To say that we live in an interesting age would be an understatement. Technology allows us to do so much more today than we’ve ever been able to, and sometimes those effects can be a bit surprising. Even the military isn’t safe from the all-seeing eye of satellites, and those who are enthusiastic about flying machines were treated to a nice surprise in this area recently. New images from Google Maps show a set of nine V-22 Osprey aircraft stationed at an airport in Kuwait.
The aircraft has gained a lot of prominence in media lately, after it was revealed that it was used for transporting Delta Force operators to fight against ISIS militants, and was subsequently featured in the evacuation of Yazidi refugees, where the aircraft was assisting various ground operations. It’s also been seen quite prominently in the ongoing battle against ISIS lately.
Google’s images are dated around the end of October, so they seem pretty recent – which has raised the question of what were the planes doing at the airport at that time. There are currently several prominent speculations on the topic, with some claiming that this was a middle point in the planes’ transfer to another location, or that they could have been temporarily stationed at the airfield.
It’s not clear which exact variant of the V-22 is shown in the pictures, as the image quality is a bit low to determine that. They could be either the MV-22, or CV-22, and aircraft enthusiasts have been arguing both sides of the argument quite fiercely around online discussion boards.
Understandably, there has been no official comment about the planes’ purpose, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that no such statements will be made publicly. This hasn’t stopped some military theorists to come up with various interesting (and somewhat plausible) scenarios for the presence of the aircraft in Kuwait, although the truth will likely never become public.
This isn’t the first time Google Maps has revealed something sensitive or borderline confidential, although Google are typically quick to respond to such situations by removing offending materials. In this case, it seems that the presence of the images is of no concern to anyone, as they haven’t been taken down yet. Google themselves haven’t said anything about the images.
With the way mapping technology has been moving forward, Google Maps will likely start showing more and more up-to-date information in the near future, allowing its viewers to get even more interesting insights into the world around them. At the same time, this has been causing some concern for privacy-minded individuals who have been expressing their disapproval of the idea of satellites mapping our every move.