The Russian Crimean peninsula has come under the intense scrutiny of US/NATO satellites over the past month. US Topaz constellation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites make repeated passes over Crimea to photograph and pinpoint targets. During the past month, 29 satellite passes over Crimea were recorded.
The satellite passes are in addition to the near 24/7 surveillance by US/NATO RQ-4 Global Hawk drones which perform wide-area surveillance over a large geographic area, collecting imagery and signals intelligence data.
The RQ-4 features sophisticated SAR systems with all-weather, day-and-night imaging capabilities through clouds and haze. The EO/IR sensors on the Global Hawk allow it to capture high-resolution imagery and track targets using visual and infrared sensors. The drone’s SIGINT payloads can intercept and analyze electronic emissions, such as communications and radar signals, from different sources on the ground.
RQ-4-based surveillance has one limitation – it cannot be done directly overhead the target area in Crimea. The drone must keep a safe distance from the peninsula to avoid being shot down. Slanted imaging has some limitations. Satellite-based imaging augments the accuracy of drone-based imaging. Läs artikel