craters are evident in the area, suggesting that this may be some sort of telemetry or monitoring station used to monitor the performance of RVs as they approach the actual impact area further down the peninsula.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

Feel free to discuss the current Image of the Week at the IMINT & Analysis Forum Image of the Week discussion thread found here.

SOURCES

-Overhead imagery provided courtesy of Google Earth