IMAGERY ANALYSIS MONTHLY REVIEW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B07179A000100500001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 5, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 1, 1978
• Content Type: MISC

1\ National
n mq Foreign
Imagery Analysis
Monthly Review
IS SN 78-0067
August 1978
Copy 101
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' lop Secret HUI-
China:
Experimental Solar Power Plant Identified on Photography .................................. 3
China's only known solar power plant, which has been identified on
satellite photography of Shanghai, is probably used exclusively for
research and development.
South Korea:
Nuclear Power Station Construction ............................................................... 4
Recent satellite photography reveals that construction at South Korea's
two nuclear power stations is continuing.
USSR:
Progress of Mobile Offshore Drilling Capability ................................................ 7
The Soviets are continuing their efforts to discover undersea petroleum
deposits by constructing and deploying modem mobile offshore oil drilling
platforms.
Buildup and Improvement of Soviet Nondivisional Artillery .................................. 8
During the last eight years the Soviets have upgraded the quality and
nearly tripled the amount of conventional artillery assigned in direct
support of army- and front-level commands.
The information and judgments presented in this publication were derived principally from
analysis of imagery. Although other sources of intelligence may be included for background,
this publication does not reflect an all-source assessment and has not been formally coordinated
within CIA.
Comments and queries on the contents of this publication are welcomed. They should be
directed to the analyst whose name and green line extension appear after each article.
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I I op Jec
China
Experimental Solar Power Plant Identified on Photography
China's only known solar power plant has been identified on Decem-
ber 1977 photography of Shanghai. The plant does not appear to be con-
nected to any electric power consumers and is probably used exclusively
for energy research and development. Several other solar energy col-
lectors have been noted in China -- all in the Lhasa, Tibet, area -- but
these are solely for water heating.
Construction of the Shanghai plant -- which appeared complete on
the December 1977 photography -- began in 1976. In November of that
year, an article published in Shanghai presented the design of a solar
power plant.* Photographic analysis suggests that the Shanghai solar
power plant complies with this design (see Figure), which uses a two-
stage heat collection system. In this process, water which has been
preheated by flat-plate solar collectors flows upward to be heated by
reflector-condenser collectors. The reflector-condenser collectors
rotate to maximize the use of sunlight. The heated water reaches a
large tank where it is used to vaporize Freon, which in turn drives a
turbine connected to an electric generator.
*JPRS. L/7250, "Benefits of Thermal Generation of Electricity From
Solar Energy Outlined," Translations on People's Republic of China,
8 July 1977 (GOVERNMENT USE ONLY)
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lOP ,ecret KUrF
South Korea
Nuclear Power Station Construction
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Construction activity at South Korea's two nuclear power stations
was evident on photograph Both of these stations are 25X1
located on Korea's east coast, one at Wolsong and the other at Kori.
At the station at Wolsong, reportedly begun in June 1977 and scheduled
to become operational in 1982, the generator hall and reactor building
were in the early stages of construction. This station is being built
by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Its CANDU reactor will re-
portedly have a generating capacity of 678,700 kilowatts.
At the Kori station, excavations for the generator hall and foun-
dations for the Kori 2 reactor building were visible on the May photog-
raphy. The station's Kori 1 reactor, built by a US firm, was under-
going startup testing. Each of these reactors was designed to have a
564,000-kilowatt generating capacity.
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1 Top Secret RUFFI
USSR
Pronress Of Mobile Offshore Drilling Capability
Recent photography has confirmed Western journal reports that the
Soviets are constructing a fleet of modern mobile offshore oil drilling
platforms. This fleet of semisubmersible and jack-up platforms is
needed for the Soviets' efforts to find undersea petroleum deposits,
particularly in deeper areas of the Caspian Sea where oil production
from shallow water fields has been declining. Existing Soviet offshore
wells have been drilled from fixed platforms, which are too costly and
inefficient for deepwater exploratory drilling. Construction of a
fixed platform in deep water can take as long as four years. In con-
trast, a mobile platform can be positioned and ready to drill in a mat-
ter of weeks after arriving on location.
Soviet journals have indicated that the first platform -- the
Baky -- was completed in 1975. Although it has not been identified on
satellite photography, it is presumed to be operating in the Caspian.
The second platform was seen on photography of April 1978, on location
in the Caspian, 93 kilometers southeast of Baku. The third platform
was seen on photography of June 1978, in the mid-stage of fitting out
at the port of Kerch on the Sea of Azov. Because of its location, this
platform will most likely be the first to be used to explore the deeper
waters of the Black Sea. These three are jack-up platforms, which are
raised or jacked up above the water on four main support legs. A semi-
submersible platform was observed in the early stage of construction
at Astrakhan on photography of July 1978. Semisubmersible platforms
can operate in even deeper water than jack-up platforms.
Both of the jack-up platforms seen on photography were built in
Astrakhan. The one now on location near Baku--called "60 Years of
October"--was towed to that port city for fitting out and testing and
was observed there on photography of October 1977. The other was ob-
served under construction at Astrakhan in July 1977. It was later
transported in sections through the Volga-Don Canal to Kerch, where it
was observed being fitted out.
According to Western petroleum journals, the Soviets hope to have
10 jack-up platforms and at least two semisubmersible platforms in
service by 1980. Since the first platform was not activated until 1975,
however, it is doubtful that they will be able to meet this goal with-
out foreign purchases. The Soviets did purchase a modern mobile off-
shore platform from the Dutch in the late 1960s.
Top Secret 11 August 1978
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Top Secret RUFF
USSR
Buildup and Improvement of Soviet Nondivisional Artillery
During the last eight years the Soviets have nearly tripled the
amount of conventional artillery assigned in direct support of army-
and front-level commands. Part of this increase has occurred through
the expansion of existing artillery divisions and brigades and part
through the formation of new units. The Soviets have upgraded some
brigades to divisions, formed new brigades, and created three new types
of units that did not exist prior to 1970.
This buildup of nondivisional artillery began largely with the
addition of older model guns that had been held in reserve storage.
More recently, however, newer model weapons, formerly issued only to
tank and motorized-rifle divisions, have been assigned to nondivisional
artillery units. Moreover, within the last two years the Soviets have
begun deployment of three newly developed weapons--a gun, a mortar, and
a truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher--which have been assigned to
nondivisional units exclusively. Both the gun and the mortar are self-
propelled, large-caliber weapons.
Many of the newer-model towed weapons--D-20 and D-30 howitzers--
that are being added to nondivisional units have probably come from tank
and motorized-rifle divisions where these weapons are being replaced by
122-mm and 152-mm self-propelled guns. About 600 BM-21 multiple rocket
launchers and 1,850 antitank guns have also been added to nondivisional
artillery units since 1969. The Soviets may have produced enough of
these weapons to fill the requirements for existing tank and motorized-
rifle divisions. This may explain their addition to nondivisional
units. At least 260 BRDM-mounted antitank guided missiles (ATGMs) also
have been added to nondivisional artillery units since 1969.
The buildup of nondivisional artillery with respect to geographic
area has varied. There has been a substantial buildup within the
Soviet Union but comparatively little in Eastern Europe. The amount of
nondivisional artillery in the four eastern military districts of the
Soviet Union has quadrupled and the amount in the three western mili-
tary districts has tripled. Although we are less certain as to the
extent of the buildup in the other Soviet military districts, it too
has been substantial. By comparison, the buildup of Soviet nondivi-
sional artillery that has been identified in Eastern Europe has been
small, and most of the improvements there have been qualitative.
For additional details on Soviet nondivisional artillery, see
IS 78-10099K, Soviet Nondivisional Artiller :
Organization, Buildup, and Deployment, June 1978 TOP SECRET CODEWORD)
(SECRET)
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Top Secret 11 August 1978 25X1
 Top Secret RUFF
The following reports have been published by the Office of Imagery
Analysis since the last issue of the Imagery Analysis Monthly Review.
1. IS 78-10118J,1 Industrial Reconstruction in
North Vietnam, July 1978 (TOP SECRET RUFF
2. IS 78-10119K,0 North Korean River-Crossing Units,
July 1978 (TOP SECRET RUFF)
3. IS 78-1O151J,E:::::::::: Expansion of North Korean Armored
Forces. 70-1977, July 1978 TOP SECRET MULTIPLE CODEWORD/
4. IS 78-10109J, RCS-16/0001/78, 0 Terekt Air-to-
Surface Missile Im act Area, USSR, July 1978 TOP SECRET
MULTIPLE CODEWORD
5. IS 78-10144J, kosu Explosives and Munitions
Plant, South Korea, July 1978 (TOP SECRET MULTIPLE CODEWORD/
Top Secret 11 August 1978
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