jin class subIn a wonderful example of the yin and yang of modern technology, a researcher this week was able this week to provide to the public, a picture of China’s newest, most sophisticated nuclear missle sub – the Jin-Class boomer.  It seems entirely probable that the US intelligence community has seen this sub before, but this story underscores the incredible power of a tool like Google Earth to give us viewing choices between topless female coeds at street level and military intelligence once the sole domain of NSA wonks.

A policy analyst was making his regular checks of Google Earth when he came upon a rare prize: a photo of China’s latest nuclear-powered, ballistic-missile submarine at port. It’s the first publicly available satellite view clearly showing Beijing’s Jin-class submarine, according to experts on the country’s naval program.

The find, made by Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project, confirms that China is progressing in its plan to build stealthier nuclear-powered submarines.

The fresh image of China’s Xiaopingdao submarine base near Dalian, snapped late last year by DigitalGlobe’s Quickbird satellite, probably wouldn’t tell the U.S. military anything it didn’t know about the Jin-class sub, said  Lyle Goldstein, a specialist on Chinese maritime development and nuclear strategy at the Naval War College.

“Any photo that Google Earth has, I’m sure the Pentagon already had a long time ago. … The Department of Defense has much better capability,” he told me. (Goldstein emphasized that he was voicing his own opinion and not speaking on behalf of the Pentagon or the U.S. Navy.)

The picture’s value has more to do with what people outside the government know about China’s military capabilities. You can focus in on the sub yourself by starting from this wide-angle view of the submarine base, then aiming for the top of the “toe” in a boot of land sticking out from the shore.

The wider debate focuses on China’s military capabilities and intentions. Experts say Beijing’s first-generation nuclear missile sub, known as the Xia class, didn’t quite make the grade because of its high noise levels and radiation leakage. Another drawback had to do with the nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles it was thought to carry: They had an estimated range of 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers), not enough to project power globally.

In contrast, the Jin-class sub is thought to be bigger and quieter, carrying missiles with a 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometer) reach. U.S. intelligence assets were said to have spotted the sub back in 2004, but the Pentagon has never released any pictures for public consumption.

Kristensen told me he makes routine checks for fresh imagery of sensitive sites on Google Earth, and when he spotted the new picture from Xiaopingdao, he assumed it was one of the Xia-class subs. “But then I started looking more carefully and comparing the dimensions,” he said.

He analyzed the new picture in his posting to the Strategic Security Blog, and surmises that the next-generation sub is still undergoing testing three years after the first reports. “The fact that it’s at this particular base, where the missile testing base is located, just probably shows that it’s not quite up to speed yet,” Kristensen said.

Kristensen found it interesting that the sub was just sitting out in the open. “The Chinese don’t seem to be hiding this information in any particular way,” he said. He noted that the Chinese have a Xia-class sub on display at another base, also visible via Google Earth. “That is an open drydock where the [missile] tubes have been exposed, and a portion of the hull has been cut open so you can see directly into the reactor compartment,” Kristensen said. “That is normally some of the most sensitive information, if you ask the people on our side.”

He speculated that the Chinese might be leaving their subs open for satellite viewing as a kind of deterrent – in effect, letting the world know that they’re moving forward with advanced weaponry.

This isn’t the first time commercially available satellite imagery has opened a window on weighty international issues: For years, GlobalSecurity.org has followed military developments in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and elsewhere through its Public Eye satellite program. More recently, Google Earth and Amnesty International have documented Darfur’s agonies using satellite data.