pdunn: Comments

With the higher resolution available since this image was posted, I'm led to wonder if this is not the actual fighter plane rather than a shadow of a mystery plane.

How on Google Earth did you ever find such small thumbnails? Very cool.

Here's a photo of a FOXBAT in a scrap heap from FLICKR, although, I'm not positive it's the above MiG in a scrap heap:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timmeh_2/90111591/in/photostream/

You want to see big maps? Try this one on for size:
http://www.flashearth.com/

This is just south of the Syrian border.

I'm sorry, I'm still not convinced. The objects appear to have square edges and are very un-wakelike. Check out the boat three boats away to the north and you will find similar objects, but only on the starboard side of the ship. Very uncharacteristic of a wake.

Directly south there are three similar, though unpaved, mounds in miniture that Global Security.Org has pegged as Anti-Aircraft Guns.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/images/dg-tharthar4.jpg

In the article accompanying the satelite imagery, Global Security.Org stated that at one point Weapons Inspectors requested the anti-air defenses of the complex be...

Here is a photostream from Flickr showing Saddam's Parade Grounds and the immediate vicinity from a ground-eye view:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobaltblu9696/56846576/in/photostream/

Here's a photo stream of one of these very predators in flight:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotodaddy/67214328/in/set-1438517/

Here's a close-up of these very planes from the ground:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotodaddy/67214535/in/set-1438517/

Here are some other links of life on the ground at Balad Airbase:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotodaddy/67212462/in/set-1438517/

It's obvious by the teeter-totters and squirrels.

Here is a photostream of life on the ground in and around "Camp Fallujha:"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanhorgan/56875661/in/photostream/

It's very common in that area to encounter multiple well openings following the path of an underground aquafer. I think that is what you are seeing here.

Here is an even better photo-stream of the Migs being unearthed:
http://www.defendamerica.mil/photoessays/aug2003/p080603b1.html

Here's a links to an incredible photos of a MiG-25 Foxbat being dug out of a large sand dune near Al Taqadum Airfield:
http://www.newsmax.com/images/headlines/mig25c.jpg

http://www.newsmax.com/images/headlines/mig25d.jpg

Here is the link to the accompanying article:

...

Interesting. I've run into numerous ramp-shaped mounds throughout Iraq and wondered what they were. Now I know. Thanks for the detailed posts. We all appreciate it.

Believe me, I looked. But all I could find was a plane on a pole. And I imagine it had been sitting motionless for quite some time.

I give the aerobatics and your find a "10" for degree of dificulty.

Closer inspection reveals shaded areas on airstrip are not aircraft but stains and discoloration.

Other than the fact it stood out for its opulance, the selection of Saddam's actual neighborhood was purely coincidental.

Here are some photos of what this area looks like on the ground:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/snakeblocker/59355716/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/snakeblocker/59355715/in/photostream/

...

Ploys like this are what happens when you're up beyond 1:00 a.m. looking for something interesting. Your eyes get blurry and next thing you know, you're inventing movie theaters in Barbados.

As long as its followed by a question mark.

I read the rules to the contest wrong. I thought finding the most obsucre category (theatre, movie-5), in the most obscure location (Barbados-1), earned the most points.

;0)

Using Google Earth, 13 planes are visible.

The short version: "...traits that include orderliness, rigidity, obstinacy, obsession with rules, meticulousness, and ungenerousness."

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19970718

"The expression anal retentive derives from psychoanalytic theory. Sigmund Freud theorized that after birth, a person progresses through a series of stages that, in a healthy individual, would reach an adult state of low anxiety, mental stability, the ability to interact with others, the ability to have a sexual relationship, etc. Freud's stages of normal psychosexual development were the oral stage, in which the mouth is the object of gratification; the anal stage, when the anus is the object...

In Google Earth, many of these planes have distinct shadows, leading me to believe that these may actually be 3-dimensional, rather than painted on the ground as I first believed.

These are to the north east (not south) of the plane flying through the area.

Here's this plane's wingman:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=North+Korea&ll=39.878728,125.500549&spn=0.000001,0.000001&t=k&hl=en

I was thinking they were being dropped from the tower to the west. However, if that were the case, I don't think they would be as scattered as they are, or able to travel as far as they have.

Your theory of target baloons is interesting. If you follow the path of the plane backwards there are a number of balloons in the flightpath that appear in various stages of deflating.

There's a very high tower just west of the orbs. Could this be a jump tower and what we are seeing are airborne troops parachuting from the tower. It could explain why some of the orbs are a different altitudes than others, as well as the different sizes (the ones on the ground would have folded in on themselves). However, it wouldn't explain their apparent speed.

You are right! There are clearly shadows to each of the orbs. I had assumed they were just an exposure errors. Great catch! Any guesses as to what they might be?

Cool observation. I'll check it out.

I had submitted a similar map awhile back labled "North Korean Aircraft on Hilltop Far From Airstrip." I imagine it was probably in flight also.

Without absolute certainty, this appears very similar to numerous more obvious pipeline spills in southern Iraq. There appears to be a pipeline running from southeast to northwest a little left of center in this image. It would appear the oil is flowing downhill toward the inlet to the east, with a small amount back tracking above the pipeline to the west.

You're right about the difference Google Earth resolution makes over that of Google Local's resolution. There's no mistaking that that is an F-14, while in Google Local, it's questionable whether its even a plane at all.

Thanks for the help.

Well, they say you learn more by failing. So I've learned quite a bit it would seem in my erronious guesses. Thanks for the great information once again.

There is a 3rd MiG 23 barely visible on the southernmost thoroughfare, bringing the total visible aircraft to ten.

Great. Thanks again for the info.

That "garden area" is interesting. It has been landscaped to look like the surrounding countryside, complete with grass-covered hangars and manicured shrubbery. If not for the dozen or so fighters parked between the hedgerows and the enormous airstrip adjacent to it, you'd think it were a city park.

Is that a missile battery parked in middle of the garden area near the seven other MiG-25s and pair of MiG-23s?

When you say the TU-22 is "unused" is it because it is in the bushes, or are there other tailtale signs that it is dormant?

Thanks for the schooling. It is appreciated.

To appreciate the true size of this opening into the mountainside, notice the semi-truck rounding the bend near the opening's entrance.

There is some incredible footabe of these very fighters in the new on video IMAX movie: FIGHTER PILOT: Operation Red Flag. Highly recommended.

Cool find.

Once again, great information. We appreciate your insight.

It does look fortress-like

I would agree that the berms in the lowland are for protection, but what are the objects protruding high above the ridge line? They have to be nearly fifty-feet tall.

I give that one a "10." Super catch!

The image is of a neighborhood in Sadam Hussein;s home town, Tikrit. Take a gander at the homes in this and other Tikrit neighborhoods, and it becomes clear these people enjoyed Sadam's favor more than anywhere else in Iraq.

Is it my imagination, or does the netting have the Korean flag printed on them?

Once again, thanks for the great information.

Nice find. I've poured over this airbase more than any other image and am always amazed at how much I missed. You could spend a week detailing all the cool stuff that's in and around this base.

The top of the yellow traingle is pointing at the aircraft's left wing. The nose of the airplane is oriented toward the southwest, its tail, northeast. The canopy is visible as a dark spot.

The green plane marked with a yellow triangle in the thumbnail is definitely an aircraft, distinguishable by its canopy, wings and stabilizers. The two other images seem less credible. However, when I ran them through a few Photoshop filters, they distincly showed all the features you'd expect to find on a plane, just not with great clarity.

There are AAA guns on the otherside of the revetments in the circular areas

Believe it or not, but there are actually three aircraft visible in this image. In addition to the one highlighted with a yellow triangle, there is another slightly off a nose to tail position behind it, and another at about 2'oclock, right beneath the dirt road.

Site shown is number 11 on Kjfitz's list.

Considering their entire nuclear program seems to be at the mercy of this river, I imagine the river's dams are a bit of a vulnerabillity to everything from their reactors to the reprocessing facilities.

I guess the reprocessing facility at the bend in the river explains the stream of melted ice eminating from an outlet due east of the facilities.

If they are decoy planes, I wonder, why here on the riverbank with no corresponding decoy airstrip? It's very odd to me. I'd suggest they were targets, but they are far too close to civilization for that (if there is such a thing in North Korea). Also, the fact that their new nuclear reactor is just up stream makes it all the more odd. Perhaps they are using the "Phantom Squadron" to make the reactor look like it is more safely guarded than it actually is.

Thanks for the great tips. I'll post the missile sites you discovered; however, don't feel I own North Korea. Part of the reason I've concentrated there is to help build interest so others will start peering into the super-secretive dictatorship.

The North Korean regime has worked so hard to keep a tight lid on even the most basic of information, there is something rewarding about being able meander down the runway of one of their airbases and count the dandilions sprouting...

It looks to me as if this has been painted onto the airstrip.

I also find it odd I keep running into planes parked in fields far from an airbase of any type.

Check these out:

ttp://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.875714,125.503827&spn=0.003809,0.005606&t=k&hl=en

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.860003,125.530982&spn=0.003591,0.005606&t=k&hl=en

I manipulated this image, manually adjusting levels, sharpness and hue saturation and am certain this is, conclusively, a tank.

Great. Thanks once again for the detailed explanation.

It looked to me that the berms directly behind the mounds, outside the fenced enclosure, contained missiles(three yellow triangles on thumbnail). Is this likely?

"Located 13 miles southeast off Baghdad, Tuwaitha is one of the main nuclear program sites that survived the Gulf War. Activities reportedly include research reactors, plutonium separators and waste processing, uranium, metalurgy, neutron initiator development and uranium enrichment."(source: MSNBC)

Unexplained is another category it would fit under.

It's interesting. The gray structures surrounding each bunker each have a circular platform in front with something in position. It's interesting that if it they are missiles, each is oriented to face in a westerly direction.

Homes built on 45-degree angles are popular in that neighborhood. If you'd like I can reserve one for you. Perhaps you should give your old eyes a rest.

Here is a link to the online album of a soldier stationed in and around Camp Babylon with photos of life in the area:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rangerholton/43607725/in/photostream/

Here is a link to a soldier's photo album showing what Babylon looks like from the ground and helo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rangerholton/43607725/in/photostream/

The image is of Tallil airbase, home of the Iraqi 23rd Squadron (pre war) and the US 407th Expeditinary Group (post war). Notable: The An Nasiriyah Weapons Storage Area beleived to house Chemical Munitions is to the North East.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/tallil.htm

Notice the large Iraqi flag on the center of the dam

Island is near Najaf. There is a (very) small airstrip directly to the Northwest of here.

Thanks for the detailed analysis. There are a number of tread trails leading up to the berms which I imagine could have been left by the demolition crews or are just reminants of normal base traffic.

I find the man-made dam at the southern base of this site curious. It looks like it was designed to hold back much more water than it does. The riverbed where it sits also seems to be accustomed to much more water than is present in this image.

The helicopters are located at what has been labled the Interstate 10 Staging Area.

Follow the terrain to the South East and you'll come across the heavily bombed airbase Kjftiz posted. By the number of destroyed positions far from the airstrip, it looks like not much escaped the attention of the bomber crews in this area.

That explains a lot. I thought it was curious the military would park its aircraft in the sand where rocks and debris could easily be ingested. And the combination of F-18s and A-10s would be an unusual teaming of Navy and Airforce aircraft.

Which makes this such a remarkable find. After all, how many 600 ft subs do you see everyday? As far as I know this could be the only one in existence. ;0)

Farther to the south, four destroyed fighters still litter their taxiways and many of their hardened shelters sport holes in the top.

Great info. Thanks for the update.

Here is a link to Space Command's official website:

http://www.peterson.af.mil/hqafspc/

The sites are commonly known and are not secret locations. Do a web search for Space Command or Buckley Air Force Base and you will see just how widely the information is available.

Making it more interesting, this is all taking place on the grounds of Buckley AFB, the United State's Space Command headquarters.

I'm still waiting on Google to finish their promised Google Earth for the Mac. Until then, I'll have to rely on the aid of folks like you. Thanks for the update.

Other examples of surface to air sites in Iraq have been emptied of their weaponry. This is the only one I've come across that is still occupied.

They could be anti-air artillery; however, I'm still inclined to believe they're missiles.

Thanks for the help. Also, thanks to the link to MSN Virtual Earth, I now know this is in Syria and not Iraq. And, when hiking by satellite, how easy it is to cross borders without even knowing it.

Looks to me like what you are seeing is a small land mass barely protruding above the surface. Look closely and you can see its shadow attached to the sea floor.

I'm pretty confident this shot was taken post invasion. Zoom out a couple clicks and follow the river to the north west. There is another small airbase there, that, if you look directly north has a complex adjacent that is riddled with bomb craters.

I originally thought they looked like the Navy's SM 120 missile (which doesn't explain why it would be on an airstrip). However, I think kjfitz may be right. They could be helicopters wrapped in white plastic for transport incountry.