This archive documents and analyses military base infrastructure changes detected through commercial satellite imagery, following the methodology established by open-source intelligence organisations including CSIS AMTI, 38 North, Bellingcat, and Planet Labs partner research programmes.
Multi-Domain Infrastructure Tracking
Research covers the full spectrum of military facility types: airfields and aviation infrastructure, naval bases and shipyards, ballistic missile sites and underground facilities, logistics hubs, and electronic warfare installations — across Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Research-Grade Analytical Output
Each entry applies structured analytical methodology: multi-temporal imagery comparison, facility function assessment, order-of-battle context, and strategic implication analysis. Assessments follow open-source intelligence standards with appropriate confidence levels.
Public reporting and released Maxar imagery documented Engels-2 as a major Russian strategic bomber base before and after the December 2022 drone strikes. Russian official statements and international reporting confirmed damage to aircraft and casualties at the Engels/Dyagilevo airfields. This case file tracks the public-source indicators that matter for follow-on monitoring: bomber dispersal, fuel/facility repair, revetment construction, and visible changes in apron usage.
🇰🇵 North KoreaMissile / StrategicActive Monitoring
Sohae Launch Facility: Infrastructure Expansion and Perimeter Clearance 2022-2026
Engine test stand, assembly building expansion, seaport work, and March 2026 village demolition
North Pyongan Province, DPRK·2024-02·updated 2026-04-02
38 North imagery analysis documents continuing modernization and expansion at Sohae, including a coastal launch pad, horizontal engine test stand, new road/tunnel connections, assembly-building work, seaport/jetty construction, and March 2026 demolition of two villages bordering the facility. The public evidence supports treating Sohae as an active launch and launch-support modernization site rather than a dormant historical facility.
Commercial Satellite AnalysisChronological Site ComparisonFacility Functional AnalysisCritical
Sohae launch complex showing gantry tower, engine test stand, and assembly building in ESRI World ImagerySOURCE-BACKED CASE FILE
IRGC Underground Missile City Programme: Surface Indicator Analysis
Hardened facility signatures, ventilation arrays, and access infrastructure
Multiple locations, Islamic Republic of Iran·2023-09
CSIS Missile Threat documented Iranian state-media reporting that the IRGC had established an underground missile base near the Persian Gulf in January 2021, with cruise missiles and launchers visible in state-released images. This case file treats the "missile city" program as a public-source indicator set: tunnel portals, ventilation, hardened access roads, and coastal missile-support infrastructure where independently verifiable.
Khorramabad/Lorestan terrain showing IRGC-associated missile infrastructure area in ESRI World Imagery (approximate, non-operational view)SOURCE-BACKED CASE FILE
Public Source Catalogue— 10 entries
Source Links
Assessment
Case Study
Tracker Update
Methodology Note
Event Brief
2022-12
Tracker Update
🇷🇺 RussiaAirfield / Aviation
Ukraine drone attack hits 2 military bases deep inside Russia
ABC News reported on the December 2022 strikes against Russian strategic bomber bases and included Maxar imagery context for Engels-2. This source anchors the Engels case file in named reporting rather than inferred hardening claims.
Engels-2Maxarstrategic aviationdrone strikeUkraine war
Sohae Satellite Launching Station: Site Expansion and Modernization Efforts Make Significant Strides
38 North documented major modernization at Sohae, including horizontal engine test stand work, a coastal launch pad, a probable assembly/storage facility, and related support infrastructure.
Sohae38 NorthSLVengine test standcoastal launch pad
Sohae Satellite Launching Station: Expansion of Road and Rail Infrastructure Continues
38 North reported continued road, possible rail-bed, assembly-building, VIP observation/control, seaport, and jetty works at Sohae based on March 2025 commercial imagery.
Villages Bordering Sohae Satellite Launching Station Razed
38 North reported that commercial satellite imagery showed North Korea demolished two small communities bordering Sohae in March 2026, while construction and expansion at the launch complex continued.
Sinpho South Shipyard: New Submarine Makes Debut, but With Many Questions To Be Answered
38 North used commercial imagery and state-media material to assess the launch of North Korea's Hero Kim Kun Ok / Sinpo-C ballistic missile submarine at Sinpho South Shipyard.
Sinpho South Shipyard: Indications of New Submarine Construction
38 North reported hull components, jigs, and construction activity at Sinpho South Shipyard suggesting a renewed submarine construction campaign likely related to the Sinpo-C class.
CSIS Missile Threat summarized Iranian state-media reporting that the IRGC had established an underground missile base near the Persian Gulf, with cruise missiles and launchers visible in released images.
CSIS analysis by Anthony Cordesman cautions that open-source estimates of Iranian missile performance and inventories are often contradictory, while still recognizing Iran's broad and consequential missile development program.
Analysis of IAEA Iran Verification and Monitoring Report - February 2024
The Institute for Science and International Security analyzed the February 2024 IAEA report, including Iran's continued production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent and activity in advanced centrifuge cascades.
IAEANatanzFordow60 percent HEUcentrifuges
SOURCE: Institute for Science and International Security
NATO Allied Land Command describes eFP force posture and notes Germany's 2024 steps to scale the Lithuania battlegroup toward a permanent brigade-sized presence.
▸Confidence levels assigned to each assessment (Low / Medium / High)
▸Open-source corroboration required for all significant findings
Source Caveat: Entries summarize named public reporting and open-source imagery analysis from organisations such as CSIS AMTI, 38 North, FAS, CSIS Missile Threat, NATO, IAEA-linked analysis, and commercial-imagery-backed media reporting. They are non-official research notes, not classified assessments. Facility status should be independently verified against current imagery before citation. All data is open-source; geospatial assessments reflect archival imagery and are for academic and policy research only.