Unusual Satellite Image Shows Arctic Missile Launch
 

Unusual Satellite Image Shows Arctic Missile Launch
By: H. I. Sutton - Aerospace & Defense & Forbes News - 07-25-20
Re: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutto.../#7b76ea9b1223

Satellite Photo link: https://specials-images.forbesimg.co...=18&cropY2=675
The rare satellite image captures the moment that fire erupts from one of the vertical launch silos ... [+] H I SUTTON. INCLUDES IMAGERY FROM SENTINEL HUB AND RUSSIAN MOD

The U.S. Navy submarines have spent years shadowing Russian warships, hoping to snap photographs of missile tests through the periscope. It is the stuff of Cold War legends, taking intelligence, skill, courage and patience. Yet, by chance, a commercial satellite flying 488 miles above the earth has captured exactly that. It was pure chance. The unusual event took place in the Barents Sea, in Russia’s arctic north. You can clearly see the yellow fire ball as the missile erupts from its launch silo.

That the satellite captured the missile launch was freak chance. That open source intelligence (OSINT) defense analyst Frank Bottema found it wasn’t. Bottema and others have been watching Russia’s Northern Fleet closely over recent weeks. They have racked up an impressive list of Russian Navy movements visible on free satellite imagery. Bottema found the missile test, 17 miles from the nearest land, because he knew where to look and what he was looking for. You can see it for yourself on Sentinel Playground at grid coordinates 70.09378, 32.75932 (70° 5'37.61"N, 32°45'33.55"E) on July 23.

While some of the other examples may have a greater intelligence value, such as a spy submarine with a payload on its back (likely a deep diving submersible riding piggy-back), this one is a once in a career find.

The Russian Missile Launch

A Russian Navy press release on July 23 stated (in Russian) that the Udaloy-I Class destroyer Severomorsk had “carried out anti-aircraft fire as part of a test tactical exercise”.

The main air defense system of the 7,500 ton destroyer is the 3K95 Kinzhal missile system. This is the seaborne version of the famous SA-15 Tor used by the Russian army. The SA-15 is the system which Iran was using when it shot down a Ukrainian airliner on January 8 2020. In naval service it has the NATO reporting name SA-N-9 Guantlet.

The warship can carry 64 missiles in eight sets of vertical launch tubes. These are distributed four forward and four aft. It appears to be the aft set which were used in the test. Although it was not reported how many missiles were launched it would be typical to fire two at each target to increase the kill probability.

There were reports that the Kinzhal missile system would be upgraded to a new standard, known as Yozh. There is no evidence that this has actually occurred however. Bottema, myself and other defense analysts I have spoken to all doubt that it has happened. So the missile involved was probably a Kinzhal.

Freak Timing of Satellite Imagery
Deliberately timing a satellite pass to capture a missile test would be incredibly hard. Yet commercial satellite images often capture freak occurrences by chance. The challenge is finding them. In the case of submarines and warships you have to know where to look.

Bottema, and others like him, have found their fair share of seemingly impossible satellite images. The same day that Bottema found the Russian Navy missile test far out in the Barents Sea, he found a submarine, the moment it surfaced. Based on other intelligence, the submarine is most likely BS-64 Podmoskovye, a Russian Navy spy submarine.

2nd link showing the two Russian vessels: Link: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Edwuf4qW...jpg&name=small

Spotting a submarine surfacing in satellite imagery is rare. Knowing what you are looking at is maybe even rarer. But finding a warship captured in the act of launching a missile, miles from land in remote arctic waters, is once in a lifetime.

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Personal note: Once and awhile we get lucky - it goes to show the Russian's are testing all the time whenever and wherever they think they can get away with it.

Boats