Category Archives: Intelligence

PLAN Vessels Mobilize in South China Sea: A Timeline

Posted on March 30, 2018

Almost fifty People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were mobilized in the South China Sea not far from Hainan Island, satellite imagery acquired in late March by Planet Labs confirms. Hainan Island is host to China’s strategic base for military … Continue reading →

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Soar Dragon UAVs Deploy to Yishuntun Airbase

Posted on March 23, 2018

New satellite imagery acquired on 04FEB2018 by DigitalGlobe shows that China has deployed the Guizhou Aviation Industry Group (GAIG) Xianglong (Soar Dragon) high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to Yishuntun airbase in Jilin province. The platform, identified by … Continue reading →

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Iran Relocates Radar and Expands UAV Airfield on Qeshm

Posted on March 13, 2018

Iran continues to upgrade the UAV airfield on the island of Qeshm which sits near the Strait of Hormuz, an important maritime choke-point. Satellite imagery acquired in late 2017 and early 2018 by Planet Labs shows workers widening and lengthening … Continue reading →

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India Conducts Unannounced Air Exercise near Doklam

Posted on February 9, 2018

Indian Air Force (IAF) rotations of SU-30MKI Flanker continued in 2017/2018 at Bagdogra Airbase, likely for an unannounced air exercise. Previous commercial imagery acquired in January 2016 also showed a squadron level deployment of the IAF’s advanced fighter. Up to … Continue reading →

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IAF Su-30MKI Deploy to Hasimara

Posted on January 8, 2018

Due to ongoing tensions with China, the Indian Air Force has deployed a flight of at least four Su-30MKI Flanker multi-role fighter to Hasimara, the nearest Indian airbase to the recent Doklam standoff. Commercial imagery first captured the aircraft in … Continue reading →

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China’s Shigatse Gets New Infrastructure

Posted on November 27, 2017

Satellite imagery has revealed some new developments at the Shigatse civil-military airfield, the closest People’s Liberation Army Air Force deployment near the disputed Doklam plateau. Sentinel 2 imagery captured on 11 November 2017 shows continued progress on a new runway … Continue reading →

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Belarus Preps Angolan Aircraft to Depart

Posted on October 9, 2017

A review of satellite imagery shows some new developments at the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant in Baranovichi. Co-located at the 61st Fighter Airbase, the Belarusian-based Plant overhauled two former Indian Su-30K Flanker attack aircraft, imagery from August and September 2017 suggests. According to domestic sources, … Continue reading →

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Shigatse During the Doka La Standoff

Posted on August 23, 2017

A couple weeks back, we jumped over the border and looked at India’s Hasimara airbase. This week we go back and touch on China’s Shigatse, a civil-military airfield less than 160 km west of Lhasa. Commercial imagery acquired during July … Continue reading →

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India’s Hasimara During the Doka La Standoff

Posted on August 7, 2017

Last week we looked at the Gonggar civil-military airfield, one of China’s closest to the Doka La standoff. In this post, we’ll look at India’s Hasimara, an airbase in West Bengal about 80km southeast of the crisis. Recent commercial imagery … Continue reading →

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Gonggar During the Doka La Standoff

Posted on August 4, 2017

As the standoff between China and India continues at Doka La, we’ve been monitoring regional airbases on both sides of the border. Recent commercial imagery acquired in July of Gonggar continues to show the ongoing deployment of the PLAAF’s Shenyang J-11 … Continue reading →

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