Article Entry
01 Apr 2009
Comments:2
North Korea Threatens to Shoot Down U.S. Spy Planes; What About Our Satellites?
Added by USGIF Category: Daily Intelligence Brief, General
We are sure that many of you have seen the news about North Korea threatening to shoot down any U.S. spy planes if they violate its airspace and try to monitor its planned rocket launch early this month. The planned launch is slated for sometime between April 4-8 and many believe that the rocket launch is just a cover up for long-range ballistic missile testing. What we find interesting is that – although they threaten to shoot down spy planes, what about coverage from our spy satellites? DigitalGlobe has already shared its satellite images of the actual launch pad. It’s actually featured on its home page.
So is the threat of shooting down the spy planes a PR threat? One would think that North Korea is taking this stance because they actually are testing long-range ballistic missiles. Either way, we already have the satellite images — it’s in the public sphere! Of course, the spy planes can provide a deeper perspective on what is happening on the ground (we believe), but thanks to innovative GEOINT technologies and imagery providers like DigitalGlobe, we already can see what is going on – right??
Like Mister T. said to Rock Balboa, “you can run, but you can’t hide.”
Tags: Digital Globe, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, Korea, North Korea Missle Testing, Shooting Down of Spy Planes, Spy Planes, United States Geospatial Intelligence Agencies
We still have spy planes? DG can likely provide the color of their shoes as they watch the launch.
This is not about the capability of the U.S. being able to view the launch. We can see a great many things and yes even things that we deny we can see. Everything is compartmentalized within the government and sharing only exists when it is deemed necessary. The missile launch was a failure however the U.S. will probably have a new resolution which will accomplish nothing. I assume this will allow S Korea and Japan to now accelerate their efforts in this arena.