CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONC

Why geospatial intelligence? What defines geospatial

intelligence as a discipline? Simply put, geospatial intelligence is

about the integration of NIMA’s existing imagery and geospatial

analysis capabilities for the digital information environment of the

twenty-first century. The convergence of our imagery and

geospatial tradecrafts and the emergence of our new, integrated

discipline of geospatial intelligence represent the fulfillment of

the vision of NIMA’s founders. By unifying our unique ability to

precisely model the environment and to remotely monitor

dynamic world events, we are transforming into a powerful

new discipline that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

Our transformation has altered the conceptual framework of our

discipline and the way it relates to the larger context of the

profession of intelligence. At the same time that technology has

enabled the integration of our tradecraft and tools, the world

environment has changed dramatically. The September 11 terrorist

attacks have caused our nation to rethink our tenets of national

security and reevaluate our approach to the collection, analysis,

and dissemination of intelligence.

With these changes in our conceptual framework, it is essential that we understand what is changing,

what remains the same, and why. As the functional manager for geospatial intelligence, I have launched

an effort to develop a formal body of National Geospatial Intelligence Doctrine. This body of doctrine

will provide the conceptual link between our national security strategy and the plans and procedures

that guide our actions. Our doctrine will reflect a community of shared beliefs, a stable set of truths

that, while enduring, remains flexible enough to embrace new concepts.

With Geospatial Intelligence, our capstone concept, we take our first step toward a formal doctrine

of geospatial intelligence. Geospatial Intelligence speaks of our heritage, defines our core values,

and provides the intellectual foundation for our ongoing transformation. It outlines our enduring

characteristics and our evolving and emerging capabilities.

Although this capstone concept introduces geospatial intelligence as a new term in the intelligence

lexicon, our mission remains the same. While our concepts, methods, technology, and terminology

evolve, the essential qualities demanded of NIMA remain unchanged—satisfy our customers’

geospatial intelligence needs at any moment, for any purpose.

Know the Earth ... Show the way!

JAMES R. CLAPPER, JR.

Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret.)

Director

Foreword
2 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Geospatial Intelligence

outlines the capstone concept

for the National Imagery and

Mapping Agency (NIMA).

While this document primarily

addresses NIMA, the principles

it outlines are generally

applicable for geospatial

intelligence practitioners

throughout the National

System for Geospatial

Intelligence (NSGI).

This capstone concept

describes our highest enduring

principles, providing the

conceptual link between

our national strategy and the

plans, procedures, and

methods that geospatial

intelligence professionals

develop and apply in their

work every day. It responds

to the direction set in the

National Security Strategy,

the National Strategy for

Homeland Security, the

Quadrennial Defense Review,

Joint Vision 2020, and the

This capstone concept publication introduces the term geospatial intelligence to

the lexicon of national security. It describes the common framework of shared beliefs as

they apply to imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information, hereafter

referred to collectively as geospatial intelligence.

Strategic Intent for the U.S.

Intelligence Community.

It draws heavily upon the

enduring principles we have

inherited from joint and

service doctrine, the

transformational principles

described in the NIMA

Commission Report, and the

lessons we have learned in

recent operations from Bosnia

and Kosovo to the Global War

on Terrorism.

This document:

* describes the nature of a

new intelligence discipline;

* explains the radical shifts

in the geopolitical landscape and the advancing

technologies that are

transforming the imagery

and geospatial tradecrafts;

* outlines our evolving and

emerging processing and

remote sensing capabilities,

Introduction

encompassing the entire

range of sources from

reconnaissance satellites to

airborne platforms and

commercial providers;

* explains the power of

geospatial intelligence

as a medium for

multi-disciplinary

intelligence collaboration

and visualization.

This capstone concept

begins a dialog about the

nature of our evolving

discipline. It is the first word

on geospatial intelligence, but

not the last. While it answers

several important questions,

many others remain to be

answered. Geospatial

Intelligence builds upon the

legacy of established joint and

service doctrine, and sets the

stage for our development of

a formal doctrine of geospatial

intelligence for NIMA and

the NSGI.
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONC

Intelligence—and how we use it—is our first line of defense against terrorists and the threat posed by

hostile states. Designed around the priority of gathering enormous information about a massive

 fixed object—the Soviet Bloc—the intelligence community is coping with the challenge of following a far

more complex and elusive set of targets.

National Security Strategy

The end of the Cold War

and the dawn of a new era

in the global security arena

brought about a time of

tumultuous change in the U.S.

Intelligence Community. The

collapse of the Soviet Union

and the U.S. military experience

in the Gulf War were followed

by a virtual explosion of

intelligence requirements

resulting in the need for a

profound transformation of our

nation’s imagery and geospatial

capabilities. The nation

responded with an ambitious

effort to strengthen these

capabilities, uniting the imagery

and geospatial communities in

1996 within a new agency, the

National Imagery and Mapping

Agency (NIMA), and beginning

a long process of converging

the two fields into a single,

integrated discipline—the new

discipline of geospatial

intelligence.

NIMA Arrives

The establishment of

NIMA in 1996 began the

process of integrating the

Geospatial and Imagery

Analysis tradecrafts under a

single discipline manager,

the Director of NIMA. Over

the past six years, the

agency has worked to

understand the nature and

parameters of this new

discipline and to test new

concepts and develop an

integrated architecture for

national geospatial

intelligence.

The Director of NIMA is the steward of the discipline of

geospatial intelligence. He exercises broad authority on behalf

of the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and the Secretary of

Defense to manage imagery and geospatial information

production and the tasking of national imagery collection

systems, as well as lead the geospatial intelligence community

as the functional manager for the National System of Geospatial

Intelligence (NSGI). As the guardian of the geospatial

intelligence future, he oversees research and development of

geospatial intelligence technologies, development of doctrine

and future concepts, imagery and geospatial data standards, and

training and development of geospatial intelligence

professionals throughout the Intelligence Community.

I

Most who have tried to reconstruct the logic that put the National

Photographic Interpretation Center and Defense Mapping Agency

together into the National Imagery and Mapping Agency have

concluded that it was the potential, profitable convergence of

imagery and geospatial processes and products.

Report of the Independent

Commission on NIMA
4 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

inevitable result of powerful

forces of change in our

strategic environment. The

major catalysts for this change

have been a radical shift in the

threat environment, the

evolving nature of conflict, and

the revolutionary technologies

of the digital age. Working

together, these forces have

provided both the impetus and

the means for the convergence

of the imagery analysis and

geospatial tradecrafts into the

single, integrated discipline of

geospatial intelligence.

Uncertain Threat

Environment

Though uncertainty has

always characterized the

international security arena, the

world order that has emerged

in the twenty-first century has

made knowledge of foreign

lands more important and

challenging than ever before.

Rather than facing a stable,

dominant peer competitor, the

United States is confronted by

regional conflicts, transnational

crime, terrorism, drug

Kabul, Afganistan

Superior, timely knowledge of

the environment and adversary

is the key enabler that gives

American government officials

and military forces the

home field advantage even

in distant foreign lands.

September 11, 2001

trafficking, failing states, and

a growing number of states

and non-state actors with

access to weapons of mass

destruction. Today, with the

emergence of global terrorist

networks, our nation

confronts an elusive new

threat, operating not only in

rogue and failing states, but

also within our own

borders.

This complex environment

places high demands upon our

nation’s imagery and

geospatial capabilities.

Intelligence targets have

multiplied dramatically since

the days of the Cold War. It is

now more difficult than ever

to predict precisely where

(and when) American power

will next be needed to protect

our national interests, and

where the Intelligence

Community must focus

America’s eyes and ears to

provide the information

advantage to decision-makers

and warfighters. This

demanding environment has

driven us to evolve our

tradecraft through digital

processes and collaborative

models to ensure that we have

a ready base of global

knowledge and can provide

responsive, focused support

in a crisis.

Evolving Nature of Conflict

The technology-enabled

shift from attrition warfare to

effects-based warfare has

dramatically increased the

emphasis on—and the

demands upon—intelligence

in military operations. In Joint

Vision 2010 and Joint Vision

2020, the Joint Chiefs of Staff

articulated a view of warfare

that places unprecedented

value on the role of

information. The central

operational concepts of

precision engagement,

dominant maneuver, focused

logistics, and full-dimensional

protection require warfighters

to possess an unparalleled

degree of information

superiority—with

comprehensive and detailed

knowledge of the battlespace

and the adversary.
CHAPTER I GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONC

information age warfare

have turned the Cold War

model of national intelligence

upside down. In the

centralized model of the Cold

War era, intelligence reports

written by tactical units were

sifted and analyzed by national

agencies for the benefit of

national decision makers.

In today’s more distributed

model, the national

intelligence collection systems

and subject-matter expertise

once dedicated to supporting a

select group of national

decision makers now support a

vastly expanded base of

theater and tactical users as

well. Interoperability has

become essential in these

distributed worldwide

networks of intelligence

producers and consumers,

where finished intelligence

often ends up in the guidance

system of a tactical missile.

This growing demand for

tactical support has been a key

factor in the emergence of

geospatial intelligence as a

new discipline. The rapid

pace of the targeting cycle and

the massive volume of targets

has placed tremendous stress

on intelligence production

processes. Emerging networkcentric concepts of operations,

which rely on the ability of

friendly forces to detect,

The union of three technological

achievements: precision

geopositioning, advanced

imagery and sensor technologies,

and low cost ubiquitous digital

data processing, has made

possible the convergence of

geospatial and imagery analysis

into the integrated discipline of

geospatial intelligence.

Precision

Targeting

Geospatial Intelligence is

primarily about obtaining

knowledge of the physical and

cultural aspects of the global

security environment and the

capabilities and intentions of

potential adversaries.

changes in the battlespace

more quickly than adversary

forces, require us to further

reduce cycle times. The

timeliness required for rapid,

precision engagement

demands closer integration

of the tools and processes

of the imagery specialists who

detect and characterize targets

and the geospatial specialists

who characterize and measure

the battlespace.

Advancing

Technology

The convergence of the

imagery and geospatial

tradecrafts has been enabled

by revolutionary developments

in three key technology areas:

advanced remote sensing,

precision geopositioning,

and digital information

processing.

These advanced

technologies are increasingly

allowing data to be moved

and manipulated

interchangeably between

imagery products and maps

and charts, blurring the

distinctions between the two

product categories. Geospatial

vector data sets, showing such

things as roads and

jurisdictional borders, can be

superimposed over

orthorectified imagery to

update outdated maps

rapidly. Similarly, digital

imagery “chips” may be inset

on a digital map to provide

additional detail of highly

localized events or recent

changes. With the advent

of Geographic Information

Systems (GIS), digital

databases, rather than

venerable paper maps and

charts, are becoming the

key medium for recording,

organizing, and visualizing

geospatially referenced

information, whether derived

from imagery or other

source data. These digital

technologies provide the

common currency that makes

possible the convergence of

imagery and geospatial

processes and tool sets within

the discipline of geospatial

intelligence. ❏
6 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Geospatial Intelligence—The exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information

to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced

activities on the Earth.

Unifying the strengths of

imagery analysis and mapping,

charting, and geodesy,

geospatial intelligence has

emerged as a new discipline,

separate and distinct from its

predecessors. To understand

the nature of this new

discipline, it is important to

examine its enduring elements.

A set of defining characteristics

outlines the essential qualities

common to both the imagery

and the geospatial specialties.

An integrated body of

tradecraft draws upon each

of our specialties to bring

capabilities that far surpass

what any could accomplish

alone. The human analyst,

endowed with a unique set

of traits, plays a central and

timeless role in our trade.

Finally, geospatial intelligence

can be used for a wide range

of applications that are vital to

our nation’s security.

II

Defining

Characteristics

As a discipline, geospatial

intelligence is defined primarily

An Intelligence Discipline

Geospatial intelligence

is first an intelligence

discipline, and therefore shares

the general qualities and

attributes of the broader field

of intelligence. It primarily

aims to understand the

capabilities and intentions of

potential adversaries and the

physical and cultural aspects

of the global security

environment. Geospatial

intelligence confronts

non-cooperative targets that

may be trying to conceal their

activities from the United

States and our allies. Our

nation therefore requires the

use of clandestine means to

collect information about them

and sensitive analytical

techniques to understand the

meaning of this information.

Like other intelligence

disciplines, geospatial

intelligence aims to produce

trusted knowledge. It

examines new information in

the context of our existing

knowledge base and

information obtained from

other sources to arrive upon

valid conclusions about the

security situation. Geospatial

intelligence responds to

specific requirements, either to

support policy decisions

or the planning and

execution of military or civil

national security operations.

Because collection and

production assets are limited

and time is an important

factor, geospatial intelligence

must focus on meeting

the highest priority needs

of national security

decision-makers according to

finite timetables.

Geospatial intelligence aims to

reduce uncertainty, providing

a knowledge advantage in time

for a decision to be made or an

action to be taken to advance or

protect national interests.

by three qualities: its character

as an intelligence discipline, its

unique analytic tradecraft, and

its fundamental spatial and

temporal nature.
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONC

Geospatial intelligence

is an analytical discipline,

defined by its analytic

tradecraft—the complementary

and related skill sets of

geospatial specialists and

imagery analysts—rather than

by a particular source of data.

Geospatial intelligence relies

upon data from multiple

collection sources, including

remote sensing, open sources,

and human sources. In this

respect, it differs from the

traditional collection

disciplines, which are defined

by the skills associated with

a single collection source.

Its focus is not on its source,

but rather on its ultimate

product—an integrated, digital,

visual picture of the global

security situation.

Fundamental Spatial and

Temporal Nature

Geospatial intelligence

is also characterized by its

fundamental spatial and

temporal nature. It is focused

primarily on examining

tangible, physical things.

Geospatial intelligence

observes and measures the

physical world, drawing

conclusions based on the

spatial relationships among

objects as they change over

time. It uses both qualitative

and quantitative methods,

analyzing geometric attributes

like shape, size, dimension,

distance, movement, pattern,

elevation, and location to

characterize geographic areas

and reach conclusions about

intelligence issues. It is this

elemental spatial and temporal

nature that unites our

constituent tradecrafts and

distinguishes geospatial

Collection Disciplines

Imagery Intelligence

Signals Intelligence

Human Intelligence

Open Source

Intelligence

Foreign Materiel Acquisition

Acoustic Intelligence

Radar Intelligence

Electro-optical Intelligence

Nuclear Intelligence

Unintentional Radiation

Intelligence

Laser Intelligence

Material Sampling

Analytical Disciplines

Geospatial Intelligence

Cryptology

Measurement &

Signatures Intelligence

Scientific & Technical

Intelligence

General Military

Intelligence

Economic Intelligence

Medical Intelligence

The convergence of our

geospatial and imagery

analysis tradecrafts makes

possible an integrated

understanding of the global

security situation. While our

geospatial tradecraft provides

the environmental context, our

imagery tradecraft provides

the perishable, dynamic

context.

intelligence from all other

intelligence fields.

This spatial and temporal

aspect makes geospatial

intelligence a powerful, visual

medium. Information from

many sources can be integrated

in a spatial framework to reveal

spatial relationships not

immediately evident. Through

visualization, geospatial

intelligence permits both rapid,

intuitive understanding of the

physical environment and

evaluation of potential

adversary courses of action in

the three spatial dimensions

and through time.

An Integrated Body of

Geospatial Intelligence

Tradecraft

Geospatial intelligence

unites the complementary

strengths of our imagery and

geospatial tradecrafts in a

powerful, integrated

discipline, while at the same

time recognizing and

preserving the distinctiveness

and unique value of each

specialty. It is the increased

interaction between specialists,

not their homogenization,

which provides value. This

convergence brings a closer

integration of the detailed,

dynamic information derived

from imagery with the

geospatial framework and

precise modeling techniques

of the geospatial specialties.

Intelligence Disciplines

II
8 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

have developed methods of

measuring and modeling the

physical environment with

unprecedented precision.

These methods enable the

precise geolocation and

measurement of objects and

features on imagery, helping

us to better quantify our

characterization of intelligence

targets. This ability to

precisely quantify knowledge

gained from imagery adds

tremendous value for

geospatial intelligence

consumers. It enables us to

produce intelligence that is

highly actionable, especially in

tactical applications such as

targeting and navigation, and

brings more confidence to

policy decisions.

Using Geographic

Information Systems (GIS),

geospatial specialists bring

new analytic tools to bear on

many traditional intelligence

problems. These tools allow

data to be organized and

visualized in a geospatial

context, enabling a better

integration of environmental

factors in intelligence problem

solving. By allowing a more

interactive approach to the

analysis of environmental

effects and adversary

observables, GIS capabilities

provide potential to improve

the collection, as well as

analysis, of intelligence,

enabling scarce collection

assets to be focused on areas

where targets of interest are

most likely to be found.

the dynamic, detailed content

to our overall picture of the

security environment. Imagery

analysts detect important

world events in near-real time,

updating decision-makers on

rapidly changing situations

with a high degree of

confidence and detail. At the

same time, imagery serves as

an important basis for longterm historical research and

trend analysis. Imagery

analysis is a powerful means

for detecting and measuring

changes, whether rapid or

gradual, in the global

security situation.

Imagery has long been vital

as a source for geospatial

applications such as mapping,

charting, and geodesy as well

as intelligence analysis. Since

the development of aerial

(and later, satellite)

photoreconnaissance,

overhead imagery has been

unmatched for rapidly

recording large amounts

of spatial data. Imagery

collection management

has historically played an

important role in the

integration of our discipline,

balancing the requirements

for collecting source data to

satisfy both intelligence and

geospatial production

requirements. Digital imagery

has opened new avenues for

integrating our tradecrafts,

enabling the development

of increasingly integrated

products, such as imagery

maps, three-dimensional fly

through scenes, and other

tailored geospatial intelligence.

Geospatial Intelligence: An Integrated View

The integration of the imagery

and geospatial tradecrafts

bring new analytic tools to bear

upon many traditional

intelligence problems.
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONC

As we progress in the

integration of our tools,

processes, and products,

imagery and geospatial

specialists will discover new

ways to leverage this body

of tradecraft to produce

intelligence that is more

intuitively understandable,

more predictive, and more

actionable for national

security decision-makers.

The human analyst is our

most important geospatial

intelligence asset. While

the technologies of our

discipline offer valuable tools,

vastly improving our ability to

produce intelligence, their

primary value is in improving

the performance of the human

analyst.

The Geospatial

Intelligence Analyst

Geospatial Intelligence

Specialties

Aeronautical Analysts

Cartographers

Collection Managers

Geodesists

Geophysicists

Geographers

Geospatial Analysts

Hydrographers

Imagery Analysts

Imagery Performance Officers

Imagery Interpreters

Imagery Scientists

Marine Analysts

Oceanographers

Regional Analysts

Target Analysts

Terrain Anaylsts

Topographic Analysts

Critical

thinking is

therefore the

most essential

element of

our tradecraft.

True analysis

goes beyond

the mere

extraction and

repetition of

intelligence

facts from a collection

source. The geospatial

intelligence analyst

understands methods of

acquiring data, evaluating

its quality, and

systematically examining

it in light of existing

knowledge to reach a

meaningful conclusion

about the environment or

the adversary. The

geospatial intelligence

analyst performs three

basic functions: an

extraction function, using

specialized skills and

knowledge to recognize

information of intelligence

interest, a filtering

function, shielding the

consumer from

information overload, and

a synthesis function,

logically assembling

relevant facts that reasonably

lead to a significant conclusion.

The ability to communicate

geospatial intelligence

information clearly, quickly,

and effectively using multiple

media in multiple dimensions

is a key skill of the geospatial

intelligence analyst.

Visualization is our preferred

medium for communicating

geospatial intelligence.

Knowledge is most rapidly

absorbed by the minds of our

consumers when it transmitted

by visual media—whether as a

hardcopy map, a digital image,

or a three-dimensional

simulation. However, mastery

of the basic skills of clear

writing and effective briefing

will always be essential. It is

up to the analyst to choose

the best available means to

objectively and authoritatively

communicate the intelligence

facts, his or her analytical

judgments, and any remaining

knowledge gaps.

Conducting Mobility Analysis

II

The computer has also had its dramatic impact on analysis . . . But

whatever the new wrinkles, the eternal verities remain . . . there is no

substitute for the intellectually competent human—the person who was

born with the makings of critical sense and who has developed them to

their full potential.

Sherman Kent

Strategic Intelligence for

American World Policy 1965
10 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

analyst's chief

commodity is a

set of proven

models and

methods—a

tradecraft—

that can be

applied to an

intelligence

problem. It is

the tradecraft of geospatial

intelligence that allows the

analyst to reduce ambiguous

or contradictory data to a few

useful conclusions that

increase the potential for

victory on a battlefield or

reduce uncertainty in a policy

decision. These methods are

both quantitative and

qualitative, and constitute both

the art and science of

geospatial intelligence.

Informing Statecraft

Geospatial intelligence

provides knowledge national

leaders need to make

informed decisions on matters

of national security and

foreign affairs. It plays a

central role in identifying

strategic threats, providing

warnings of war, predicting

humanitarian crises, and

verifying international

treaty compliance. It enables

national decision-makers to

monitor crisis situations as

they develop and measure or

forecast the effects of foreign

policy decisions. Geospatial

intelligence provides

information useful in the

negotiation of international

agreements and in the

protection of U.S. diplomatic

facilities overseas.

Geospatial intelligence

increases confidence in

policy decisions by

reducing uncertainty,

risk, and surprise.

Applications

of Geospatial

Intelligence

Geospatial intelligence

provides unique knowledge

not available by other means

that is critical for informed

national security decisions.

It provides objective,

precisely measurable

information about the

environment and

potential adversaries,

especially in remote

or inaccessible

regions.

The applications of

geospatial intelligence include

the most important functions

of our national government.

Geospatial intelligence

supports the development of

national policy, the planning

and execution of military

operations, the protection of

homeland security and other

civil operations, and the

collaborative efforts of analysts

throughout the Intelligence

Community. It is an essential

tool for national security policy

and operations, providing

the knowledge basis for

decision, planning, and action.

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

Overlapping Applications

of Geospatial Intelligence
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

navigation and

targeting systems, it

provides U.S. air, land,

and naval forces

important tactical

advantages. Precise

knowledge of the

battlespace in a

common frame of

reference enables the

synchronization of

widely dispersed maneuver

forces to achieve a common

objective. Geospatial

intelligence gives warfighters a

critical understanding of an

adversary's strategic

infrastructure and

vulnerabilities, permitting

precision strikes against

strategic and tactical targets in

all weather conditions. When

strike missions are

complete, geospatial

intelligence is the

primary means of

battle damage

assessment, enabling

commanders to

assess the results and

order re-strikes if

necessary.

Supporting

Military

Operations

Geospatial

intelligence

provides the

vital knowledge

foundation for modern joint

warfare, serving as the basis

for decision superiority,

dominant maneuver, and

precision engagement for the

joint, interoperable force.

Geospatial intelligence

offers the visual picture of the

battlespace and the situational

understanding that is essential

for operational decision

making throughout the

spectrum of conflict and at all

levels of warfare. It is a major

source of content for the

Common Operational

Picture (COP) and the

primary means of visualizing

it. Geospatial intelligence

modeling capabilities are

powerful predictive tools for

Intelligence Preparation of the

Battlespace, giving Joint Force

and Component Commanders

unparalleled decision

superiority.

give every Component

Commander and every

combatant a shared view of

the battlespace. This common

picture enables dissimilar

forces distributed throughout

the area of operations to

provide mutual support,

massing effects in time and

space in unified action to

decisively defeat an adversary.

Homeland Security and

Civil Support

Geospatial intelligence

plays a critical role supporting

protection of the homeland

and other civil missions. In

supporting homeland security,

geospatial intelligence is

valuable both for reducing the

probability of terrorist attacks

and for managing the

consequences of attacks.

Geospatial intelligence

can provide the means to

conduct detailed assessments

to identify vulnerabilities in

critical national infrastructure

where the

probabilities of

successful terrorist

attack are highest.

Geospatial intelligence is

the critical ingredient that

enables dominant maneuver

and precision engagement. In

conjunction with advanced Homeland Security and

Civil Support

II

With its common spatial and

temporal frame of reference,

geospatial intelligence is

essential for interoperability

in joint and combined warfare.
12 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Intelligence Collaboration

Geospatial intelligence

supports Intelligence

Community analysts,

providing imagery, imagery

intelligence, geospatial

information, and geospatial

intelligence analysis skills

and techniques to support

the centralized analysis of

all-source intelligence.

Geospatial intelligence is an

important source for

scientific and technical

intelligence and basic

NIMA, The Geospatial Intelligence

Functional Manager

As functional manager for the National System for Geospatial

Intelligence (NSGI), NIMA exercises stewardship of our nation’s

geospatial intelligence capability from the national to the tactical level.

Through this functional management responsibility, NIMA:

• Acts to identify and advocate NSGI community requirements and

to manage the nation’s geospatial intelligence investments to

ensure interoperability and collaboration among our partners

and consumers;

• Develops and manages the NSGI technical architecture and guides the community’s research

and development efforts;

• Promotes common standards for imagery and geospatial information systems and provides

training in the tradecraft of geospatial intelligence;

• Develops policy to promote interoperability and protect sensitive geospatial intelligence

sources and analytical techniques; and

• Leads the NSGI in the development of doctrine to guide the employment of geospatial

intelligence capabilities and of innovative future concepts to ensure we remain the world

leader in geospatial intelligence.

intelligence provides data and

products on selected urban

areas of interest, land and

maritime entry and exit points,

identification and assessment

of foreign threats, and extent

and scope of natural and manmade damage. In cases of

terrorist attack or natural

disaster, geospatial intelligence

can rapidly give federal

agencies and first responders a

comprehensive and detailed

view of the scene, helping

them to make the best

possible decisions in

preparation, response, and

recovery actions. Geospatial

intelligence also plays an

essential role in a wide range

including drug interdiction,

humanitarian relief and as

permitted by law, support to

law enforcement.

Country Studies and Military

Capabilities Studies. It is a

major source of economic

intelligence information,

providing useful insights into

foreign agricultural and

industrial production.

Geospatial intelligence is

also used to support the

development of Defense

Intelligence Assessments

and National Intelligence

Estimates, which represent the

consensus position of the

Intelligence Community on

matters of critical strategic

importance to national

policymakers and planners. ❏
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

The discipline of geospatial

intelligence unites a broad

range of evolving and emerging

data processing and remote

sensing capabilities. By

bringing together the technical

capabilities traditionally

associated with imagery

intelligence with those more

typically used for acquiring

and manipulating geodetic,

gravimetric, geomagnetic, and

hydrographic survey data, we

are developing an expanded

tool set for solving intelligence

problems. Rapidly advancing

digital processing capabilities

are revolutionizing our ability

to respond to the needs of

our customers in the emerging

network-centric environment,

while the incorporation of an

expanded range of data sources

and sensors is enabling us to

provide new dimensions of

knowledge to national security

decision-makers.

Advanced Data

Processing in an

All-Digital

Environment

The rapid spread of

desktop computers with

enhanced processing

performance and the

increasing use of digital

sensor technologies have

made digital processing

ubiquitous throughout the

intelligence cycle and at

Enhanced Analytic

Perception

Desktop data processing

systems provide powerful

automated analytic aids for

improving the confidence and

sensitivity of geospatial

intelligence. Using modern

imagery analysis workstations,

analysts can electronically

manipulate, mensurate,

annotate, and enhance images

and compare them against online libraries of imagery

signatures. Automated change

detection and other imageryderived Measurement and

Signatures Intelligence

(MASINT) capabilities enhance

the analyst’s perception by

detecting minute changes in

imagery of intelligence targets

that are difficult to detect with

the unaided eye. Geographic

Information Systems (GIS)

offer powerful tools for

synthesis, enabling analysts to

integrate information about

related targets to better

understand how they function

as elements within national or

regional infrastructures.

multiple echelons of

government. These digital

processing capabilities provide

the potential for NIMA and the

National System for Geospatial

Intelligence (NSGI) to

dramatically improve

interoperability, collapse

production timelines, and

broaden the accessibility of

geospatial intelligence as we

develop and deploy new

capabilities throughout the

NSGI.

III

Future Integrated Analysis
14 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Analytic Assets

Advanced processing

capabilities improve the

efficiency of geospatial

intelligence operations by

automating simple, manual, or

repetitive production tasks and

allowing human analysts to

focus on more complex

geospatial intelligence

problems. Capabilities such as

automated feature extraction,

pattern recognition, automated

change detection, and

automated search and retrieval

have proven useful in

maximizing the use of valuable

human analysts. These

advanced capabilities offer

great potential to enable the

limited analytic assets of NIMA

and the NSGI to better manage

the enormous volume of data

collected by our worldwide

intelligence collection system.

Managing Complex

Collection Strategies

Networked, distributed

data processing and digital

visualization capabilities

provide new tools for

managing complex imagery

and multidisciplinary

collection strategies. Using

advanced tasking and

collection management tools

to dynamically simulate

potential collection scenarios,

collection managers can more

effectively leverage the

expanding range of available

data sources, to include

emerging remote sensing

platforms and sensors as well

as the growing capabilities of

commercial data providers.

Collaborative networks

convey information about

collection postures and about

operations throughout the

community of intelligence

producers and consumers.

These tools are enabling

collection managers at all

echelons to support analysts

through their understanding of

evolving and emerging remote

sensing capabilities, brokering

analyst’s collection

requirements to the best

available sources or collection

systems.

Worldwide Collaboration

and Value-Adding

Digital data is the common

currency of information in

the all-digital environment of

the twenty-first century.

The NSGI digital information

infrastructure provides

connectivity among NIMA and

its collaborative partners and

accessibility to geospatial

intelligence consumers from

the national to the tactical

level. Digital geospatial

intelligence products can be

rapidly shared and

manipulated by others in a

virtual collaborative

environment, with various

players adding value by

digitally overlaying thematic

information from multiple

sources.

and Actionable

As we modernize our

systems, digital data

processing technology is

enabling NIMA and the NSGI

to provide geospatial

intelligence that is more

usable and relevant than ever

before. Geospatial

intelligence is the key to

interoperability, serving as the

foundation for the Common

Operational Picture (COP) and

providing users in the military

services, civil agencies, and

allied forces a common

geospatial framework for

conducting joint, interagency,

and coalition operations.

Digital geospatial intelligence

can be accessed by our

consumers in a wide range of

forms according to their needs

and can be tailored by the

analyst to meet their unique

operational requirements.

Used in conjunction with

Global Positioning System

(GPS) navigation and

guidance technology, our

digital products are

increasingly actionable,

allowing rapid sensor-toshooter dissemination and

integration. Digital

information technology

provides the flexibility to

produce

geospatial

intelligence in a

wide range of

forms, improving

its utility to

intelligence

consumers.

Advanced Collection Management Tools
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

Remote Sensing

Capabilities

The discipline of geospatial

intelligence unites a broad

range of evolving and

emerging remote sensing

capabilities, including

traditional imagery systems;

sources associated with

geodetic, gravimetric,

geomagnetic, and hydrographic

surveying; and imagery-derived

MASINT systems. Our ability

to effectively leverage these

capabilities is growing

appreciably as they are

integrated more fully into the

NSGI architecture, allowing

more integrated collection

management and data analysis.

A growing range of collection

platforms and sources is

improving our access to targets

and increasing our ability to

conduct persistent surveillance,

to obtain broad area coverage,

and to more effectively employ

national collection capabilities.

The NSGI leverages all

available sources, whether

government or commercial;

space-based, airborne,

seagoing, or ground-based.

Sensor advances are expanding

our use of the electromagnetic

spectrum and other physical

phenomena, improving our

ability to counter denial and

deception measures, to

conduct surveillance and track

moving targets, to precisely

measure terrain features, and

to remotely characterize

materials and substances.

Airborne Platforms

Airborne imagery collection

platforms, including Unmanned

Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), provide

persistent and responsive

coverage of high-interest target

areas and offer a variety of

sensor capabilities. Emerging

high-endurance UAVs are

dramatically improving our

ability to conduct persistent

surveillance of high-interest

targets and support time-critical

strike operations. A wide range

of airborne platforms is

operated by strategic,

operational, and tactical

commands as well as by civil

agencies.

Reconnaissance Satellites

The clandestine

reconnaissance satellites

operated by the National

Reconnaissance Office (NRO)

provide the most advanced

imagery collection capability in

the world. With a range of

classified capabilities, these

systems provide near-real-time

medium- to high-resolution

imagery to support analysis of

area and point targets and

digital geospatial production.

Reconnaissance satellites

provide the regular imagery of

denied areas that is essential

for our most demanding

national security requirements.

The next generation of imagery

satellites, the Future Imagery

Architecture (FIA), is now in

development and will offer

evolutionary improvements in

our coverage and sensor

capabilities as it is deployed.

Commercial Imagery

The commercial imagery

industry is an important

emerging data source for

geospatial intelligence

producers. With growing

capacity in both satellite and

airborne imagery collection,

commercial providers are able

to produce a greater share of

the data needed to support

non-time-dominant low and

medium-resolution imagery

needs for applications such as

geospatial production. The

high-resolution commercial

imagery now available

provides an important

advantage in multinational

coalition operations, as it can

be shared with allies without

compromising the capabilities

and operating characteristics of

U.S. reconnaissance systems.

ARQ-1 Global Hawk UAV

III

Based on a common geospatial

and temporal reference frame,

geospatial intelligence is a key

to interoperability.

capabilities provide our nation

an unprecedented ability to

understand the global security

situation through remote

sensing.
16 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Spectral Imagery

Expanding our use of the

electromagnetic spectrum, we

are dramatically increasing our

ability to defeat denial and

deception and understand

developments in the national

security situation.

Panchromatic imagery,

both electro-optical and

film-based, has been

the mainstay for

Imagery Intelligence

(IMINT) for years and

continues to be our

most important source.

Infrared imagery

enables analysts to

detect and identify

activity based on

thermal signatures.

Multispectral imagery

Active Sensing

Technologies

A growing range of active

sensing capabilities that

includes Synthetic Aperture

Radar (SAR) and laser imaging

in defeating camouflage,

characterizing foliage,

assessing crop yields,

and analyzing coastal

hydrography.

Emerging

hyperspectral

and

ultraspectral

imagery capabilities

provide new tools,

allowing analysts to

characterize substances

in effluent flows and

smoke plumes,

distinguish between real

aircraft and inflatable decoys,

identify material properties of

new weapons systems, and

detect vehicles based on their

unique paint signatures.

Motion Imagery

The emergence of motion

imagery sensors, such as the

real-time video capability of

the Predator UAV system,

has provided a valuable

new tool for persistent

imagery from an endurance

platform, analysts can monitor

high-interest activities in the

mission space, to include

tracking moving, fleeting, and

emerging targets and

observance of rapidly

developing events as they

occur. Motion imagery

provides increased resolution

in the time domain, offering

combatant commanders and

civil authorities a level of

situational understanding of

dynamic events that far

surpasses what is possible with

single-frame imagery.

UAV Motion Imagery

LIDAR Image of World Trade Cente

Debris Field

ImageryDerived

MASINT

systems serves as a powerful

complement to spectral imagery.

SAR is useful in countering denial

and deception and essential for

imaging in weather and lighting

conditions that prohibit optical

collection. SAR can also be used

to provide a Moving Target

Indicator capability for the

detection and tracking of mobile
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

technologies like Light

Detection and Ranging

(LIDAR) and Interferometric

SAR (IFSAR), integrated into

airborne or space-based

platforms, enable us to

characterize the Earth's surface

elevation and hydrography

with unprecedented speed

and precision. Airborne

LIDAR is increasingly

supplanting the Navy's

oceangoing research vessels,

increasing by orders of

magnitude our ability to collect

precise hydrographic survey

data over large areas. LIDAR

and IFSAR systems have made

possible the production of

high-resolution digital

elevation data on a large scale.

Such data can be used to

generate highly detailed,

accurate three-dimensional

models of structures and

terrain for detailed operational

planning and mission

rehearsal.

III

to be precisely positioned

anywhere on the globe. These

geophysical sensing

capabilities provide new

dimensions of knowledge

about the mission space,

enabling production of tailored

geospatial intelligence to give

U.S. policymakers, warfighters,

and civil agencies a unique

information advantage. ❏

Advances in geodetic and

geophysical remote sensing

are enabling analysts to

characterize the Earth in

unique ways. Gravimetric

sensors residing on airborne

platforms, satellite systems,

and survey ships measure

changes in the Earth’s gravity

field for a variety of

applications, from longwavelength global mapping

to detailed analysis of

underground features.

New satellite systems are

collecting precise geomagnetic

data for developing

world magnetic

models. GPS

technologies have

revolutionized

the collection

of geophysical

and geodetic

survey data by

allowing a wide

range of sensors,

including radar,
18 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Collaborative Source

Data Collection and

Distribution

A key concept for rapid,

multi-source integration is

to conduct collaboration

and information sharing

among intelligence producers

as far upstream in the

intelligence cycle as possible.

Collaboration in the collection

and distribution of source data

shortens the collection

stovepipes, allowing early

information sharing and

concurrent processing and

analysis of data by intelligence

producers in multiple

disciplines and at multiple

echelons.

Breaking the

Stovepipes

The emergence of

geospatial intelligence as a

cohesive, integrated discipline

has fundamentally altered the

way imagery and geospatial

specialists contribute to the

overall mission of the

Intelligence Community.

The series of consolidations

that ultimately resulted in

the establishment of NIMA in

1996 provided the community

a center of excellence for the

imagery and geospatial

tradecrafts and an environment

conducive to the development

of innovative new concepts.

Geospatial intelligence is

emerging as a better, stronger

partner among the intelligence

disciplines, speaking with one

voice and equipped to play a

more substantial role in

solving the problems facing

the Intelligence Community.

The major challenge for

the Intelligence Community

today is to provide information

With respect to collaboration and fusion of the various collection disciplines, or INTs, the Commission

believes that NIMA should hold a premier place because it ‘owns’ the geospatial construct. NIMA

provides the logical context for fusion of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), especially Electronic

Intelligence (ELINT), with imagery.

Report of the Independent

Commission on NIMA

superiority for an expanded

base of operational users

against adversaries who are

growing increasingly

sophisticated in their own

intelligence and denial and

deception capabilities.

Overcoming this challenge

requires us to break some

of the barriers to information

sharing—the stovepipes—that

limit interoperability and

cooperation among the

intelligence disciplines. It

means more closely integrating

multiple data streams,

leveraging all of our collection

and production capabilities,

while simultaneously

accelerating cycle times for

producing usable, finished

intelligence.

Geospatial intelligence

offers great promise to facilitate

unprecedented collaboration

and rapid fusion of information

from multiple intelligence

sources and producers in the

emerging all-digital

environment. Building on the

long-established precedent of

maps and charts as a basis for

intelligence fusion, geospatial

intelligence provides new

approaches for multidisciplinary

collaboration, both in the

collection and distribution of

intelligence source data and in

the analysis and production of

fused, finished intelligence.
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

Multidisciplinary

Collection Strategies

Cooperation among

Imagery Intelligence (IMINT),

SIGINT, Human Intelligence

(HUMINT), and Measurement

and Signals Intelligence

(MASINT) collection

requirements managers has

become increasingly important

as our adversaries seek to use

mobility, denial, and deception

to conceal their activities.

Cooperative, multidisciplinary

collection strategies play an

important role in time-sensitive

targeting and defeating denial

and deception. Tipoffs by a

particular type of sensor or

source are increasingly used to

cue collection by other means,

with SIGINT sensors triggering

dynamic IMINT retasking and

vice-versa. Developments in

technical architectures are

improving our capabilities to

conduct simultaneous sametarget collection by multiple

collectors and sensors. This

synchronization in the tasking

phase allows concurrent,

rather than serial, collection,

processing, and exploitation of

multi-source data, accelerating

overall production timelines

for multidisciplinary

intelligence. These

Source Data Posting for

Concurrent Exploitation

An emerging geospatial

intelligence business model

expedites distribution of newly

collected imagery and other

geospatial intelligence source

data to analysts throughout the

Intelligence Community,

enabling concurrent

exploitation at multiple

echelons. In a shift from the

traditional business model of

task-process-exploit

disseminate (TPED) to

a new model of task-postprocess-use (TPPU), all newly

collected data is posted

immediately to shared

databases rather than delaying

distribution until the data has

been exploited. With

immediate posting, imagery

and other source data from

collectors at any echelon can

be made available to be

simultaneously exploited

by national agency, unified

command, and tactical unit

A Collaborative Medium

for Intelligence Fusion

The use of a geospatial

construct as the foundation for

fusing intelligence from many

sources is nothing new. Maps

and charts have always

provided the foundation for

visualizing and understanding

the adversary and the

environment. Historically,

military intelligence analysts

have used overlays

superimposed on paper maps

and charts to display and track

friendly and enemy orders of

battle, analyze military aspects

of terrain, and project possible

adversary courses of action.

Sand-table models of

battlefields have long been

used for visualizing and

rehearsing combat operations.

This fundamental role of

geospatial information is a key

principle of Intelligence

Preparation of the Battlespace

(IPB) methodology.

A geospatial foundation is

simply the most useful

medium for integrating

intelligence information from

multiple sources.

cooperative collection methods

leverage the full range of

intelligence sources, whether

space-based, airborne, or

ground-based and at all

echelons, national, theater,

and tactical.

Multi-Sensor Collection Strategy

The geospatial intelligence

construct is the best medium

for visualization of many

intelligence problems,

regardless of the source of

the information.

IV

purposes and according to

their own timelines.
20 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Digital technologies have

dramatically increased the

collaborative power of

geospatial intelligence in two

important ways. First, they

have restored the geospatial

specialist as a collaborative

partner in multidisciplinary

intelligence production.

Because maps and charts have

historically been produced in

mass quantities as finished

goods, the role of the

mapmakers and chart makers

in the overall intelligence

effort has been easily

overlooked. Near-real-time

digital remote sensing and

networked data processing

systems are changing that,

enabling geospatial specialists

to be fully engaged as

collaborative partners in the

fusion process.

Second, these technologies

have enabled the emergence

of digital geospatial

information as a powerful

collaborative medium. The

evolution from paper maps

and intelligence reports to

networked digital

information systems

makes it possible

for intelligence

analysts and

collectors in

geographically

dispersed

locations to

collaborate in

virtual

networks,

overlaying

multiple

layers of

Multidisciplinary

Analyst Teams

Increasingly, we are relying

upon multidisciplinary teams

of intelligence analysts to solve

hard intelligence problems,

defeat denial and deception,

and track and fix mobile

targets. Multidisciplinary cells

of imagery analysts and

cryptologists, for example,

have been particularly

successful, and partnerships

among other disciplines are

growing. By bringing

together specialists from

multiple disciplines, along

with their unique tradecrafts

and toolsets, in an interactive

environment, we are better

able to apply the full range of

our intelligence capabilities.

Multidisciplinary intelligence

teams have made great

intelligence information on a

common geospatial

framework. Precisely georeferenced and time stamped

data from multiple sources can

be accurately plotted on a two

or three-dimensional visual

representation of the mission

space. As new data is

collected and analyzed, it can

be added to the picture,

automatically referenced to the

common geospatial and

temporal framework. The use

of digital geospatial

information as the common

framework means that the

work of these far-flung

collaborators can be easily,

rapidly, and precisely

integrated into a single picture,

with each analyst or collector

providing and updating a

separate layer of information

as new data becomes

available.

Fusion in Four Dimensions

Emerging Approaches

to Intelligence Fusion

Geospatial intelligence

producers and their partners in

other intelligence disciplines

are increasingly turning to

alternative models for the

fusion of multi-source and

multidisciplinary intelligence

information that better meet

the demanding requirements

of operational users. In

addition to the traditional

all-source analysis model,

where an all-source analyst

integrates single-source

intelligence products from

many producers into finished

intelligence, the community is

employing more collaborative

approaches to multi-source

fusion.
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

Fused Geospatial

Intelligence

Information from multiple

sources can also be integrated

into fused, finished geospatial

intelligence products. While

IMINT has traditionally been

our primary data source, other

collection disciplines provide

essential information about the

mission space not otherwise

available. Information

obtained from HUMINT

sources, such as architectural

drawings, or SIGINT sources,

such as the location of radar or

communications emitters, adds

progress in reducing the

intelligence production cycle

times typically associated with

the traditional, serial all-source

analysis model by working

concurrently to produce an

integrated product from

the start.

Through these

collaborative multidisciplinary

approaches, geospatial

intelligence producers are

playing a much more

significant role in the

Intelligence Community.

IV

tremendous value to our own

source data when fused in the

digital, visual medium of

geospatial intelligence.

Geospatial intelligence

tradecraft and tools have

proven valuable in the analysis

of information obtained from

these collateral sources,

providing unique insight into

spatial aspects of the data.

When fused into finished

geospatial intelligence, these

sources add important

dimensions to analysis of the

mission space, resulting in a

more complete picture for

intelligence consumers.

Leveraging our common

geospatial and temporal

framework as a collaborative

medium, engaging our

partners interactively, and

taking advantage of digital

networks and tools, we are

making tremendous progress

in accelerating the speed of

multi-disciplinary intelligence.

Multidisciplinary intelligence

collaboration brings to bear

the full capability of the

Intelligence Community to

reduce uncertainty, compress

our intelligence cycle

timelines, and provide

unprecedented knowledge

of the global security

environment. ❏
22 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

We must transform our intelligence capabilities and build new ones to keep pace with the nature of the

threats. Intelligence must be appropriately integrated with our defense and law enforcement systems

and coordinated with our allies and friends. We need to protect the capabilities we have so that we do

not arm our enemies with the knowledge of how best to surprise us.

National Security Strategy

As we move forward and

beyond this time of dramatic

change, geospatial intelligence

will continue to face new

challenges and new

opportunities. The National

Security Strategy, Joint Vision

2010, Joint Vision 2020, and

the Strategic Intent for the

U.S. Intelligence Community

outline a vision for our

national security in this new

era that requires significant

geospatial intelligence

capabilities that do not

yet exist.

The evolving threat

environment confronts us with

new challenges. Our mission

in the Global War on Terrorism

requires us to be engaged in

new ways and with new

customers. As our nation

responds to the terrorist threat

Advances in technology

will continue to provide us

opportunities to incorporate

new sources of data, new

capabilities for processing and

integrating data, and new ways

to American interests both at

home and abroad, NIMA and

the National System for

Geospatial Intelligence (NSGI)

will adapt to support this

changing mission.

for customers of geospatial

intelligence to access and

visualize our collective base of

trusted knowledge. Our

national security in this

information age requires from

us the capacity to be flexible

and adaptable in employing

these new technologies,

supporting a growing base of

customers against current and

emerging threats.
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE

Geospatial Intelligence

Online

Fully realizing the vision of

NIMA’s founders—a seamless

integration of our imagery and

geospatial capabilities from the

national to the tactical levels—

requires us to complete the

transformation that began with

NIMA’s creation.

This transformation is

comprehensive, affecting every

aspect of NIMA and the NSGI.

Its objective is a future state

that will enable us to

guarantee information

superiority for our national

security in the digital age. In

that state, we will be

increasingly interoperable and

adaptable, responding more

rapidly to changing world

conditions. We will make

capabilities that today seem

exotic more widely available,

less expensive, and more

timely. This future state is

defined by four characteristics:

• Geospatial Intelligence

Analysis. We will fully

integrate the processes,

products, and tools of

imagery analysts and

geospatial specialists,

while maintaining the

advanced capabilities

of each specialty. The

complete integration

of our discipline will

enable us to apply our

tradecraft to provide more

predictive analysis and

place more emphasis

on decision support

intelligence.

Environment. We will

migrate our processes,

systems, and tools to an

all-digital, data-centric

environment, beginning

with significant

improvements to our

infrastructure. Our

networks, systems,

applications, and databases

must be integrated so that

theneeded content can

be quickly retrieved and

delivered electronically.

Migration to this integrated

digital environment will be

thekey to future

collaboration and

interoperability, providing

accessibility to users and

partners worldwide,

facilitating dynamic

updates to our knowledge

base, and accelerating

our processes.

• A Seamless,

Comprehensive

E-Business Strategy.

We will embrace

comprehensive e-business

• Ubiquitous Knowledge

Map. We will provide the

ubiquitous knowledge

map, the foundation of

the Common Operational

Picture (COP), on which

other forms of information

can be overlaid. This

comprehensive,

geospatially referenced

database links our base of

intelligence knowledge to

a precise, digital model of

the Earth, enabling the

COP to serve as a

powerful, intuitive medium

through which we can

collaborate with our

partners and our customers

can better visualize the

mission space.

Geospatial Intelligence: The Future Foundation of the COP

most timely, relevant, and

accurate online content

possible. We will provide

customers what they need

when they need it,

anticipating their future

information needs.

V
24 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

The convergence of our

nation’s imagery and

geospatial capabilities is an

imperative of the current

era, made necessary by the

challenges of the changing

national security environment

and the emerging concepts of

warfare, and made possible by

the revolution in information

technology. The demands

of the current global

environment require a robust

ability to provide a growing

set of intelligence consumers a

fully integrated visual picture

of the security situation.

Geospatial intelligence is a

unique intelligence discipline,

defined by its analytical

methods and its fundamental

spatial and temporal nature.

It unifies our imagery and

geospatial tradecrafts,

capitalizing on our abilities

both to precisely model the

Earth and to obtain detailed

and dynamic understanding

of world events through

remote sensing. Through

greater interaction between the

imagery and geospatial

specialties, enabled by

increasingly common

processes and tools and a new

emphasis on integrated teams,

we are expanding our

tradecraft beyond old

boundaries to help our

of understanding.

Our integrated discipline

unites a broad range of

evolving and emerging

information processing and

remote sensing capabilities,

providing a comprehensive set

of tools for characterizing the

security situation. This

convergence enables us to

leverage an expanded set of

powerful analytical tools,

bringing together capabilities

such as the power of

Geographic Information

Systems for organizing and

accessing information and the

enhanced perception made

possible by Measurement and

Signals Intelligence processing

techniques. We are able to

integrate a growing range of

data sources, including

national, theater, tactical, and

commercial data providers,

expanding both our access to

targets and our use of the

electromagnetic spectrum and

other physical phenomena to

provide new dimensions of

knowledge about the national

security situation.

The emergence of

geospatial intelligence has

given new significance to the

role of our discipline in the

Intelligence Community,

offering promise as the

foundation for

collaboration in this new alldigital environment. As a

robust partner to our

counterparts in the community,

we are working to break the

stovepipes that limit

collaboration and information

sharing, both among the

disciplines and across multiple

echelons. Geospatial

intelligence revitalizes the long

history of maps and charts as

the critical tools of the

intelligence trade, providing a

powerful medium that enables

faster, more responsive

processes for multidisciplinary

intelligence fusion.

We will continue to work to

fulfill the vision of NIMA’s

founders as we build the future

National System for Geospatial

Intelligence architecture,

translating concepts into

capabilities. Our goal is a

future state that provides

geospatial intelligence online,

taking advantage of the full

potential of our geospatial

intelligence tradecrafts,

leveraging an all-digital

infrastructure, harnessing the

best practices of e-business,

and using the visual power of

the evolving COP to provide

our customers the knowledge

advantage for decision,

planning, and action. ❏
CHAPTER GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCE
26 | GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAPSTONE CONCEPT CHAP

Official References

National Security Strategy of the United States of America, 2002

National Strategy for Homeland Security, 2002

Quadrennial Defense Review Report, 2001

Director of Central Intelligence Strategic Intent for the United States Intelligence Community, March 1999

Joint Vision 2010

Joint Vision 2020, June 2000

Joint Publication 2-0, Doctrine for Intelligence Support to Joint Operations, March 2000

Joint Publication 2-01, Joint Intelligence Support to Military Operations, November 1996

Joint Publication 2-01.1, JTTP for Intelligence Support to Targeting, April 2002

Joint Publication 2-01.3, JTTP for Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace, March 2000

Joint Publication 2-02, National Intelligence Support to Joint Operations, September 1998

Joint Publication 2-03, JTTP for Geospatial Information and Services Support to Joint Operations

Joint Publication 6-0, Doctrine for Command, Control, Computer, and Communications Support to

Joint Operations, May 1995

United States Imagery and Geospatial Information Service (USIGS) Glossary

NIMA Statement of Strategic Intent, January 2002

The Information Edge: Imagery Intelligence and Geospatial Information in an Evolving National Security

Environment, Report of the Independent Commission on the National Imagery and Mapping Agency,

December 2000

Transforming NIMA Through People, Process and Technology, NETIPT Final Report, September 2002

United States Imagery and Geospatial Information Service (USIGS) CONOPS, December 2000

Multi-INT CONOPS (Draft)

USIGS Geospatial Transformation Plan, August 2001

Unofficial References

Best Truth: Intelligence in the Information Age, Bruce D. Berkowitz and Allan E. Goodman, 2000

The Craft of Intelligence, Allen Dulles, 1963

Strategic Intelligence for American World Policy, Sherman Kent, 1965