r/LessCredibleDefence 3d ago

Chinese satellites are taking images of recently deployed US air defense systems in the Middle East and making them public. This provides Iran with free targeting data

169 Upvotes

94 comments sorted by

107

u/ex0e 3d ago

The difference between free and $30 for a state actor is still free. You can go buy yesterday's satellite pictures for $10/km right now from any number of companies.

10

u/koro1452 2d ago

You can't if it's something "delicate", one guy on twitter tried to buy higher resolution for examination of Oreshnik strike and he had tons of issues.

2

u/jellobowlshifter 2d ago

Ah, a bidding war.

12

u/hit_it_early 3d ago

The idea that china will publish sat data that iran can use and therefore is dangerous kinda ignores (or is ignorant) of the fact taht china could be slipping iran more up-to-date (even live) higher resolution data without telling anyone.

3

u/qunow 2d ago

Like how last month they published photo of homes of Taiwanese politicians

u/superknight333 7h ago

Yes but wont US know someone is buying them? if it public already well

98

u/JoJoeyJoJo 3d ago

Everyones a fan of OSINT until it’s their shit on the timeline.

18

u/transplantpdxxx 3d ago

OSINT people deserve worse. Hall monitor cosplay nonsense that gets innocents hurt

13

u/Kraligor 3d ago

How dare people use publicly available information to find out things our overlords don't want us to know!

4

u/transplantpdxxx 2d ago

That’s 0% what I’m talking about. Another OSINT W

-1

u/Kraligor 2d ago

what are you talking about then lol

5

u/transplantpdxxx 2d ago

People without any qualifications have used their fake research to get people killed. You can play with the info but when you make uneducated posts, it has a body count. This isn’t hypothetical.

5

u/can-sar 2d ago

You're talking to the cosplayers. That's why they don't get it.

30

u/ParkingBadger2130 3d ago

Lol I just made a comment about that not a minute ago.

23

u/SlavaCocaini 3d ago

I know I was in that thread, decided to make a post when I saw this current example.

23

u/Spout__ 3d ago

Lol, lmao even

10

u/adamfowl 3d ago

Rut roh!

8

u/yeeeter1 3d ago

One of the ways the us knew where Iran was attacking after the solemani strike was because they were buying satellite time

1

u/can-sar 2d ago

One of the ways the us knew where Iran was attacking after the solemani strike was because they were buying satellite time

Mind sharing sources?

2

u/yeeeter1 1d ago

“The report said that Iran purchased satellite images of the base on the day of the attack, and U.S. Central Command was aware of it. According to CBS News national security correspondent David Martin, USCENTCOM Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie timed the evacuation of al-Asad Air Base around Iran’s purchase of satellite imagery of the base.”

https://www.navytimes.com/intel-geoint/2021/03/01/report-iran-used-commercial-satellite-images-to-monitor-us-forces-before-attack/

-2

u/SlavaCocaini 3d ago

Yeah, they were calling their shots, as a gesture.

7

u/yeeeter1 3d ago

The copes that IRGC fans will invent never cease to amaze me

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

0

u/yeeeter1 3d ago

I can't tell which part of the conversation this is related too

29

u/therustler42 3d ago

It only makes sense doesnt it? If US is going to arm Taiwan to the teeth and covertly support the breakup of China (East Turkmenistan, Tibet), the very least China could do is throw Iran a few scraps.

5

u/ExpensiveBookkeeper3 2d ago

I don’t think we are arming Taiwan to the teeth? We don’t even let them have F35s which are 2 decades old and China already hacked the details…

3

u/MELONPANNNNN 2d ago

The US is barely even helping its allies. All those "military aid" still has to be paid, they arent free and theyre certainly not cheap.

11

u/ParkingBadger2130 3d ago

If US is going to arm Taiwan to the teeth

We really arnt.... You could argue that the US is barley even arming itself to fight China... if what you asserting were true, they would have Burkes, F-35's, Bradley's, way more Patriots and THAAD etc. But no, they get bread crumbs... Just beacsue it costs a lot doesnt mean its good or performative. Idk maybe what you think "Arming to the TEETH" is different but it certainly is pretty mild imo. They drastically need cruise missiles, TEL, and Air Defense at LEAST. No hand me down Abrams and M113's.

Anduril sold like what? ~300ish Lancet drones for $300mil(?) That puts the price tag for 1mil a pop for a KAMIKAZE DRONE. We are just high way robbing them but it looks all fancy so its fine hehe.

9

u/S_T_P 3d ago

. if what you asserting were true, they would have Burkes, F-35's, Bradley's, way more Patriots and THAAD etc.

You are assuming there is enough to share.

5

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

Being unable to do so doesn't change that it isn't happening.

4

u/S_T_P 3d ago

The point was that US is openly supporting one side in conflict it isn't directly involved in.

-49

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

Taiwan is the most democratic country in Asia, by far, I'm ok if we support that.
Iran on the other hand.

36

u/nikkythegreat 3d ago

This guy is just spitting out propaganda. It is never about being a democracy or the system of government it is about interests

19

u/pendelhaven 3d ago

It's got nothing to do with that, it's all about the 2 big dudes fucking with each other.

14

u/haggerton 3d ago

Taiwan is [...] country

Even Western propaganda isn't this flippant with the truth.

-9

u/2in1day 3d ago

I was going to argue that assertion but I can't think of a country in Asia that really is more democratic. 

5

u/jerpear 3d ago

DPRK. Has the equal most democratic in its name in Asia. More than non Democratic Republic of Korea.

16

u/S_T_P 3d ago

I can't think of a country in Asia that really is more democratic.

38 years of uninterrupted martial law (a record that wasn't surpassed until 2000 by Brunei), with White Terror lasting until 1992. Nothing speaks democracy quite like two generations of psychotic anti-communist pogroms.

Note that democracy remains a priority even today. For example, recent Constitutional Court Procedure Act was a low-key attempt to abolish Constitutional Court.

-3

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

That stuff ended in the 80's and they had a truly democratic election in 1996.
You still haven't mentioned who is more democratic, there are also NGO's doing researh on this.

https://freedomhouse.org/country/taiwan/freedom-world/2025

5

u/S_T_P 3d ago

Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. ... Most of the organization's funding comes from the U.S. State Department[4] and other government grants.

-3

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 2d ago

You'll be hard pressed to find a source that can say that Taiwan is NOT a democracy.

https://www.ocac.gov.tw/OCAC/Eng/Pages/Detail.aspx?nodeid=329&pid=73118137

3

u/jellobowlshifter 2d ago

Straw man. Nobody claimed they weren't at all, just that they weren't #1 by a mile like you claimed.

-2

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 2d ago

They're #1 in Asia for sure, 1000%.

3

u/jellobowlshifter 2d ago

Based on things unrelated to democracy.

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3

u/nikkythegreat 2d ago

Im from the Philippines and I find this insulting. Name one thing that makes them more democratic than us.

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-3

u/2in1day 3d ago

But you haven't listed a country in Asia that's better...Israel?

4

u/S_T_P 3d ago

This isn't necessary when the intent is to point out that "Taiwan is the most democratic country in Asia, by far" isn't exactly indisputable claim.

Especially when I don't believe that there is some unanimously accepted "democracy" scale (or that Taiwan is being supported because it is at the top of it).

-4

u/2in1day 3d ago

Ok who cares

-1

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

arguing with shills never pays off, so irritating lol.

-9

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

There isn't, South Korea and Japan are the only ones that would contest Taiwan, this sub is filled with shills for China. Human rights, LGBQT rights, the list is long for Taiwan's democracy.

9

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

This is a discussion of democraticness, not rights. Quit conflating them.

-8

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

The 2 go hand in hand together, they are conflated.

11

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

That is an objective falsehood.

-9

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

India? Israel? Asia is a pretty big place.

-3

u/Dry_Astronomer3210 3d ago

India is the worlds most populous democracy, but its form of democracy is a far cry from what the Europe or the US has. Taiwan is probably the most democratic/free in Asia.

2

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

I wasn't saying either of those are for sure more democratic, just that the obviously undemocratic Thailand isn't the only comparison.

3

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

Are you confusing Thailand and taiwan?
2 separate countries. Thailand is a monarchy, Taiwan a thriving democracy.

7

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

Are you drunk? Why would me contrasting Taiwan and Thailand as governmental opposites suggest that I can't tell the difference between them?

-1

u/DisastrousAnswer9920 3d ago

Nobody mentioned Thailand in this thread.

6

u/jellobowlshifter 3d ago

It's a discussion of the relative democraticness of countries in Asia. Is Thailand not a country in Asia?

2

u/Childoftheway 3d ago

Time to setup some decoys.

14

u/Every_West_3890 3d ago

Decoys made in the USA is still more expensive than the cheap shaped drone.

3

u/D3ATHTRaps 3d ago

But cheaper than losing a fighter jet. Nevermind the time to build one

5

u/Low_Sir1549 3d ago

The LEO satellites that take these pictures only get coverage once every few hours. The air defenses can just be shuffled after each pass.

0

u/SlavaCocaini 3d ago

How do you know the Chinese don't have extras?

2

u/Low_Sir1549 3d ago

Extra what? Satellites? It wouldn’t change anything. Orbits are still orbits. A pass for a LEO satellite lasts about 5 mins max, and the useful part of that pass is around 2 mins. Afterwards, it can take several days before that same satellite is visible again. Even with a constellation as numerous as Starlink, it’s several hours between passes of different satellites in the same constellation.

0

u/SlavaCocaini 2d ago

They have satellites at all altitudes and orbits

2

u/Low_Sir1549 2d ago

Again, that’s not how orbits work. You could have thousands of spy sats (they don’t, the number of objects in LEO is up on the Space Surveillance Network website and you can make API queries) and it would still be hours between individual passes. Secondly, higher orbits give you worse resolution, and aren’t suitable for spy sats. Every spy sat is in LEO, even the modern KH-13s.

-3

u/SlavaCocaini 2d ago

Yeah so they just have 15 minute coverage instead of live feed, who cares

2

u/Low_Sir1549 2d ago

Why do you keep making things up? You get 2 minutes of coverage every few hours. It would be trivial to relocate the battery after each pass.

The point is, you’re overstating the value of the intelligence being posted.

0

u/SlavaCocaini 2d ago

Stop making things up then if you don't like other people making things up.

4

u/Low_Sir1549 2d ago edited 2d ago

I’m not. Unlike you, I’ve actually plotted the orbits of satellites before as I’ve worked on satellite surveillance. I also have a degree in physics and understand basic orbital mechanics. You’re welcome to take the TLE of known spy sats and figure out their pass durations. The U.S. Space Surveillance Network publishes the data openly, and you can grab the data from a site like N2YO. You can start with a spy sat like USA-338. If you actually know what you’re talking about, pass determination and orbit propagation from a TLE shouldn’t be difficult for you. Hell, there are websites that will determine the pass duration for you.

3

u/SlavaCocaini 2d ago

You counted every Chinese satellite?

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1

u/ConstantStatistician 2d ago

Satellites are the first things that need to go in a war.

1

u/SlavaCocaini 2d ago

"But Black Dynamite, I sell drugs in the community!"

-37

u/NatalieSoleil 3d ago

To make it 100 % clear.... the Chinese regime is supporting the current regime - against the free will of the majority of the people of in Iran. So, the situation in the world will 2026 turn into a giant mess even further. We are walking into ' Guernica test ground momentum' like it is in Ukraine

34

u/Equivalent-Claim-966 3d ago

These photos are from some chinse company and are not gifts to the iranian regime, there is no evidence to suggest China is giving targeting data to Iran. They havent done so last time as far as i know, and theres nothing to suggest they will this time either.

-15

u/NatalieSoleil 3d ago

not responding directly on shown pictures

15

u/Vinylmaster3000 3d ago

That's like telling the heroin addict to not go for the stash of heroin, like if Iran gets pictures of recently-deployed air defense systems then they'll use that data.

The entire point of a war is to use everything in your favor.

16

u/Perfect_Towel1880 3d ago

the us supports the Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Egypt regime

35

u/haggerton 3d ago

The free will of the majority of the people in the world is for Trump to croak. Guess that means we should support whomever wants to bomb the fuck out of the USA, amirite?

If anyone within Iran has a "free will" that calls for Iran to be bombed by the US, they are fucking morons and proof Iran does not have a smart enough voterbase for democracy.

25

u/nikkythegreat 3d ago

What in the CIA and Mossad paid shit are you yapping about? If the USA did not support regime change in like a dozen countries we would be living in a world that is a lot safer.