The peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan was severely weakened due to the April 2016 four-day war, with further complications due to Azerbaijan asserting its military prowess through a build-up in its exclave of Nakhichevan. This military build-up in Nakhichevan has led to Armenia becoming a more hesitant partner in the OSCE mediation efforts. Additionally,…
This post was originally by Bellingcat for Planet Stories. Examining imagery of the recent incident in Azerbaijan By Masis Ingilizian and Karen Vrtanesyan On Sunday, August 27, 2017, multiple explosions rocked the Azerbaijani munitions depot, called Gilyazi. Azerbaijani officials downplayed the incident, saying that the ammunition collected in the depot had been meant to be disposed, and some media…
A couple weeks back, we jumped over the border and looked at India’s Hasimara. This week we go back and touch on China’s Shigatse, a civil-military airfield less than 100 miles west of Lhasa. Commercial imagery acquired during July and August has shown up to eight PLAAF J-10 multi-role fighters parked on the apron. They…
This article appeared on Planet Stories Lydian International, a mining company now registered in Jersey in the United Kingdom, intends to conduct a large-scale mining project for gold in the Armenian mountain of Amulsar, approximately twelve kilometers away from the southern Armenian spa town of Jermuk. Lydian began exploratory works for the Amulsar Gold Project in…
Last week we looked at the Gonggar civil-military airfield, one of China’s closest to the Doka La standoff. Today, we look at India’s Hasimara, an airbase in West Bengal less than 50 miles southeast of the crisis. Commercial imagery acquired in July has shown up to eight Indian Air Force MIG-27ML/UPG on the parking apron…
As the standoff between China and India continues at Doka La, we’ve been monitoring regional airbases on both sides of the border. Commercial imagery acquired in July of Gonggar continues to show the ongoing deployment of the PLAAF’s Shenyang J-11 fighters, a modified and locally produced version of the Russian Su-27SK. It’s possible the fighters may be an…
On July 17, Armenia marked the one-year anniversary of the armed takeover of the Erebuni police station in the capital Yerevan. Around three dozen radical anti-government gunmen, who called themselves the Daredevils of Sassoun, seized the police patrol service regiment area in Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district on July 17, 2016, demanding the resignation of Armenian…
China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has departed its home port of Qingdao, recent imagery acquired by Planet confirms. China’s Ministry of Defense said the carrier would conduct routine training while also making a two day port call in Hong Kong. This year marks the former city state’s 20th anniversary under Chinese rule since being handed…
The numerous cases of violence targeting journalists in Armenia during its April 2, 2017, parliamentary elections highlight the failure of the state’s authorities to keep their promise of ensuring that elections would be held on the highest level possible. At least ten journalists of local media outlets were reported to have been subjected to obstruction…
Appropriate references can help observers determine the size of North Korean rockets with modest confidence. Using this method, the author has previously identified the unique North Korean SCUD-ER ballistic missile by establishing its body diameter at almost exact 1 meter instead of the common SCUD’s 0.88m width[1]. Images from recent parades and test firing of…
