High-tech spycraft tracked missile's path to Malaysia Airlines jet

[n2doc]

Advanced U.S. satellites played a key role in the determination by intelligence officials that a surface-to-air missile shot down a Malaysian jetliner over Ukraine on Thursday.

The assessment was almost certainly based on a technical branch of spycraft known as measurement and signature intelligence, or MASINT, analysts said. The method detects, tracks and identifies a variety of electronic signatures, including radar.

The U.S. operates fleets of listening satellites and early warning satellites that could have identified the location of a missile launch site and its trajectory as it shot up to the 33,000-foot cruising altitude of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777.

The Pentagon would have detected the launch because of its heat signature, said Riki Ellison, founder and chairman of Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a group that lobbies for missile defense spending.

more

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-fg-satellites-ukraine-missile-20140717-story.html

[MohRokTah]

1. They use MATH, and everybody knows Math has an inherent anti-Putin bias.

Just ask RT.

Seriously, the tracking satellite positions are well known to the organizations using them and the observations are very precise so mathematically calculating a launch point is simple and incredibly precise.

This IS rocket science.

[MineralMan]

2. MASINT is related to SIGINT, and is handled by The DIA.

I was in error, and after some research, discovered that it is the Defense Intelligence Agency that is responsible for MASINT, rather than the NSA.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Very cool.

[Kaleva]

4. kicked

[herding cats]

5. Very interesting article!

I knew it could be done, but it's fascinating to read a bit more of how they do it.