What are those Chinese up to?

Nov. 16, 2011
People with too much time on their hands have scoured Google Earth's satellite images and uncovered a mystery in China: large grids out in the Gobi Desert, some colored light blue, along with other odd sites. Some look like military test sites for ...

People with too much time on their hands have scoured Google Earth's satellite images and uncovered a mystery in China: large grids out in the Gobi Desert, some colored light blue, along with other odd sites. Some look like military test sites for weapons or possible evaluating stealth technologies. But no one in the West knows for sure. And if they do, they're not talking. So I'd like to draw upon Machine Design's audience and its vast amount of engineering expertise to make some guesses.

Let us know what you think these sites are all about.

Here's a website with many of the images.

And here's a site with a little analysis and links to the actual Google Earth sites.

About the Author

Stephen Mraz Blog | Senior Editor

Steve serves as Senior Editor of Machine Design.  He has 23 years of service and has a B.S. Biomedical Engineering from CWRU. Steve was a E-2C Hawkeye Naval Flight Officer in the U.S. Navy. He is currently responsible for areas such as aerospace, defense, and medical.

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