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J.S1' NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

H 

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THE NRO STAFF April 9, 1969 

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MEMORANDUM FOR COLONEL WORTHMAN 

SUBJECT: The NRO Staff and Airborne Reconnaissance Projects 

This memorandum responds to your request of March 25 for a 

concept paper on the management and operation of national airborne 

reconnaissance projects. 

I have deliberately prepared a very limited paper which addresses 

the two issues I consider basic to a discussion of airborne overhead 

reconnaissance of denied areas. The fundamental issue is the division 

of responsibilities between the JRC and the NRO. The second issue, 

of lesser importance, is the role of the NRO Staff in fulfilling the responsibilities of the NRO for airborne collection vehicles. 

I have not attempted to develop the level of detail presented by 

Mr. Hean. My concept paper does not address staffing of new NRO 

functions and the role of the NRO Staff as a line element of operational 

command is similarly not discussed. 

My paper outlines a concept for fulfilling the responsibilities of 

the DNRO with respect to airborne overhead reconnaissance of denied 

areas. The concept I have developed assumes that the DNRO, through 

his Staff, desires to exercise the same level of management and control of airborne reconnaissance projects as is currently exercised in 

satellite operations. 

I am confident that the implementation of this concept would provide more effective management of airborne reconnaissance assets 

used to respond to national requirements. 

n

lD-"~m.-C__.rtp_t_;ain, USAF 

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NRO RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY FOR AIRBORNE 

RECONNAISSANCE PROJECTS 

This paper describes a concept for management and control of 

U.S. assets for airborne overhead reconnaissance of denied areas. 

The background and specific problem that this paper addresses is 

described in a memorandum to General Berg from SS-4, "NRO 

Responsibilities for NRP Air Vehicle Reconnaissance Projects, 11 

dated March 12, 1969. 

The specificity of the DOD/CIA Agreement of August 11, 1965 

and the DOD Directive TS 5105. 23 deny any but the most strict interpretation of the responsibilities and authority of the NRO with respect 

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to overhead reconnaissance of denied areas. Given a satisfactory 

definition of the phrase, "denied areas, 11 we consider only a reaffirmation of the NRO authority with regard to airborne reconnaissance neces 

sary to be commensurate with the acknowledged responsibilities of the 

DNRO. New directives or agreements are not required, although mino 

amendments are needed in some cases. 

To adequately describe the authority which has been delegated to 

the DNRO by the Secretary of Defense, a more appropriate definition 

of the phrase, "denied areas" must be considered by USIB. The preser 

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definition is contained in DCID 1 / 13: 

Denied areas include all territory and territorial waters 

claimed by Communist nations, as well as such other 

areas of priority intelligence interest as may be determined 

by USIE. 

This definition cannot be used to adequately detail the division of 

responsibilities of the JCS and the DNRO. For example, North 

Vietnam is a Communist country and therefore a "denied area" by 

DCID 1 / 13. North Vietnam is, however, also within a military 

theater of operations. Absent clarifying directives, the NRO and 

the JCS have the authority and responsibility for overhead reconnaissance of North Vietnam. Similarly, the responsibility for overhead reconnaissance of Laos and Cambodia is ill-defined. These two 

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countries are not Communist and not overtly part of a military theater 

of operations; however, overhead reconnaissance of Laos and Cambodic 

is conducted. 

The following definition of "denied areas II could clarify the authorit 

and responsibility for overhead reconnaissance: 

A denied area is any national land or water mass, in which 

armed forces of the United States are not overtly engaged 

in conflict, and for which specific overhead reconnaissance 

approval has not been granted by the sovereign. 

This definition must be approved by the DCI or the USIB and act 

as a basis for further clarification of NRO and JRC roles and responsib 

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The management authority of the DNRO over all overhead reconnaissance assets must be reaffirmed. Management of military airborn1 

assets means control of research and development, funding, deploymen 

response to requirements, reporting, 303 Committee approval. Opera 

tional control of military airborne assets will continue to be exercised 

by the JRC. The daily management of military and CIA airborne recon 

naissance assets will be the responsibility of the NRO Staff. 

All USIE requirements for intelligence of denied areas which can b, 

satisfied by overhead reconnaissance will be forwarded to SS-4. The 

NRO Staff will determine the proper allocation of NRP assets to satisfy 

the requirements. SS-4 will task the JRC and OSA to provide the neces 

sary coverage. The operational control of each mission will be delegat 

to the JRC and OSA respectively. 

The NRO Staff will report to the cognizant USIE boards concerning 

the current status of requirements and actions taken in satisfaction of 

USIE requirements. 

The NRO Staff consultants to the appropriate committees will be th( 

only individuals authorized to report on NRP collection activities. Froi 

time to time the Staff consultants may invite other NRO participants to 

attend USIE committee meetings on specific projects. 

The following flow diagram will illustrate the concept desired. 

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Specific Functions: 

Management. The DNRO will be responsible for ensuring that the 

military departments program for sufficient reconnaissance assets to 

accommodate national tasking. The NRO Staff will provide yearly 

guidance to the JRC which forecasts the estimated number of missions 

anticipated to be flown in support of the NRP. The DNRO will review 

and approve the yearly programs for the 147 and 154 drones, SR-71 

and military U-2 aircraft. These assets will be funded by the military 

department. Modifications, procurement actions, and deployments 

must be approved by the DNRO. 

The DNRO will be responsible for adjudicating cases wherein 

assets are required for both military theater operations and national 

missions. 

No change in management of OSA assets is required. 

Operational Control. The conduct of specific missions will be the 

responsibility of the JRC and OSA respectively. The JRC and OSA will 

operate the collection vehicles, ensure the necessary support of the 

operation and deliver the product to the appropriate national center for 

exploitation. 

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303 Approval. The NRO Staff will prepare a monthly forecast of 

NRO reconnaissance activities requiring 303 Committee approval. 

This fore cast will be forwarded directly to the 303 Committee by the 

NRO Staff. The 303 Committee response will be transmitted directly 

to the NRO. 

Requirements. All USIE requirements necessitating overhead 

reconnaissance of denied areas will be submitted directly to the NRO. 

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Tasking. The NRO will task JRC and OSA assets only in response 

to stated USIE requirements. The NRO Staff will evaluate the USIE 

requirements for overhead reconnaissance and assign OSA or JRC 

assets to satisfy specific requirements. The NRO will task the JRC 

and OSA monthly for the satisfaction of USIE requirements by airborne 

vehicles. The JRC and OSA will submit the proposed number of missio 

and flight plans in response to NRO tasking to the NRO Staff for approve 

and 303 Committee action. 

Evaluation. The JRC and OSA will report to the NRO Staff on the 

conduct of each mission. The NRO Staff will be responsible for evaluat 

the degree to which USIE requirements have been satisfied by OSA and 

JRC missions. 

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Reporting. The NRO Staff will report to the DNRO and to the USIB 

as required on the status of requirements satisfaction. 

Product. The product of all missions flown in response to NRO 

tasking will be nationally exploited. 

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