Cedric Leighton, a retired Air Force colonel, said: 'Iranians would be most interested in operational bases because that tells them how we fly our surveillance missions.

In what way exactly? Iranians could learn that the drones take off from runways? OMG!

Anything that Google Earth won't show the Iranians, the Russians and Chinese will.

ZAZ: Many government "secrets" are only secret from the public, not from other governments. Iran can buy Russian spy satellite pictures.

Isn't there a line from a movie about they watch us we watch them and something something?

Can't remember it properly but it does seem quite appropriate.

As far as the public go, sometimes I wonder if sneakers had it right: Ctec Astronomy

State_College_Arsonist: Anything that Google Earth won't show the Iranians, the Russians and Chinese will.

No, they won't.
Not for free.

This sort of thing is actually bad for other world powers, because Iran and the like can access for free what they'd normally pay oil or favors to get.

If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide.

/This lesson applies here.

way south: No, they won't.
Not for free.

This sort of thing is actually bad for other world powers, because Iran and the like can access for free what they'd normally pay oil or favors to get.

-Iran has already made oil deals with China. You think that the Iranians haven't asked for arms and intel in return for crude oil contracts?

"Military secrets are the most fleeting of all." ~Mr. Spock

/First thing I thought of.

Anyone else get the feeling that this isn't actually a currently used base?

State_College_Arsonist: way south: No, they won't.
Not for free.

This sort of thing is actually bad for other world powers, because Iran and the like can access for free what they'd normally pay oil or favors to get.

-Iran has already made oil deals with China. You think that the Iranians haven't asked for arms and intel in return for crude oil contracts?

Even if they are only asking for more oil then it still comes at a cost.

China can get oil from other sources for less controversy. I'd wager Iran is losing money for every favor they phone in, on top of not being able to sell crude at street value.

Keeping things secret from the American People is bullsh*t! Chances are during the Cold War, the Russians knew more about what was going on in the US Govt. than the American People themselves.

National Security isn't to keep our enemies from finding out what Washington is up. It's used to keep the People from finding out what Washington is up to.

But can it show us the secret nuclear bomb testing site at Yucca Flats?

/ I know someone beat me to it

So happy to see Tor and the bunny in this thread.

Ludicrous. Runways are not top secret to anyone with a worthwhile intelligence organisation. This, naturally, excludes the US.

So, no one but me sees the irony of the newspaper complaining about Google's ability to keep a secret?

"Google should really conceal things like this airbase at the following coordinates..."

"Also, they shouldn't tell people about the Model SKRT drone that's parked outside the hangar Mondays through Fridays from 8am to 2pm, and they shouldn't let anyone know about the top-secret security perimeter manned by a guy name Steve, who's got a glass jaw and incidentally $20k in the hole for medical bills and is about to lose his house and could really use the money right about now..."

Hey. at least the important things are censored, like the Russian estate of a certain Russian billionaire. Can't have the public seeing THAT now.

PainInTheASP: PizzaJedi81: Anyone else get the feeling that this isn't actually a currently used base?

That was one of the first things that came to mind for me too. Aside from the drone being towed (how convenient that it should be outside at the exact moment that picture was taken) it looks like there's a whole lotta nothing going on at that base.

Google Earth would be a great disinformation tool, but it's not like THAT would ever happen. After all, the intelligence community has standards and ethics that they must adhere to, right?

maybe it's a some sort of paper mache "drone" that is parked there for the purpose of "creating" a "breaking" news story. wonder if some government officials get a laugh every time some "story'" is printed about some "secret" base that can be seen with google maps.

Would only cost a couple grand to put some camo on the buildings, and they could even disguise the airstrip if they wanted to. These are the ones they don't really care if anyone finds.

Magorn: You mean the long-since obsolete air base at Yucca lake that as a avid reader of Aviation Week as a teen-ager even I've know about since about '86 or so?

No. It shows up at higher zoom levels but not when you zoom out. As another Farker has linked, the strip also doesn't show up on Bing.

Link to Google Maps (new window)

StingerJ: Magorn: You mean the long-since obsolete air base at Yucca lake that as a avid reader of Aviation Week as a teen-ager even I've know about since about '86 or so?

No. It shows up at higher zoom levels but not when you zoom out. As another Farker has linked, the strip also doesn't show up on Bing.

Link to Google Maps (new window)

That asphalt is brand new, it doesn't show up on the other images because it wasn't there when they were taken.

Can Google explain how the flag on the moon got there?

Sigh.

I just looked again, and you can see Kings Bay Submarine Base, the Savannah River Site, and a place northeast of Amarillo, Texas called, "Pantex" all un-pixelated. Double fence lines with white gravel between are a clue to what might be there.

Even the grounds of the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC are no longer pixelated.

"Look what I found on Google Earth."

Label Daily Mail articles Daily Mail articles subby you coont. Don't try to farking disguise them.

There's two or three places in the hills to the east where it looks like something crashed and burned.

Wow, hope they don't find Area-51. We'd be in trouble then.

TRAINING FACILITY duh

Dont forget about Groom Lake (new window)... they have done plenty of construction in the last two years.

Umfufu: Wow, hope they don't find Area-51. We'd be in trouble then.

Fat-D: Dont forget about Groom Lake (new window)... they have done plenty of construction in the last two years.

You two should hang out.

Fat-D: Dont forget about Groom Lake (new window)... they have done plenty of construction in the last two years.

You always hear about S-4, but never S-1, 2, 3, or 5.