Ajreement Between

Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence

on

National Reconnaissance- Planning and Operations

efialtions• 

NRPG - National Reconnaissance Planning Group

NRP - National Reconnaissance Program, to consist of all

overt and covert satellite and overflight projects

for intelligence, geodesy and mapping photography

and electronic signal collection

NRO - National Reconnaissance Office

• DNRO - Director, National Reconnaissance Office

Responsibilities:

The National Reconnaissance Planning Group (NRPG), consisting

of the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence, is

responsible for providing policy and program guidance for the National

Reconnaissance Program (NRP) and for making final determinations in

connection therewith which do not require the exercise of higher authority.

The Secretary of Defense, as Executor, is responsible for implementing

plans and policies developed by the NRPG, and for that purpose has

established a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to manage and cond• ct the NRP in such manner as to insure the most effective utilization

of the particular talents, averience and capabilities within the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. The Secretary of

Defense, with the concurrence of the Director of Central Intelligence,

designates the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (DNRO),

who is responsible for the operation of that office in accordance with the

following terms and conditions:

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Requirements and Priorities:

The NRO will be directly responsive to, and only to, the

photographic and electronic signal MGM) collection requirements

and priorities established by the United States Intelligence Board and

will develop the over-all reconnaissance program to satisfy these

requirements.

Management:

a. Technical Management . The technical management

responsibility for all the NRP is assigned to the DNRO. Under this

over-all responsibility for NRP, DNRO will utilise existing resources

in the following manner:

CIA will be the Executive Agent for DNRO for

covert projects as are assigned to it by the NRPG.

To provide for full use of available capabilities

and resources, and to provide for interface with data exploitation

equipment development by agencies outside the NRO, personnel of

Army, Navy, Air Force, and CIA, will be assigned on a full-time

basis to appropriate positions within the NRO under the DNRO.

A firm liaison channel between the NRO and the

NSA will be established as an adjunct to the technical management

structure of signal collection projects, and the conduct of such projects

carried out in accordance with the exploitation responsibilities of the

NSA.

Planning will encompass maximum. utilization of

the technical and operational resources of the DOD, the Army, Navy,

Air Force, NSA, and the CIA to support all collection programs,

including, but not limited to, electronic signal and photographic collection

programs.

b. Financial Management: The National Reconnaissance Office

will budget and administer all reconnaissance programs which are the

responsibility of that office. In order to provide effective budgeting,

justification and fund administration, the following procedures are

established:

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(1) Budget Formulation:

Prepare and present budgets for review to the

National Reconnaissance Planning Group. In this connection, and based

on CIA's responsibility for contracting and procurement, cost quotes

and contractor estimates will be jointly reviewed by representatives of

the NRO and the CIA. Upon completion of this review, the DNRO will

present the budget to the NRPG for review and approval on a specific

project basis.

After approval by the NRPG the budget will be

presented to the Bureau of the Budget by the Comptroller, NRO.

(c) After approval by the Bureau of the Budget and

subsequent approval for the President's Budget, the NRO budget will be

included within the Air Force budget in the accepted manner approved

by the Comptroller, OW.

(2) Budget Presentation: 

The Director, NRO will present the total NRO

budget as provided within the President's Budget to specifically designated members of the Armed Services and Appropriation Committees

of Congress.

The Director, NRO will present the budget as

an entity and identify the respective Executive Agency functional projects.

The Director, CIA in his budget presentation

to the CIA committees will present his budget estimate and will identify

those projects for which he is Executive Agent to the NRO, and which

are to be financed from NRO resources

2

 as memo non-add items in

his budget. In this manner the CIA committees will have knowledge of

all the activities that the CIA is engaged in and this indication will also

provide justification for the overhead portion of the CIA budget.

The Director, NRO in his budget justification

will utilise the Deputy Director (Research), CIA as a technical back-up

witness.

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(3) Budget Execution: 

Congress will appropriate funds for the NRO

within Air Force Appropriation Accounts.

Projects as approved by the NRPG will be

assigned in specific amounts to Iftecutive Agents.

Funds to accomplish these projects will be

transferred to the Central Intelligence Agency and will be made available

to Navy and Air Force Executive Agents on a specific project basis, with

direction as to management control and flexibility between projects and

within projects.

The Comptroller, NRO will be provided fiscal

status reports and technical progress reports in order that management

measurements and analyses can be accomplished for review by the

Director, NRO.

Contracting

DNRO will have responsibility for all NRP contracts in

accordance with the assignment of technical management responsibility

in paragraph 2. a. Consistent with paragraph 2. a. (1), CIA will be the

Executive Agent of the DNRO, responsible for administering procurement

and contracting for covert projects for which it is assigned responsibility

under paragraph 2. a. (1), and for covert contracting necessary for the

support of overt projects.

Security 

In accordance with the basic responsibility d the Director

of Central Intelligence for protection of intelligence sources and methods,

CIA will establish security policy for the NRP, including provision for

a uniform system of security control and appropriate delegations of

security responsibility.

5. Operations 

a. Scheduling. The mission schedule for all NRP efforts

will be the sole responsibility of DNRO, subject to coordination with

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CIA on covert projects for which it is Executive Agent and the obtaining

of appropriate clearances where required from higher authority. Operational control for individual projects under the NRP will be assigned to

the DOD or to the CIA by the DNRO in accordance with policy guidance

from the NRPG. DNRO will be responsible to assure that mission planning will make full use of all intelligence available in the community.

b. Format . The DNRO will be responsible for the format

of the collected billirFroduct as follows:

Photographic format will include the initial chemical

processing, titling, produCtion and delivery to the users as specified by

the USIB.

Electronic signal data format will include the

decommutation, conversion, technical correction and reconstruction

of the collected signal data to yield a usable collection product. DNRO

will deliver the collection product in proper format together with

associated data necessary for exploitation, to the NSA or other user as

specified by the USIB.

c. E eering AnWpris. The DNRO will be responsible

for engineering analysis of all caection systems to correct the problems

that exist on the operating system as well as to provide information for

new systems. In connection with covert projects for which CIA is

Executive Agent, this responsibility will be carried out in conjunction

with CIA.

The DNRO is responsible for advanced plans (post CY-1962)

in support of the NRP. In view of the DCr s major responsibility to

the NSC for all intelligence programs, all NRO advanced planning will

be coordinated with CIA.

Public releases of information will be the responsibility of

the DNRO subject to the security guidance of CIA.

8. The Deputy Director (Research), CIA, will be responsible

for seeing that the participation of CIA in this Agreement is carried out.

John A. McCone

Director of Central Intelligence

5

Roswell L. Gilpatric

Secretary of Defense

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