Mapping software exposes IAF bases, INS Viraat- TOI

[club_pranay]

The Cover Page of The times Of India 27 September 2005, New Delhi

Originally Posted by TOI

US Gets Satellite Images Of White House Blanked Out, But Close-Ups Of India's Strategic Locations On Net
By Charles AssisiTimes News NETWORK

Mumbai: Legally, you aren't supposed to come within arm's length of India's military bases. Whether it is the naval dockyards in Mumbai or the air force bases in New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, they continue to be strictly out of bounds for unauthorised personnel.
But technology, unerringly, finds ways to subvert the law. A little over two weeks ago, Google released fresh satellite images of New Delhi, south
Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad as part of its new initiative, Google Earth (http://earth.google.com). These images, available to anybody with access to the Net, provide users with images of earth from space.
Punch New Delhi and the software first zooms in on Rashtrapati Bhavan. After having taken a look at its lawns, take in a detailed perspective of Parliament building. Maybe, fly over the Prime Minister's residence. And if that doesn't satiates the voyeur in you, move over to Palam
NO MORE A SECRET: A Google Earth satellite image of the Palam Air Force base used by VVIPs.
Airport where IAF planes are based. The level of detail even reveals the camouflage used to mask hangars. Pictures of Mumbai reveal with numbing clarity the docks where INS Viraat is berthed. Users can zoom close enough to take a reasonably good look at the deck of India's lone aircraft carrier. Browse around and you can stroll past piers where warships of all kinds and submarines are docked. Pan across to take a long look at what lies beyond the fortified gates of Navy Nagar where access is
normally controlled by gun-wielding guards. And if that isn't enough, there are shots of a carrier under construction, which sources speculate, could be the top secret advanced technology vessel (ATV).
It's much the same thing with Bangalore. The air force base at Yelahanka with the jets and helicopters parked are available for all to view. And if it's the HAL factory you're interested in, zoom right in.
!t

Countries up in arms against software: Page 9
By Charles Assisi/TNN

Mumbai: Governments in Australia, South Korea and Thailand, too, are up in arms against the software used in Google Earth.
Americans have demanded that Google blank out sensitive places like the White House. Governments in Australia, South Korea and Thailand, too, are up in arms against the software.
These countries are now demanding that Google blur their military assets. The argument: this is just the kind of raw-material terrorists need to mount an attack.
Back in India, military aficionado are using the software to take a good look at military bases of neighbouring countries. For instance, on Bharat Rakshak (www bharat-rakshak.com), a consortium of Indian military websites, users are delighted with images of the P3C Orion at Faisal Air Force Base, Karachi.
Then, there's Karachi Port. "Speaking of Karachi, has anyone noticed the 6 T21 docked at the southern tip of the western pier in Karachi harbour? They are berthed in 3 rows NE to SW in a 1+3+2 arrangement," wonders a subscriber on the site.
Or for that matter, consider this: `At 24 50 31.31/66 58 33.48 you can see their third Augosta under construction." The numbers refer to co-ordinates on the map. And the Augosta is a submarine built with French collaboration. The Chinese, too, are under intense scrutiny as the world uses Google Earth to have an unvarnished look at their military bases.

source: Times of india, 27th September, 2005.New Delhi

[tuXian]

the other day I was adding a LOC DNS record for my site. For that I was searching for a correct Latitude and Longitude of my city......... to my horror there were links to satellite imagery of impotant Indian defence installations.

[shirishag75]

I haven't used Google Earth as don't have good enough bandwidth as well as good enough hardware (video card) but on the side of Google Earth. While it does have this security issues it also reveals for atleast Indians who seem to live in some bygone era & have all kinds of laws which ban accurate map-making under one excuse or the other. It has tremendous potential for no. of industries, tourists, civil authorities as well as military personnel.
What isn't told is that like the American Area 51 which is underground & is either a military base or an alien artifact research base depending on which version one believes lots of these kind of things will happen. The Military will just go under-ground but for the rest of us it's a great resource which I would like to use once got the adequate infrastructure

[shwetanshu]

yeah i was watching this on star news in Star Savera, cudnt see the whole story, had to come to college

[sujithtom]

Shouldn't the Indian government do something abt this?? Till today Indian Defense system has kept more secrets tham its American counterpart (regarding base). Very few Indians know base locations of defense system. Reveling them might cause problems in future

[siriusb]

But shouldn't a government that is so concerned that the photo got _released_, be prepared for such events? I mean, since it is google earth they relaesed the photos. But what if it is a spy satellite? My point is that, since satellite imagery is not exactly a new field, a concerned government shuld've employed defences against such things like camoflage or underground facilities or a simple roof. Or shud've had a law against satellites over their sky, if such a thing can be done.

[rollcage]

I have used Google Earth ... Its gr8

But the VVIP locations must be blocked or Better made hidden!

[club_pranay]

i dont think it's that much dangerous, coz we and our neighbouring country has a constant eye on each other so the 3 yr old images of google earth will not mess with security issues.(as told by our govt), the US never logged into google earth to know about pokhran tests, still they knew it.