Hezbollah used Google Maps and publicly available satellite images to target the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus in a drone strike earlier this month, The Times have reported, with two American U2 spy aircraft visible on the platform parked outside the hangar that was hit.
The UK newspaper said Hezbollah is believed to have launched a drone targeting US surveillance aircraft at the base. Satellite images accessible to the public showed the two U2s stationed directly outside the hangar struck in the attack.
A military source told The Times the strike was alarming “because they hit what they were aiming at,” but added it was unlikely to have been the result of a sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation. Rather, “this suggests they have Google Maps and GPS,” the source said.
Justin Crabbe, chief executive of intelligence firm Sibylline and a former British Army officer, said the presence of U2s at the base was “the worst kept secret in the Mediterranean.”
He said the availability of imagery on Google Maps “made it easier than it should have been” to strike the base with precision.
Crabb noted that enemy use of the platform for targeting was not new. The insurgents who were mortaring me in Iraq in 2004 had images of our camp from Google Maps and were using the position of the radio mast to target areas within the perimeter, he said.
The drone was found to contain a Russian-made Kometa-B navigation system — a component that first appeared on similar devices seized by Ukrainian air defences in December.
Sir Richard Knighton, head of the British armed forces, confirmed on Saturday that the attack on RAF Cyprus was launched from Lebanon by an “Iran-backed group.” The strike is believed to have been carried out by Hezbollah.
The cooperation between Iran and Russia makes their forces more capable and more dangerous, and that is why we must be ready, Knighton added.
The Times said it contacted the UK Ministry of Defence on Saturday about the satellite images and asked whether steps were being taken to have sections of the base obscured on the publicly accessible Google Maps application.
By Monday morning the aircraft remained visible on the platform, and the MoD declined to comment on whether it was seeking their removal.
Google can blur, conceal or remove details of sensitive locations at the request of governments. Some Israeli and US air bases in the region appear on the platform at lower resolution or with aircraft fully blurred for security reasons.