Google Earth a threat: Indian army

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NEW DELHI, April 4 (UPI) -- Calling Google Earth a threat, the Indian army has said it is preparing to counter the Web giant's surveillence photographs.

The Indian army, The Hindustan Times newspaper said Tuesday, is taking steps to counter the threat posed by the high resolution pictures of strategic installations appearing on the Google Earth website.

Indian army chief Gen. J.J. Singh said a concerted global effort was necessary to prevent the layout of a country's high security zones becoming so publicly available.

"We concede these satellite images do compromise our sensitive and strategic sites," Gen said, adding "these (images) definitely give our adversaries an advantage. But we are not the only one affected. So a universal effort has to be there to get this blocked."

Singh said the army had a strategy to counter satellite monitoring. "We have taken steps and measures to deal with such exposures."

The army chief said long-range missiles and artillery had opened up new dimensions in warfare and, consequently, there was a need to set up a new system of tactical battlefield communication.

"We are in the process of finalizing general staff requirements for a flexible, robust, reliable and secure infrastructure in the tactical battle area," Singh said, adding that the private defense industry was vital to such futuristic projects.