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Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
To boost surveillance, Govt taps global firms for high-resolution satellite imagery
With high-resolution satellite imagery proving to be indispensable in evolving battlefield situations, the government is learnt to have reached out to multiple global commercial earth-observation satellite players for sourcing it. The initiation of talks with these satellite imagery providers comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor in May, where it has been inferred that China provided live inputs through satellite support to Pakistan. Senior Army officials have since said that when the DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan flagged information about 'specific vectors' on the Indian side that were being primed and readied for action, likely from satellite inputs facilities by China. 'We are in talks with commercial satellite imagery providers. We have to deepen our surveillance measures,' an official told The Indian Express. The objective of these discussions is to extend the surveillance envelope and be able to do real-time surveillance at the time of conflicts for more efficient military actions, officials said. The move likely includes Maxar Technologies, which operates some of the world's most advanced Earth observation satellites that can capture images with 30-centimetre resolution, detailed enough to discern targets such as infrastructure, buildings, artillery gun systems and even vehicles. When contacted by The Indian Express, Maxar's spokesperson said they 'don't comment on contract negotiations'. While India's satellites, including the Cartosat and RISAT, have played a big role in helping defence forces to strategise, track enemy mobilisation and confirm strike impact, while maintaining real-time situational awareness which prevented any major damage to the country's military assets, these domestic satellites face some limitations in their capabilities. The Cartosat-3 satellite was designed to offer resolution of up to 30-centimetre, but is claimed to provide good quality imagery at about 50 centimetres. Also, Cartosat-3 operates alone, which limits how frequently it can scan the same area, something that is crucial during fast-paced military engagements where the battlefield is limited to a specific sector. Visibility is crucial, which the Pakistanis are believed to have with Chinese inputs. India's satellites, including the Cartosat and RISAT, have played a big role in helping defence forces to strategise and maintain real-time situational awareness, but there are some limitations in their capabilities. The move to rope in global players is aimed at plugging these gaps. India is already working on upgrading its satellite capabilities and has fast-tracked deployment of 52 surveillance satellites under the SBS (Space Based Surveillance)-III programme after Operation Sindoor, to enable efficient and enhanced monitoring of land and sea borders, with stronger imaging and all-weather functionalities. 'They will start launching the satellites from next year onwards and the deployment of all satellites will be completed by 2029,' the official said. In October last year, the Union Cabinet approved $3.2 billion for the SBS-III programme to develop next-generation satellites over the next decade. Under the programme, ISRO will manufacture and launch the first 21 satellites, while private companies will handle the remaining 31. The Defence Space Agency will oversee the operation of the newly launched satellite system. Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 13 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More Anil Sasi is National Business Editor with the Indian Express and writes on business and finance issues. He has worked with The Hindu Business Line and Business Standard and is an alumnus of Delhi University. ... Read More
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Iran bomb damage intel suggests two nuclear sites not ‘obliterated'
Published Jul 18, 2025 • 5 minute read This handout satellite picture provided by Maxar Technologies and taken on June 24, 2025, shows an overview of Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility and nearby tunnels in central Iran. Photo by - / Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Tec The United States has assessed that only one of Iran's three principal nuclear facilities was destroyed in U.S. strikes last month, officials and people familiar with ongoing assessments said, prompting renewed questions about President Donald Trump's claim that Tehran's nuclear program had been 'totally obliterated.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Of the three facilities targeted in a massive nighttime bombing run, the results of the damage at the Fordow site have been the clearest to assess, according to U.S. officials and a congressional aide familiar with briefings provided to lawmakers. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers dropped 12 huge ground-penetrating bombs through ventilation shafts into the underground facility. There are ongoing analyses of how significant the damage was at the other sites, Natanz and Isfahan, but the current indication is they were not dealt a knockout blow, according to a U.S. official familiar with the intelligence assessments. 'We definitely can't say it was obliterated,' the official said of Iran's nuclear program. Like others in this report, the official and the aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive and ongoing assessments. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The objective to collapse the deeply buried infrastructure at Fordow 'seems to have succeeded,' the aide said. Adding to the confidence, they said, was an intimate understanding of the facility by U.S. war planners, who developed the 30,000-pound bunker-buster program specifically in response to the Iranian effort to burrow the site into a mountain. Fordow is one of two main sites in Iran where thousands of fast-spinning centrifuges were installed to purify uranium. But there are still significant unknowns, including whether the centrifuges at the deepest levels of Fordow were destroyed or rendered inoperable, or if they were moved before the bombing. If they were not present, 'then they are back in business,' the aide said of Iran. 'That is the key component to enriching the material.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Much less is known about the efficacy of strikes at the other two facilities, the aide said. The bunker-busting bombs were not used at the Isfahan site because the Pentagon had assessed it was 'pretty much impenetrable,' the aide said. Isfahan, the country's largest nuclear research complex, has bunkers that are even more deeply buried – and beneath harder rock – than the terrain at Fordow. Instead, a submarine fired a salvo of Tomahawk cruise missiles to destroy surface targets. Likewise, buildings at Iran's other major site – the nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz – were targeted by Israeli jets in the days before the U.S. strike. B-2 stealth bombers then hit Natanz with two Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs, destroying some underground rooms. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There is no reason to doubt the underground facilities at Natanz were destroyed, the aide said, but the subsequent intelligence picture there is also less robust than at Fordow. Bomb damage assessments typically evolve over time as new information is acquired, and the fact that many of Iran's nuclear facilities are deep underground complicates getting a full picture of their status. Some elements of the latest U.S. assessment of the impact of the Iran strikes were reported earlier by NBC News. Whether Iran now pursues a nuclear weapon depends on how Tehran and Washington respond in the coming weeks and months, the congressional aide said. It is hard to imagine Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and others in the regime not seeing the attacks as evidence they need a credible nuclear deterrent. If senior leaders pursue a diplomatic solution after the embarrassment of seeing their defences penetrated so decisively, Iran's government risks political instability; if new rulers emerge, they may be even more hard-line. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There's no reason to believe they will not' seek a nuclear weapon now, said Sima Shine, an Iran expert and former official in Israel's Mossad intelligence service. 'They want the bomb … nuclear deterrence.' But the Iranians 'know the price' they might pay for resumed nuclear activity, she said, referring to potential follow-on U.S. or Israeli strikes. Shine noted that Israeli military and covert actions also killed numerous top Iranian nuclear scientists, eliminated up to half of its ballistic missile launchers and destroyed other sites for constructing centrifuges to enrich uranium. 'What happened to Iran in this war is more than just the destruction of 'X' places,' said Shine, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Iranians 'believe they're in a long war' with Israel and that the larger issue is 'management of the Israeli threat,' including rebuilding air defences and plugging intelligence holes, said Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. For Washington, he said, the issue should be 'not just the result of the intelligence estimate – whether Iran's nuclear program is finished off or not, but whether it's worth going to the table with the Iranians to negotiate something that actually would make this ceasefire have legs.' The Pentagon has remained sharply critical of media reports citing an initial, secret Defense Intelligence Agency assessment last month that the strikes set Tehran's program back by months but did not eliminate it entirely. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that,' chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. Iran's program was degraded by 'one to two years,' Parnell told reporters earlier this month. The White House on Thursday continued to assert that the U.S. strikes, known as Operation 'Midnight Hammer,' had eliminated Iran's nuclear program as a threat. 'As the President has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities. America and the world are safer thanks to his decisive action,' White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. U.S. and Israeli officials, and nuclear experts, agree that the strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure damaged the program considerably. But without more information, including on the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, it is unclear whether and how quickly Iran could resume its march toward a bomb, if its leaders so chose. 'It seems like an unforced error on the administration's part to spike the football and claim victory when it didn't need to,' the aide said. Sunshine Girls Tennis Toronto & GTA MMA Toronto Maple Leafs
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First Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
US Op Midnight Hammer damaged only 1 of 3 Iranian nuke sites before Trump blocked wider strike: Report
Despite the administration's rhetoric, internal assessments reportedly suggest that only Fordow's enrichment work was disrupted in any substantial way, potentially setting Iran back by up to two years read more A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the US struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran. Maxar Technologies/Reuters A US strike on Iran last month damaged just one of three targeted nuclear enrichment facilities, according to an internal assessment reported by NBC News, raising questions about the true extent of Operation Midnight Hammer's impact on Tehran's atomic programme. The attack on the Fordow nuclear site 'significantly' set back Iran's work there, but the facilities at Natanz and Isfahan were reportedly left largely intact due to their deep underground construction, NBC said, citing unnamed officials familiar with the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US military had prepared a far more expansive plan for sequential strikes on additional facilities over several weeks. However, President Donald Trump ultimately opted against the broader operation. NBC quoted senior officials as saying Trump was concerned about high casualty figures on both sides and was unwilling to escalate America's military involvement, consistent with his aversion to foreign entanglements. Contradictory claims The findings are in stark contrast with public statements by both Trump and the Pentagon, which have continued to portray the June 22 strikes as overwhelmingly successful. Trump has repeatedly described the results as total destruction, calling reports to the contrary 'fake'. He posted on Truth Social: 'Monumental damage was done to all nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. 'Obliteration' is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply embedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell echoed the president's view in a separate statement: 'The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover. President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that.' Limited success Despite the administration's rhetoric, the NBC report cites internal assessments suggesting that only Fordo's enrichment work was disrupted in any substantial way, potentially setting Iran back by up to two years. The use of GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs in the operation — the first time they were deployed in combat — had limited impact on deeper underground structures at Natanz and Isfahan, officials said. Operation Midnight Hammer, conducted in a single night, was publicly framed around its most successful element, with Fordow's visible damage serving as proof of American military effectiveness. However, the muted effects on the other two sites are believed to have led military planners to quietly scale down post-strike assessments and shift attention away from the less successful aspects of the mission. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Iranian government has yet to offer an official assessment of the damage or confirm any setbacks to its nuclear programme.
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Iran threatens to ramp up enrichment of nuke-grade uranium AGAIN – just 24 days after Trump bombed ‘Mount Doom' facility
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IRAN has again threatened to ramp up enrichment of its near-weapons-grade uranium stockpile just days after being bombed by the US. It comes after Israel said some of Iran's nuclear fuel survived US bombings during the 12-Day War last month. 10 A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex after the US bombings on June 21 Credit: Reuters 10 This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close view of the Isfahan nuclear technology in Iran after US strikes Credit: AP 10 This picture shows a general view of the Isfahan nuclear power plant in 2005 Credit: AFP 10 Tehran admitted that Operation Midnight Hammer - which saw American B-2 Spirit bombers drop more than a dozen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker buster bombs - did cause "excessive and serious" damage. But it said the bombings will not deter the regime from enriching uranium, which they claim is for peaceful civilian use. The uranium in question is enriched to 60 per cent - way above levels for civilian use but slightly below weapons-grade. That material, if further refined to 90 per cent, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told Mehr News Agency: "We will never give up our legitimate right to enrich uranium. "Enrichment is a sovereign right that we will continue to pursue based on our national needs. "Bombing cannot erase this knowledge — it will only come back stronger." It comes as the UK, France and Germany have agreed to restore tough UN sanctions on Iran by the end of August if there has been no concrete progress on a nuclear deal. Ali Velayati, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA: "If the negotiations [with the US] must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place." Boroujerdi added: "We will in no way succumb to the West's demands for zero enrichment." The UN's top nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Iran could start enriching uranium again within just months. Doubts remained whether Iran quietly removed 408.6 kgs of uranium from its most sensitive sites before the US strikes - potentially hiding nuclear material elsewhere in the country. Trump rips critics & insists 'bombs went through like butter' at Iran sites An Israeli official told The New York Times some of the uranium stockpile survived the US and Israeli bombings last month - and may be accessible to Iranian nuclear engineers. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not express concern about the remaining stockpile and said any attempt to recover it would be detected by the Israeli intelligence. They also said that Israel would have enough time to attack Iran's nuclear facilities again if the regime tries to recover it. But it was not clear immediately if the strikes - which hit Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment plant, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities - were able to wipe out the entire stockpile of enriched uranium. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi admitted Iran could still have stockpiles of enriched uranium, saying: "We don't know where this material could be. 10 10 The moment a GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) hit the earth in the test footage "So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved. So there has to be at some point a clarification," he said in an interview with CBS. "We need to be in a position to ascertain, to confirm what is there, and where it is and what happened," Grossi said. Satellite imagery showed trucks moving out of Fordow in the days leading up to the attack - leading to speculations that Iran moved some of its underground uranium stockpile. US and Israel, as well as independent experts, agree that all of Iran's working centrifuges at Natanz and Fordo — some 18,000 - were either destroyed or damaged beyond repair. DOOM & BOOM Satellite imagery appeared to show construction work at the Fordow Nuclear Enrichment facility in Qom, near Tehran. Heavy earthmoving equipment can be seen working near the impact craters caused by US GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs. Excavators and cranes can also be seen working, while more construction trucks are visible on roads leading to the impact points at the site. A new access road between the site's northern tunnel entrance and one of the impact craters can be seen after Israel said its air force struck Fordow to "disrupt" access to the site. David Albright, a US weapons expert, said in his assessment that Iran may be filling the craters and conducting engineering damage assessments and radiological sampling. 10 Construction activity post-bombing at Fordow as of June 27; annotations by The Sun Credit: Maxar via Reuters 10 A satellite overview shows earthmoving at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility on June 27; annotations by The Sun Credit: Maxar via Reuters The 12-Day War began on June 13 when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion - a sophisticated campaign of bombing which targeted Iran's military nuclear sites. The Israelis also brilliantly orchestrated Operation Red Wedding - 30 top Iranian military chiefs killed in near-simultaneous blitz as Israel sought to root out the country's military strength entirely. Iran retaliated by launching daily salvos of ballistic missiles across Israel, but failed to hit any strategic targets. Less than a fortnight later, Trump joined the Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. The US military's flagship B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000lb GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The bunker-buster bombs were used to hit Iran's Fordow Nuclear Enrichment Plant. Iran, which vowed to hit US military bases across the Middle East, sought its revenge by launching missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base - America's biggest military station in the region. 10 President Donald Trump speaks from the East Room of the White House in Washington after the strikes 10 President Donald Trump and his national security team meet in the Situation Room during the bombings Credit: White House
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Science
- Newsweek
US Satellites Capture China's Space Activities
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. United States satellites recently captured "crystal-clear" images revealing increased Chinese activity in space, as both powers race to dominate this domain beyond Earth's atmosphere. Maxar Technologies, a Colorado-based satellite imagery company, told Newsweek that its non-Earth imaging (NEI) capability provides what it describes as "advanced visual intelligence" of any object in Earth's orbit by capturing "very high-resolution" images. Newsweek reached out to the China National Space Administration for comment via email. Why It Matters China is advancing several programs as the East Asian power pushes for supremacy in space, including building a network of 16 space-enabling facilities in Latin America, operating the Tiangong Space Station, and planning to send astronauts to the moon by 2030. Facing growing challenges from China, the U.S. Space Force was established in 2019 to maintain American superiority in space. In April, a U.S. military satellite capable of maneuvering near objects in orbit was tracked buzzing a pair of Chinese satellites. What To Know Earlier this month, Maxar Technologies shared images of the Tiangong Space Station and the International Space Station, captured by one of its WorldView Legion satellites, on social media, saying that it is "unleashing a new era of high-fidelity, space-to-space imaging." The level of resolution and structural clarity in these images opens new possibilities for monitoring orbital activities, the company said. "This isn't just a technical achievement; it's a critical capability for space domain awareness and monitoring activity beyond Earth." These images of the ISS and China's Tiangong Space Station were collected by one of Maxar's WorldView Legion satellites—showcasing our ability to image mid-inclination orbits with unmatched clarity. With sub-10 cm SSD and rapid tasking, we're unlocking new capabilities in space… — Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) July 1, 2025 Susanne Hake, general manager of Maxar Intelligence's U.S. Government business, later shared on social media what she described as a "crystal-clear picture" of the Chinese optical remote sensing satellite ShiJian-26, captured on June 3 by the company's WorldView Legion satellites. "This type of resolution is revolutionary for space situational awareness," said Hake, adding that ShiJian-26 is one of China's latest-generation optical reconnaissance satellites, and that the ability to photograph it this clearly marks a new era in satellite-to-satellite observation. According to Chinese state media, the ShiJian-26—reportedly "mainly used" to provide information services supporting national economic development—was launched aboard a rocket on May 29, a few days before it was photographed in orbit by Maxar Technologies. Marco Langbroek, a lecturer at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, explained to Newsweek that space domain awareness, or space situational awareness, refers to "keeping an eye on what is happening in space." This includes activities ranging from tracking active payloads and space debris to analyzing collision avoidance, predicting reentries, and characterizing objects—the latter providing information about "satellite function, behavioral intent, and predicting future behavior." "We have to keep a close eye on what is happening in space to avoid problems, and to keep active parties in space accountable for what they are doing," said Langbroek, when asked about the importance of space situational awareness amid increasing space activities. Regarding the "clearest NEI" Maxar Technologies has ever collected, the images provide clues about the function and capabilities of the Chinese satellite, Langbroek said, and that differences from previously launched satellites may hint at upgrades in its capacity and technology. A Chinese Long March 2C rocket carrying the SJ-11-02 experimental orbiter of China's ShiJian satellite series blasts off from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu province on July 29, 2011. A Chinese Long March 2C rocket carrying the SJ-11-02 experimental orbiter of China's ShiJian satellite series blasts off from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu province on July 29, 2011. Liang Jie/Color China Photo/AP Images What People Are Saying Susanne Hake, general manager of Maxar Intelligence's U.S. Government business, wrote on LinkedIn: "As space becomes increasingly crowded with thousands of new satellites from multiple nations, we can now monitor satellite operations, detect modifications or threats, and provide near real-time intelligence on space-based assets in unprecedented detail." Maxar Technologies told Newsweek: "NEI supports critical missions such as satellite commissioning, anomaly resolution, orbital threat assessments, and rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO)." According to the U.S. Space Force, RPO enables the space vehicle to maneuver near a space object, allowing for characterization of anomalies and enhanced surveillance. Marco Langbroek, lecturer at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology, told Newsweek: "Space technology has become increasingly vital for both the military and civil society. Our modern society and economies could not function without, nor can the modern military. Both military and as a society, we have therefore become very vulnerable to anything going wrong in the space domain." What Happens Next China's increasing space activity remains under close observation. Recently, two Chinese satellites reportedly docked in high orbit for the first time to allow refueling and servicing, extending their operational lifespan and supporting sustainable long-term operations.
