Might be of interest to the map nerds!

[LandSailor]

Inside the secret world of Russia's cold war map makers..
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/secret-cold-war-maps/

[GPSGuided]

Yes, read that from elsewhere too. It's scary whilst not surprising. Given what we hear of the capabilities of spy satellites and what the KGB/CIA have been up to, these are all well within their realm. I would not be surprised if the US military also holds similar and greater info on the world. Nature of the beast.

[FootTrack]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting, eye opening read.

[LandSailor]

Yes when you think this was happening decades ago, and the advances in tech we've had, there must be some fairly extraordinary things happening in the spy world.
Or maybe its all just software-based now..like everything else.

[LandSailor]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting, eye opening read.

No problem...sometimes wonder whether I should post things like this as obviously the link to bushwalking is extremely tenuous.

[GPSGuided]

No problem...sometimes wonder whether I should post things like this as obviously the link to bushwalking is extremely tenuous.

Not at all and quite the opposite! So much of our activities, procedures and equipments have had their origin out of adversarial conflicts throughout history eg. Exploration, empire building, survival fabric materials, pack and gear designs, ground mapping, grid system, satellite vision, GPS and the list goes on. Through these snippets as you've highlighted, we can see where the future lies, or learn from the past for a brighter future. So I say thanks!

[keithy]

If you like the Soviet maps and have an Android device, have a look at the Atlogis "Soviet Military Maps" app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... free&hl=en

I came across it a while back while looking for topo maps of Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Very cool maps but mainly done in the 80s and good for less industrialised nations like Africa and Asia. There is a paid "pro" version which cuts out the advertising and adds in ability to mark waypoints and add/export tracks but I haven't given that a go yet.