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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      U.S. Air Force graphicISR
                        
                        
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Intelligence, Surveillance, and ReconnaissancePublished Aug. 21, 2013
            **INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE ...**
**EYES AND EARS ON ADVERSARIES**
****
Since the beginnings of armed conflict, superior knowledge has been one
of the keys to effective combat power. For over 100 years, Airmen have
exploited the vertical dimension to gain a decisive information advantage
over our foes. The evolution of globally integrated ISR has fundamentally
changed how America fights wars. Today, the Air Force has embraced
globally integrated ISR as one of the Air Force’s feature calling cards. ISR
is much more than a support function. It is the foundation upon which
every joint, interagency, and coalition operation achieves success. Our
34,000 ISR Airmen identify and assess adversary targets and vulnerabilities
from hideouts to bunkers to mobile launchers with greater accuracy than ever seen in the history of warfare. In 2012
alone, ISR Airmen shaped combat plans for 33 named operations, enabled the removal of 700 enemy combatants from the
fight, provided critical adversary awareness and targeting intelligence to U.S. and coalition forces in over 250 “troops-in-contact”
engagements, enhanced battlespace awareness through 540,000 hours of sustained overwatch of tactical forces and
communication lines, and identified over 100 weapons caches and explosive devices that would have otherwise targeted
American and partner forces.

Air Force ISR is about helping leaders make informed decisions to maintain deterrence, contain crises, or achieve success in
battle. Through a mix of aircraft, satellites, and other technologies that collect, exploit, and disseminate critical information,
Air Force ISR gives policymakers the ability to minimize uncertainty about our adversaries and their capabilities. It does
so by strengthening deterrence, making adversaries act more cautiously, providing intelligence that allows commanders
a decision-making advantage, and delivering real-time information on which joint, interagency, and coalition operations
rely to fight effectively and win. Globally integrated ISR allows American forces to carry out functions that they previously
performed with much greater danger and at higher cost.
In recent years, the development
of Air Force ISR capabilities
has focused mainly on meeting
the needs of permissive combat
environments. In more contested
future environments, gaining and
maintaining an ISR advantage will
become increasingly difficult and
even more important. Therefore,
the Air Force will focus primarily
on enhancing its ISR capabilities
for operations in contested
environments. Accomplishing this
will require updating the current
mix of ISR assets, while also giving
significant and sustained attention
to modernizing Air Force ISR
systems and capabilities.


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