As a possible military confrontation with Iran looms, no spot on earth is more sensitive than the Strait of Hormuz, a possible choke point for Persian Gulf oil shipments. The military installations there could have major implications. A few weeks ago, I went to Google maps and they had updated photos of the Tunb Islands.  Full disclosure: I'm not a school—trained imagery analyst, but I can tell the difference between when it was on my front burner in the 90s and today.  Since my first article on the area, I did not think much would be done to improve the defenses, but it looks more formidable now, as mentioned in this Asia Times article. Images were obtained from Google Maps, focusing on the Straits of Hormuz area. There are still the old Silkworn missile sites plus what looks like new C2 and target acquisition radar sites on Abu Musa.  The new missiles mentioned in the article, may in fact, be stationed there.  Chinese—made C—801 and...(Read Full Post)