The RCAF is going to the Šiauliai Airbase in Lithuania

German Air Force Typhoon lands at Šiauliai Air Base in Northern Lithuania. German Air Force image

As reported in the media, Canada will be taking part in the NATO Baltic Air Policing operation From August/September to December/January, taking their turn (Roto 36) of the NATO allies who have protected the Northern Baltic states.  This mission is hosted out of Šiauliai Airbase in Lithuania (satellite image below) which has been hosting such missions for many years .



So why is this interesting to me?  Well, this airbase is now an international airport with civilian traffic, but it does have a military past (as you should be able to tell from the design). "Recently" it was a Soviet airbase, with forty (40!) hardened hangers made to store and protect fighter jets from bombardment.  Those bunkers are still there, but I'm not sure if they're still in use.  I'd very much like to get detailed pictures of those structures and compare them to Western designs.

This is the QRA area where NATO forces are staging their planes.
(Credit OSIMINT)

I did notice one curiosity when I was snooping the airport with Google Maps around (55.905396, 23.397880)... What is that area, and why are there very large cylinder shapes?  Is it an old POL site?



References:
http://osimint.com/2013/06/14/nato-fighters-escort-russian-aircraft-reportedly-on-route-to-kaliningrad/
http://home.scarlet.be/~jansensa/Three%20years%20of%20NATO%20Baltic%20Air%20Policing.htm
http://www.key.aero/view_article.asp?ID=778&thisSection=military
http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/54267/new-headquarters-of-natos-air-policing-mission-opened-in-siauliai-air-base-201354267/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melkon/sets/72157643276508614/

NATO III & IV SATCOM Constellation Satellite Ground Terminals

From my previous posts here and here, I've been interested in the satellite uplink that was at CFS Carp.  Well, let's see if we can knit it all together.

The NATO III and IV constellations were NATO owned and operated, and provided communications for the NATO countries for their leadership.

NATO III Satellites were launched between 1976 and 1984.
NATO IV Satellites were launched between 1991 and 1993.
The last NATO IV Satellite was decommissioned in 2010.

These satellites communicated with ground stations in the NATO countries as well as having two control stations.  Once these ground terminals ceased to be used they were either sold off to private companies or re-purposed by their host nations.  Checking out where they were located, and what the immediate surroundings are, yields some very interesting sightseeing.

Here are all the satellite ground terminals that were used for the NATO III and NATO IV Satellite constellations. (click the top right of the map to enable full screen and see things a lot easier)