Akrotiri, Cyprus. Reports on Monday said Hezbollah used Google Maps to plan last week’s drone strike on Cyprus’ British Akrotiri air force base. The Times cited a military source saying the strike was concerning because it appeared to hit its intended target.
Times report cites military source
British newspaper The Times quoted a “military source” as saying the attack was concerning “because they were hitting what they were aiming at”. The report said Google Maps’ satellite imagery showed an American Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft parked outside the hangar that was reportedly hit by the drone.
The source said it was unlikely the attack resulted from a “sophisticated intelligence gathering operation”, adding that available information “suggests that they’ve got Google Maps and a GPS”.
Google Maps blurring and base visibility
Governments can request that Google Maps blur or distort sensitive military areas. A cited example was that an army base and the Thessaloniki war museum in central Thessaloniki, Greece, are not visible on Google Maps.
Former British army officer and current chief executive of intelligence firm Sibylline, Justin Crump, told The Times that the presence of U-2 aircraft at Akrotiri is “the worst-kept secret in the Mediterranean”. He said the Google Maps imagery of the base and the U-2 “made it rather more easy than it perhaps should have been” for the strike to be carried out.
Navigation system and wider reactions
It was earlier reported that the drone which hit Cyprus contained a “Russian-made Kometa-B navigation system”, which was first seen in Russian drones intercepted by Ukrainian air defences in December last year.
The Kometa-B system was developed to protect Russian drones from jamming technology, aiming to safeguard against Ukrainian-built jamming systems and ensure drones reach their intended targets.
Russian ambassador in London Andrei Kelin said Russia is “not neutral” in the conflict and that it is “supportive to Iran”.
UK moves to bolster defences
Since last Monday’s drone strike, the UK has sought to bolster its defence of its bases on the island. It has sent two AW159 Wildcat helicopters armed with anti-drone missiles to Cyprus, and the HMS Dragon Type 45 destroyer warship is expected to depart from Portsmouth within the coming days.
What measures do you think mapping services should take to protect sensitive military sites?
