September's I&A

September's I&A has begun to go out to subscribers. If you did not get it in today's mailing, you will get it in tomorrow's. Remember to check your spam folder if you don't see it right away!

And what's this? I actually got one out on the 15th? Everyone head to your respective basements, as the end of the world is surely upon us!

I&A September Update, Other Notes

I&A's September issue has seen a few content changes to accomodate some things I've had going on around here, and is still on schedule to go out by the end of this week.

Here are the current topics being finalized:

-Current Events: The ex-Varyag goes to sea (and the implications thereof)
-Air Defense: China's Airborne Surveillance Platforms (a contributor piece, you'll get a charge out of this one!)
-Tech Notes: The RVV-BD (Russia's new BVR AAM, complete with fun graphics)
-Historical Perspective: China's Type 094 Force (assessing the force strength)

The October issue is still going to be Russian-centric. It will feature an air defense overview (including space surveillance and the fighter force), a nuclear forces overview (including bombers and SSBNs), facility analyses of Sary Shagan and Zhukovskiy (moved from September), and a historical look at former ICBM sites. The first two articles are already in progress, and will not be small!

In other news, expect a SAM Site Overview update to be posted later this week. Over 80 new sites have been incorporated, making this the largest update of the year by far.

Lastly, I am getting repeat requests for I&A subscriptions. If you think you've already subscribed, make sure you are checking your spam folder when I announce that the issue has gone out. Your e-mail provider might think I&A is spam since it is a mass e-mailing. Rest assured I add everyone who subscribes, so the problem shouldn't (in theory) be at my end.

I&A August Update, Notes

I&A's August issue just began distribution. If you didn't get it today, you'll get it tomorrow. Topics include Taiwan's SAM network, an analysis of the Tabriz S Silo Complex, and a new contributor piece by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Marv Gordner on intelligence integration.

A few other relevant notes:

1. Please stop asking for back issues when you subscribe! I don't have the time to process every single request, and you'll soon discover that when you get each month's subscription info, you get links to all of the back issues as well.

2. That being said, if you have a legitimate request for information, such as for doctoral or professional work, send me a separate e-mail outlining your request and I'll be happy to assist. I'm just trying to avoid a hundred people all asking for the back issues each month, when you're going to get them all anyway!

3. September topics: I haven't sorted out most of the content areas yet, but there will be a facility analysis of Zhukovskiy, and a software review piece on FalconView.

I&A: Subscribing & Contents So Far

It seems that the subscription info for I&A manages to be one of the most-requested items around here, so here it is again for those interested:

-Send an email to imintandanalysisATgmail.com with Subscribe PDF in the subject line.

That's it!

Every month you get a link to download the current PDF file through Google Documents, with additional links to download all of the previous issues for those who weren't among the initial group of subscribers.

Here's an overview of the major features published in the last six months, broken down by content area:

Air Defense
-Armenia
-Azerbaijan
-China's Hybrid SAM Sites
-China's Strategic SAM Network
-Contact Line: Armenia/Azerbaijan
-Nagorno Karabakh
-The S-300P/S-400

Current Events
-Iranian Silos "Unveiled"
-The J-20 in Imagery
-Latakia Port Facility
-The Libyan Lesson
-Pakistan and Bin Laden
-PRC NAVAIR Developments

Facility Analysis
-Fukushima
-Karachi Port Facility

Historical Perspective
-Analysis Over Time
-OTH-SW Deployment in China
-SAM Modernization in China
-SAM Site Analysis

Software
-Facility Drawings in GIMP
-Google Earth

Strategic Warfare
-Iranian SSM Facilities
-Pakistani Nuclear Facilities
-Soviet/Russian ABM Systems
-Soviet/Russian BMEW
-War of the Weird

Tech Notes
-China's New AAM
-IADS Classification
-The J-20's Real Impact

I&A's Six Month Review

It occurs to me that I&A has now existed as a PDF version for about six months! With that in mind, I set my brain to work and I came to a few decisions about some of the PDF topics earlier today.

First off, the August air defense feature will cover Taiwan's SAM network. This will be an updated and expanded version of what I did here a while back. I've got a few updates and new site locations, and will rehash the old information to expand it and clarify a few things.

Additionally, future nationwide air defense topics may or may not showcase an individual nation. There are some clusters of nations where SAM sites are few and far between, predominantly in Africa. I plan to do a lot of them at once in a large feature. Or, they may all technically be listed separately, but I'll do a bunch at once for a given issue.

I'm still looking for additional content areas. Air Defense, Strategic Warfare, Facility Analysis...all are great focus areas, but I can always use more. That'll enable me to broaden the scope of each issue. So, if you have any ideas, let me know. Or better yet, write one and send it in!

This brings me to my next point: contributors. I'm extremely grateful for the effort put forth by I&A's current contributors, and hope they will continue to sumbit articles in the future. That being said, I'm certainly open to incorporating new authors into the system. Articles don't even need to have an imagery theme; the current issue has an article describing the PLAAF's new BVR AAM, for example. As long as it relates to either a military theme, or an application of imagery technology or analysis, it's more than welcome. You can even take a stab at the Links or Reading List content areas if you wish. So, if you have any ideas, contact me and we'll get talking.

As it stands now, the PDF has survived the first six months, and speaking for myself I'm definitely pleased with the results. My only two major gripes at this juncture are that 1) I could really use a bit more graphic design brainpower to, I don't know, give it a decent cover (and maybe an official I&A logo?), and 2) I need to try and make things more consistent in terms of length. Adding more features or additional topics in a given content area like Facility Analysis will help that, and I'm working on it. I'm also working on number 1, but don't hold your breath on seeing results anytime soon. Frankly you guys are lucky I can generate profile views of weapon systems, actual serious graphic design is another beast altogether!

That about sums everything up. Hopefully you're as pleased with everything as I am to this point. And if you aren't, drop me a line. As I mention in each issue, comments are always welcome and encouraged!

Oh, you may have noticed that the SAM Site Overview actually got updated yesterday...don't worry, it's still an active project and will always remain so. It's just that fewer and fewer new sites are being found, making it less important to update it every month when only, say, ten new EW sites have been ID'ed.

July/August PDF updates

The July I&A PDF is being finalized right now and will begin distribution tomorrow afternoon. I'm basically working through the issue adding placemarks to the supplementary KMZ file right now.

August topics in the works so far are as follows:

-Facility Analysis: the Tabriz silo complex (far more detailed than what was presented in March)
-Software Review: SpaceEye
-Historical Perspective: Former Warsaw Pact nation SAM Sites
-Air Defense: Taiwan, maybe? The DPRK? Any other ideas?

More will be added as the process continues, but apart from the Tabriz piece and maybe the AD piece don't expect a gigantic amount of content. The idea is to actually get back on the "release these around the 15th of the month" schedule.

I'm also planning ahead for October, which I've decided will be a Russian-themed issue. That one will have a Facility Analysis of Sary Shagan, the Russian SAM Network, and the RVSN all in one gigantoid issue. I will probably keep the Russian SAM Network in October, updating it each year, with a different significant Facility Analysis.

Iranian Silos Unveiled

So Iran is conducting another wargame, Great Prophet 6. No big deal, everybody does it. Apart from the military and political benefits, they present fun opportunities for politicians and military officials to make bold, asinine, and non-credible statements to the press. Plus, you often get nice videos showing things like missile firings.

Speaking of videos and Iranian exercises, here's a link to a Youtube video purportedly showing some of the Great Prophet 6 exercise footage:

Youtube


Pay attention to what shows up at the 15 second mark: that'd be the inside of an apparent Iranian missile silo. Iran claims that the silos are automated, allowing remote firing of the weapons.

For amusement, let's quote Lebanon's Daily Star:

"An officer in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, which is in charge of the missile program, said Tehran has constructed “numerous” underground missile silos which satellites can’t detect."

Except, you know, for the ones near Tabriz.

Another Lebanese source, Al-Manar, claims that the silos were used on the 27th.

What does all of this mean? First off, it means that Iranian silo-based missiles should certainly be considered an operational element in the ballistic missile force. Additionally, it raises a few questions about Iranian silo-building capabilities. Why did it take this long for the capability to be revealed? Were there issues with the communication and control system? Will this prevent a more widespread deployment of silo-based weapons? Or was Iran merely taking its time to work everything out, prior to initiating a large-scale silo-based deployment system?

Whatever the answers, perhaps Iranian silo-based deployment concepts, including coffin-launched systems elsewhere in the nation, will now get more attention. Look for more on this to appear here in the future.