Approved for public release, 21-637
Approved for public release, 21-637

i 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Contents

Message from the GEOINT Functional Manager.................................................. ii

Executive Summary............................................................................................ 1

Next Steps Forward ................................................................................................................2

Vision for 2035................................................................................................... 3

End State: Sensor to Effect (S2E)........................................................................ 4

End State: Integrated GEOINT Operating Environment (IGOE) ............................. 5

End State: GEOINT Superiority from Space (GSS) ............................................... 6

Recommendations for Achieving End States....................................................... 7

Milestones ......................................................................................................... 8

Drivers ............................................................................................................... 10

Automation..............................................................................................................................10

Technology..............................................................................................................................11

Partnerships............................................................................................................................12

Data..........................................................................................................................................13

Workforce................................................................................................................................14

Standards ................................................................................................................................15

Annex................................................................................................................. A1

Scope.......................................................................................................................................A1

Alignment to Enterprise Policy Objectives ............................................................................A1

Current Environment ..............................................................................................................A2

CONOPS Development Methodology ...................................................................................A3

Glossary of Terms .............................................................................................. A5

End Notes........................................................................................................... A8

Publications Referenced..................................................................................... A9

Photo Source...................................................................................................... A9
NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY ii

Message from the GEOINT Functional Manager

The National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) must provide fast, assured, 

connected, persistent, and resilient geospatial intelligence (GEOINT). These capabilities 

are vital to counter threats and enable decision advantage to the warfighters, first 

responders, and policymakers to ensure success in a world of great power competition. 

As we witness the technological evolution to our systems and capabilities over the 

next 15 years, the NSG will strengthen our GEOINT Enterprise by continuing to focus 

on being more professional, unified, and interoperable; forging a common path for 

GEOINT to shape the future. The 2035 GEOINT Concept of Operations (CONOPS) is a 

pivotal step in this process. The CONOPS provides the NSG with a roadmap to sustain 

GEOINT excellence and hold our adversaries at bay by focusing on three desired 

future end states: Sensor to Effect (S2E), Integrated GEOINT Operating Environment 

(IGOE), and GEOINT Superiority from Space (GSS). 

The CONOPS illustrates the strategic vision for GEOINT in the next 5, 10, 

and 15 years and aligns with the priorities detailed in the NSG Strategy 

2021-2025, as well as the 2019 National Intelligence and 2018 

National Defense Strategies. This document serves as a guide for 

NSG members and partners but does not serve as programmatic 

guidance, and implementation may vary based on individual 

organization priorities, guidance, resources, and directives. 

By remaining focused on the recommendations and 

milestones laid out in the CONOPS, we will maintain 

our competitive advantage as the world leader of 

GEOINT in 2035.

I am proud to present the 2035 GEOINT 

CONOPS, written by the NSG for the 

current and future GEOINT Enterprise. 

Robert D. Sharp

VADM, USN

GEOINT Functional 

Manager

Approved for public release, 21-637
Approved for public release, 21-637

1 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

The 2035 GEOINT CONOPS was developed by 

representatives of the NSG to provide recommendations 

for unified development. Streamlined development 

drives the GEOINT Enterprise toward a collective and 

interoperable vision capable of meeting objectives that 

support the National Security Strategy.

The end states, drivers, milestones, and 

recommendations in this document are the result of 

collaboration across the GEOINT Enterprise (reference 

Annex A3- CONOPS Development Methodology). Through 

extensive research, sensing sessions, data analysis, 

and consensus during a two-day offsite, the GEOINT 

Enterprise prioritized three desired end states to 

achieve a desired future for GEOINT that is fast, assured, 

connected, persistent, and resilient: S2E, IGOE, and GSS. 

S2E is vertically integrated, with a focus on sensors and 

the delivery to a wide range of external customers, while 

IGOE is horizontally integrated, with an internal focus on 

the systems and processes of transferring information 

across domains.

Executive Summary

Figure: Roadmap to 2035

• S2E describes a fully automated GEOINT future 

with streamlined tasking, collection, processing, 

prioritization, exploitation, and dissemination of 

GEOINT and geospatial information across the NSG for 

informed and near real-time delivery to the end user.

• IGOE enables seamless interoperability and 

collaboration across multiple domains in the NSG.

• GSS provides a web of government, commercial, 

and foreign remote-sensing resources that cover 

the planet in a near real-time stream of images and 

geospatial data.
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 2

These end states are desired future outcomes 

and are not intended to capture the full range of 

challenges the GEOINT Enterprise will confront 

over the next 15 years. Rather, this publication 

focuses on the steps the NSG members can take 

together to shape its collective future. The CONOPS 

highlights three of the most desired futures that 

must be reached to maintain superiority in the 2035 

environment. Throughout the CONOPS development 

process, the NSG recognized the need for 

exceptional competence in distribution of GEOINT 

data directly from sensor to end user, integration of 

GEOINT across domains, and superiority of sensors 

from space. These were the most salient pieces 

to sustaining GEOINT excellence in the future. By 

reaching the future end states detailed in S2E, IGOE, 

and GSS, the NSG can achieve its 2035 Vision.

The 2035 GEOINT CONOPS is intended to be a 

living document, with a review process to validate 

and adjust course, as necessary, as the NSG moves 

closer to 2035. The CONOPS details imperatives for 

change, barriers the NSG may face implementing 

those imperatives, specific recommendations to 

overcoming those barriers, and key achievements 

or milestones to reaching the 2035 Vision. The 

imperatives for and barriers to change are organized 

under drivers of change: automation, technology, 

partnerships, data, workforce, and standards. Each 

driver is a crucial and unique part of the future of 

GEOINT. These drivers are the tangible resources the 

NSG must use to influence the S2E, IGOE, and GSS 

end states and achieve the overarching 2035 Vision. 

The key milestones provide benchmarks to chart the 

progress in five-year increments leading up to 2035.

Next Steps Forward

The NSG should use this CONOPS for achieving the 

unified GEOINT 2035 Vision. The NSG should reference 

the recommendations as a guide when crafting 

strategies, ensuring alignment to the shared vision. 

The milestones presented should be referenced in 

decision-making processes, ensuring tactical-level 

decisions result in achieving the benchmarks. It 

is recommended that the NSG, using the existing 

National Geospatial Intelligence Committee (GEOCOM) 

governance mechanisms, create a five-year Plan 

of Actions and Milestones (POA&M). This will be 

monitored in a biennial review process to validate and 

adjust the focus areas in the CONOPS as needed.
Vision

for 2035

GEOINT in 2035 is Fast, Assured,

Connected, Persistent, and Resilient

To maintain superiority through 2035 and beyond, GEOINT must be fast, 

assured, connected, persistent, and resilient. GEOINT must be available for 

rapid access by the end user to keep pace with the automated warfighter and 

keep up with the requests of the 2035 civilian customer. With the expansion of 

operational domains and nontraditional producers, GEOINT data, products, and 

services must be assured for the end user to trust the veracity of intelligence in 

making quick, life-threatening decisions that have serious ramifications to US 

national security. In an increasingly automated and connected world, GEOINT 

must further be resilient to physical, electronic, and cyber warfare and be 

available to the customer in a disconnected operational environment. 

The warfighter, first responder, and policymaker of tomorrow 

require continuous, interconnected, reliable GEOINT available at 

accelerated operational speeds to tackle the most challenging 

problem sets, and the NSG must adjust the course of 

both its capabilities and operational policies now 

to ensure the United States and allies 

are protected.

3 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Approved for public release, 21-637
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 4

End State: Sensor to Effect (S2E)

Summary 

S2E is essential to GEOINT success in 2035, as the NSG must innovate 

with the end user or desired effect in mind to expand its influence on the 

growing number of both traditional and nontraditional GEOINT customers. 

S2E describes a fully automated GEOINT future with streamlined tasking, 

collection, processing, prioritization, exploitation, and dissemination of 

GEOINT and geospatial information across the NSG for informed and 

near real-time delivery to end users from the national level down to the 

tactical edge. This vertical integration of sensor transmission directly to 

the end user is critical to the 2035 Vision. In the near term, adversaries are 

expected to have adopted automated processes. To maintain competitive 

advantage, the customer cannot afford time-consuming “human-in-theloop" practices, thus encouraging the operating environment to adapt to 

more immediate transmission of GEOINT and geospatial information to 

the customer. The S2E end state for 2035 is unique in that information will 

securely transmit from diverse sensors through multiple systems at rapid 

speeds, due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning 

(ML) to ultimately reach a more diverse group of end users. 

As GEOINT becomes more widely used, from enhancing kinetic impacts 

on the battlefield to providing faster and more detailed warnings of civil 

disasters at home, the number of end users will expand. S2E assumes 

the end users in 2035 will require data and intelligence analysis at such a 

rapid speed that they become the direct recipients of information when 

possible. The NSG must focus on how the end user will utilize GEOINT 

in 2035 and ensure the customer understands the legal and ethical 

standards required to use and disseminate GEOINT, particularly when 

new users of GEOINT are integrated into the process. The US and its 

partners must consider the ethical concerns over the expanded use of 

automation and limited “human-in-the-loop” practices, especially when 

the end user could be a non-human decision-maker. As the user base 

expands and as human interaction within the delivery process diminishes, 

the GEOINT Enterprise must also consider the investments and policy 

changes necessary for GEOINT to succeed. The metric for success in S2E is 

an improvement in speed, accuracy, and automation across the network 

of NSG systems, not only in fulfilling requests, but also in anticipating 

demands of GEOINT customers and sensors operating nearly independent 

of centralized NSG processing.

S2E in 2035

In a matter of minutes, what began 

as a small blaze erupted into a large 

uncontained wildfire spreading across 

the west coast, threatening Travis 

Air Force Base (AFB) and nearby 

residents. GEOINT sensors with 

automated processing detected the 

spread within minutes, immediately 

sending alerts to local authorities, 

Travis AFB command, and the 

National Interagency Fire Center. 

Residents received alerts on their 

phones with GEOINT data highlighting 

the areas in danger. Unmanned aerial 

systems (UASs) deployed immediately 

to the region upon notification from 

the sensors. Emergency managers 

focused on public messaging and 

emergency response. Local partners 

readied their shelters, businesses, 

and medical units to respond to 

residents’ needs. 

By 2035, the availability of sensors 

will enable emergency notifications 

and rapid response times to crises 

around the world. These devices 

will activate an automated process 

where information is instantaneously 

sent on countless platforms to 

stakeholders in order to accomplish 

each partner's related, yet disparate, 

mission or effect. Whether that effect 

activates a weapons system overseas, 

launches military action, or saves 

lives by notifying civilians of potential 

dangers, S2E in 2035 means utilizing 

all forms of GEOINT to save more 

lives—faster.
Approved for public release, 21-637

5 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Summary 

The IGOE creates the conditions for interoperability, enabling 

seamless coordination through fully leveraged automation, 

trusted and accessible data, a diverse and skilled workforce, 

strategic partnerships, and common GEOINT standards. 

Streamlined, interoperable systems, enabled by Department 

of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) efforts, 

orchestrate rapid collection, automatic cross-cueing, and 

improved access and assured GEOINT to users across security 

domains. Interoperability increases GEOINT Enterprise 

performance in its ability to act together coherently, effectively, 

and efficiently, thereby reducing unnecessary duplication, 

enabling communication across security domains, increasing 

collaboration, and enhancing delivery of accurate GEOINT to 

the customer in near real time. This horizontal integration of 

information transmitted across domains is critical to the 2035 

Vision. The global market is rapidly expanding capabilities 

into emerging domains, challenging the warfighter, first 

responder, and policymaker to surpass competitors with superior 

interoperability.

The NSG is currently hindered by organizational stovepipes 

and resistance to sharing classified information with partner 

organizations. As more commercial partners join the GEOINT 

Enterprise, the availability of unclassified GEOINT will expand, 

as will the need for the NSG to navigate across security domains 

to enhance communication and cooperation. GEOINT data, 

products, and services must be coordinated securely, rapidly, in 

the desired format, and on the appropriate platform to achieve 

the 2035 Vision. The metric for success in IGOE is seamless 

interoperability and communication among all partners and 

their respective platforms; customers will wait only minutes for 

data transfer across the NSG–speeds significantly faster than the 

current operating environment.

IGOE in 2035

A bright flash, deafening boom, and violent force 

hit the UAS on a routine intelligence collection 

mission overseas. The United States and its allies 

watched in shock as the video stream faded 

to black, fully cognizant of the highly sensitive, 

state-of-the-art sensors and tracking system 

onboard. The UAS, a valuable intelligence 

asset that had thus far managed to circumvent 

enemy counter surveillance, plummeted into 

adversarial territory. Using GEOINT was crucial 

to avoid the latest technology on the UAS falling 

into enemy hands.

Feedback from the UAS automatically streamed 

data to the US and its allies. As soon as the 

UAS was hit and drifted off course, the search 

and recovery protocol was immediately set 

into motion. Automated collection procedures 

retrieved data, from both classified and opensource elements, and overlaid the information 

with the terrain data collected from across 

the NSG. Meanwhile, automated analytical 

modeling provided context to recent imagery to 

inform decision-makers of potential geopolitical 

ramifications of the recovery mission. Decisionmakers identified other government and 

commercial partners who had a need to know of 

potential repercussions in the region. 

Before the decision-makers could interpret the 

images they received, the GEOINT relevant to 

the UAS’s location was assembled and ready for 

the recovery mission. IGOE in 2035 means more 

partners working together using persistent and 

resilient GEOINT to communicate and safeguard 

vital intelligence assets. 

End State: Integrated GEOINT Operating Environment (IGOE) 
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 6

Summary 

GSS is a crucial outcome in 2035, enabling the United States 

to lead the space domain by leveraging the power of space 

and near-space capabilities to provide data that answers 

multifaceted US and ally needs. GSS will provide a web of 

government, commercial, and foreign remote-sensing resources 

that cover the planet in a near real-time stream of images and 

geospatial data. This end state is critical to the 2035 Vision since 

great power competitors are investing exponentially in space—a 

domain critical to providing the warfighter, first responder, and 

policymaker with on-demand GEOINT. GEOINT from space is 

essential in providing all-weather, day and night, persistent 

surveillance of targets, as well as continued monitoring of the 

space domain.

The maturation of the US Space Force and the growth of space 

capabilities, by both allies and adversaries, will impact the 

ubiquity of remote-sensing data. GSS will connect satellite data 

with automated, long-dwell airborne platforms and encryption 

standards based on quantum technologies to better access 

location positioning, navigation, timing (PNT), and targeting 

data, high-bandwidth internet, and remote-sensing data. 

Government and non-government entities will continue to have 

greater autonomy within the space domain to make decisions 

with limited repercussions if international doctrine is not widely 

implemented, regulated, or enforced, impacting the location

and placement of space sensors in a densely packed future 

space terrain. The NSG must determine how to navigate 

decision-making in space while maintaining a competitive 

advantage against adversaries. The metric for success for 

this end state is the continuous availability and production of 

GEOINT at accelerated operational speeds regardless of domain. 

GSS in 2035

“Alert! Code Silver. Code Silver.” The automated 

voice overhead alerted the Joint Space Force 

and US Space Command (SPACECOM) Watch 

Floor of a US ally’s spacecraft failure. It was 

not the first time Colonel Jane Smith, the 

Commanding Officer on the Watch Floor, had 

heard this alert. 

As GEOINT signals and systems identified the 

potential cause, Colonel Smith considered 

the current climate that held many additional 

variables to consider since its expansion 

over the last 15 years. Not only were foreign 

countries advancing their own missions in 

space, but commercial and academic partners 

were also expanding their interest in the 

domain. The satellite failure could be the result 

of space debris or a geomagnetic storm, but 

Colonel Smith was not about to rule out more 

nefarious activity. In a few minutes she would 

have evidence from the GEOINT data and 

algorithms to consider the next steps. With 

the development of the US Space Force over 

the past 15 years, the United States in 2035 

maintains superiority in space-based satellite 

surveillance and monitoring systems around 

the globe. Many allied nations and commercial 

partners rely on US capabilities for support. 

In 2035, GSS means the ability to collect 

worldwide GEOINT on time and on demand 

with little to no adversarial interference. These 

capabilities ultimately provide warnings against 

complex, unique challenges posed by either a 

growing number of space-capable adversaries 

or natural events, while remaining connected 

through resilient, assured, space-based systems.

End State: GEOINT Superiority from Space (GSS)
7 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Approved for public release, 21-637

Recommendations for Achieving End States

• Data Standardization: Identify data curation and standardization 

mechanisms for current and future data sets for AI/ML

automated processes.

• Security: Build safeguards for a growing automated future where 

algorithms and systems communicate with minimal

human involvement.

• Dataset Development: Prioritize the development and acquisition 

of large, accurate training datasets that align with data standards. 

• Producing Results: Identify common GEOINT services for data 

integration and machine-to-machine translation of 

automated results.

AUTOMATION

• Acquisition Process: Modernize and fast-track the acquisition 

process of new technology, from initial request to research and 

development (R&D) to final capability delivery, in order to address 

areas for improvement at a speed equal to the evolution of 

technology.

• Future Capabilities: Assess feasibility and cost of greater onboard 

processing capabilities for future sensors with mission partners.

• Development Priorities: Advance ubiquitous data storage, 

quantum mechanics for better predictive modeling, highspeed wireless network bandwidth constraints and system 

interoperability, and synchronize budget and priorities with 

mission partners. 

TECHNOLOGY

• Data Integrity: Adopt data integrity as a shared mission 

imperative, and ensure data is appropriately protected and 

reliable throughout its life cycle. 

• Data Format Study: Advance policies, standards, and a common 

language for a variety of data; this upper-level ontology will 

promote seamless data sharing, utility, and interoperability. 

• Strategy: Develop and implement a strategy to manage and vastly 

augment structured datasets to optimize and scale automation, 

augmentation, and artificial intelligence (AAA) efforts. 

• Integration: Automate and increase the pace at which new data is 

ingested into the ecosystem, fuses with foundational datasets to 

derive context and meaning, moves across security domains, and 

disseminates to end users.

DATA

• Interoperability across Classifications: Bring partners together, 

led by the GEOINT Functional Manager (GFM), GEOCOM, and 

GEOINT Mission Managers, to pursue a unified, interoperable 

approach that provides the end user with user-friendly GEOINT at 

the lowest possible classification level.

• Customer Needs: Conduct a robust customer discovery effort or 

expand existing efforts to document the needs and acceptance of 

GEOINT end users, mission partners, and customers.

• Define Roles: Create a Decision Priority Framework for 

government, commercial, academic, and nontraditional GEOINT 

users that considers roles and responsibilities, acceptable risk 

tolerance, and the contribution of current and future partners of 

the GEOINT Enterprise. 

• Comparative Advantage: Focus on building partnerships with 

technology groups that could address gaps in the GEOINT 

Enterprise’s capabilities.

PARTNERSHIPS

• Implementation: Actualize new capabilities in compliance 

with common GEOINT standards and those cited in the DoD IT 

Standards Registry. These should be in accordance with the DoD 

GEOINT Manager and IC GFM's guidance in supporting the Joint 

Enterprise Standards Committee.

• Adaptability: Fully integrate the GEOINT Enterprise using 

mandated standards, and position the GEOINT Enterprise for 

multi-intelligence collaboration.

• Educate Community on Baseline: Develop and publish a baseline 

of GEOINT standards that allows for increased transparency 

of customer requirements and ease of implementation during 

development, modification, and re-acquisition.

STANDARDS

• New Skills: Develop and maintain a dynamic and multi-track 

talent development program to recruit and retain a highly skilled, 

data-proficient, AI-specialized, and domain-specific workforce 

across the NSG. Focus recruitment efforts on science, technology, 

engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills. 

• Standardize Training: Build standardized training programs across 

the NSG that foster partner support for a collaborative culture of 

innovation and a multi-disciplinary understanding of each stage of 

the GEOINT process. 

• Training Programs: Advance education, training certification 

programs, and simulation capabilities that focus on data science, 

AI, space phenomenologies/sciences, and real-world operations. 

• Specialist Workforce: Establish a cadre of AI specialists to guide 

the development of AAA, ML, computer vision, and humanmachine teaming in order to better integrate automated systems 

across the NSG.

• Mentoring Program: Design and implement a widely accepted, 

cross-agency data mentoring program to foster technological 

cooperation between NSG members and partners.

WORKFORCE
NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 8

Approved for public release, 21-637

Milestones

DRIVER 2025 2030 2035

Automation • Automated processes reach a 

milestone of 80% human interaction 

and 20% automation.i, ii

• NSG systems using AI/ML

cohesively operate at 35% 

interoperable efficiency. 

• Automated processes reach

50% human interaction and 

50% automation. 

• NSG systems using AI/ML cohesively 

operate at 65% interoperable 

efficiency. 

• Automated processes are run 

entirely by machines with limited 

human interaction.

• NSG systems using AI/ML cohesively 

operate at 85% interoperable 

efficiency. 

Technology • An expert panel is created to focus on

investing in and developing innovative 

technology for the NSG. 

• Communication systems and 

platforms are impenetrable, 

protecting the expansion of 

ubiquitous data storage. 

• An NSG and GEOINT Enterprise 

upgraded strategy is developed and 

implemented to field new capabilities 

and upgrade legacy programs.

• Wireless networks rival

broadband networks.

• Ground-to-platform communications 

and onboard processors are 

seamlessly integrated.

• NSG, academia, commercial partners, 

and international entities cooperate

toward a sustainable and predictive 

process for building, replacing, and

updating technology in line with 

fiscal planning cycles.

• All processing is performed on 

secure, resilient, virtual,

wireless machines.

• GEOINT systems use onboard AI 

analysis and production of near 

real-time GEOINT products. 

• NSG technology maintains a robust 

R&D program, and technological 

advances are in line with fiscal 

planning. 

Partnerships • The NSG collaborates with partners 

to prioritize clear GEOINT data and 

product standards for the GEOINT 

Enterprise; the NSG shares standards 

with international, commercial, 

and academic partners to promote 

interoperability. 

• The NSG builds and implements a

community framework for evaluating 

and prioritizing partnerships across 

governments, the commercial sector, 

and academia. The framework 

assesses factors such as existing 

partner capabilities, critical 

intelligence needs, and

technical needs. 

• The NSG creates and implements

a new acquisition process to allow 

for both the rapid procurement of 

mission critical capabilities that are 

compatible across mission partners 

and assistance in testing capabilities 

while collectively advancing 

tradecraft and workflows among 

partners.

• Enhanced future partner vetting 

processes ensure Defense Industrial 

Base partners meet emerging 

requirements intended to secure

the earliest R&D activities through 

the entire acquisition life cycle, 

including disposal. 

• GEOINT training is standardized 

across the NSG and informs Allied 

System for Geospatial Intelligence 

(ASG) training programs. Best 

practices are integrated and

updated annually. 

• Partners have seamless access to 

various levels of data, capabilities, 

tradecraft training, and collaboration 

resources, enhancing interoperability 

and transparency. Each partner 

has authenticated access to the 

right data for its mission and 

automatically connects to partners 

working similar missions. 

• Uniform standards across partners 

create seamless interoperability 

and unification. All partners can 

contribute real-time content.
9 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Approved for public release, 21-637

DRIVER 2025 2030 2035

 Data • The NSG revises policies and 

processes to enforce the integrity and 

interoperability of data. NSG leverages 

expertise across the commercial 

sector and academia to identify, 

implement, and scale dataprotection capabilities. 

• The NSG builds a common, upperlevel data ontology and design 

testing and verification processes. 

• The NSG rapidly accelerates the 

development of AAA focused on 

collection requirements and tasking, 

with the goal of fully automating 

processes by 2030. The NSG develops

and implements a strategy to 

manage and augment shared training 

datasets, focusing analytic resources 

on priority regions and domains. 

• The NSG makes Data Integrity 

Solutions a program of record to 

ensure dedicated and persistent 

monitoring, maintenance, and 

investment. The NSG creates clear 

and agile policies for evaluating 

data integrity and communicating 

associated risk. 

• The NSG fully automates collection 

across space, air, maritime, and 

ground platforms, resulting in agile, 

near real-time tasking, collection, 

and data delivery that is tipped 

and cued by changes in structured 

observations, key intelligence 

questions, and time-sensitive tactical 

requirements.

• The NSG makes use of robust market 

research and collaboration with 

commercial and academic partners 

to augment testing environments 

and increase acquisition agility. 

Incorporating commercial partners 

shortens timelines and expands the 

solution space for discovering data 

defense capabilities and analyzing 

the effectiveness of ontology-driven 

interoperability. 

• The NSG ensures data collected 

by space-based and autonomous 

platforms is processed and 

integrated in real time, rendering 

usable data. Data moves seamlessly 

and securely across security 

domains at machine speed, while 

users instantaneously access and 

contribute to the data ecosystem, 

irrespective of platform. 

Workforce • The NSG builds standardized live or 

simulation training programs that 

foster a unified, collaborative culture 

of innovation and a multi-disciplinary 

understanding of each stage of 

GEOINT.

• The NSG advances data science, AI 

education, and training certificate 

programs for the current workforce 

and new users of GEOINT.

• Significantly reduced recruitment 

and clearance timelines support 

quicker shifts in skill sets and work 

roles within the NSG. This supports 

recruitment of employees with a wide 

range of scientific and data skill sets.

• The NSG creates and maintains 

a dynamic and multi-track talent 

development program to recruit and 

retain a highly skilled GEOINT-, data-, 

and space-proficient workforce.

• The NSG expands the cadre of AI 

experts and analysts working on the 

development of operational

AI algorithms.

• The NSG develops an outreach 

program for middle and high schools 

to cultivate larger talent pools and 

encourage STEM-based majors. 

• AI/ML specialists proliferate 

automation skills amongst 

traditional analytic processes to 

replace a significant portion of 

manual tasks.

• All work roles in the NSG will involve

some level of automation.

• The NSG has employed a sufficient 

workforce of certified data and

AI specialists. 

• The NSG continues to periodically 

re-assess its allocation of human 

talent based on the strengths 

and weaknesses of automated 

processes, refocusing on challenges 

requiring human judgment.

Standards • The NSG fully exercises existing GFM 

authorities necessary to confirm 

the integration of standards and 

architectures into GEOINT and related 

systems. 

• NSG overhauls older intelligence, 

surveillance, and reconnaissance 

(ISR) GEOINT standards to meet 

new GEOINT phenomenologies,

capabilities, and modalities.

• Additional GEOINT standards test 

tools are developed to help programs 

perform testing more rapidly and 

improve conformance.

• GFM Standards Assesment (GFMSA)

is fully institutionalized. All new and 

existing GEOINT acquisition programs 

are implementing the most current 

GEOINT standards and utilizing 

conformance tools throughout the 

acquisition life cycle.

• The NSG establishes and uses a 

collaborative GEOINT standards 

testing environment to improve 

ease of testing and increase overall 

interoperability. 

• NSG governance and

policies are synchronized in 

standards conformance. 

• The scope of Geodesy standards

is expanded beyond the Earth

to include the geometries of the 

solar system.

• All systems are developed in 

conformance with mandated 

standards, greatly enhancing AAA 

capabilities within the NSG

and ASG.
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 10

Drivers

Automation will impact nearly every aspect of GEOINT in 2035, to include tasking, collection, processing, 

prioritization, exploitation, and dissemination. Automated algorithms will identify key adversary activity and 

equipment and will use business rules, logic, and automated tasking to collect GEOINT to address intelligence 

gaps. Textual and geospatial products will be automatically produced, classified, aggregated, and disseminated 

to all members and partners with a need to know, and human analysts will be notified of important updates and 

products almost instantaneously. The full extent of this process encompasses a vast range of automation types—

from processing data from single sensors to complex judgment engines incorporating many data layers—all of which 

must work together. GEOINT will need to be conducted in concert with other mission sets, leveraging standardized 

communication protocols, assured and resilient ground stations, communication paths, and an innovative workforce 

able to quickly resolve challenges and cooperate with international partners. GEOINT users must adapt to become 

less reliant on a single centralized server. Leading up to 2035, the efficient and effective use of AI/ML must include 

standardized data formats and robust communications networks to allow for the electronic search, discovery, 

and retrieval of GEOINT data. These automated processes will be conducted with minimal human interaction, 

necessitating that machines adequately learn to produce recommendations for decision-making. These automated 

processes must be accurate, assured, precise, transparent, secure, and interoperable with all GEOINT users, where 

algorithms and systems communicate with each other to share data and make informed decisions.

Automation

Imperatives for Change Barriers to Change

The secure acquisition of data must increase in speed to 

meet customers' timeliness requirements.

Current domain-specific and proprietary AI/ML 

algorithms, models, and standards prevent efficient and 

effective integration of data. 

Automated processes must be highly accurate, assured, 

precise, transparent, secure, and interoperable for use 

without human assistance to counter potential mistrust 

and adversarial attempts to disrupt algorithms. 

Potential cyber threats disrupt information 

dissemination and processing infrastructures within the 

GEOINT supply chain. 

Algorithms must be modular, whenever possible, to 

leverage AI/ML for a range of solutions for decisionmaking purposes. 

Continuous creation, updates, and sustainment to ML 

training data, business logic rules, and machine-readable 

workflow processes require persistent attention 

and maintenance as well as a secure foundational 

infrastructure. 
Approved for public release, 21-637

11 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

The GEOINT Enterprise will increasingly rely on technology that is secure, reliable, interoperable with existing and 

emerging partners and systems, and agile in its acquisition process. Commercial, national, and partner platforms will 

blanket the globe in GEOINT coverage spanning the electromagnetic spectrum and will process near real-time data 

that serves the warfighter, first responder, and policymaker. A variety of systems will serve as nontraditional GEOINT 

collection platforms, and new commercial, academic, and international partners will join the GEOINT Enterprise. 

Given the rate at which new technologies emerge, the NSG must upgrade its systems or partner with industries to 

provide the technological advantage necessary to improve mission execution, compete on the global stage, and 

remain resilient against adversarial targeting. The GEOINT Enterprise must prioritize technology updates to address 

shortfalls and leverage innovation during the earliest stages of the R&D process, including a thorough assessment 

to ensure any new technology is resilient against adversarial threats. The 2035 environment will not allow for a slow 

acquisition process but will instead require proactive planning to prioritize technology streams early and foster the 

growth of promising future innovations while ensuring resiliency against nefarious actors. By doing so, the NSG not 

only increases efficiency, but also remains ahead of adversaries by minimizing cyber and physical infrastructure 

threats.

Technology

Imperatives for Change Barriers to Change

The NSG must acquire technology through a faster 

acquisition rate than adversaries to ensure technological 

superiority. 

Compatible technology requires coordination internally 

and externally with partnerships across varying missions 

and goals.

Current technology used in government systems and 

across the NSG must perform at a pace which is cutting 

edge and ahead of the innovation curve. 

Current opaque cross-dependencies on legacy systems 

reduce productivity, prevent compliance with new 

standards, and risk security vulnerabilities.

Autonomous onboard computing and high-speed 

networks must continue to advance in order to hold 

adversaries at bay. 

Key systems may rely on equipment or raw materials 

monopolized by adversaries, creating potential pressure 

points or back doors for exploitation.

To attract and retain key technologically savvy partners, 

the NSG must demonstrate its own technological 

strength, compatibility, and security. 

Input from end users is not always considered when 

developing new technology. 
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 12

In 2035, the GEOINT Enterprise will achieve interoperability with critical, strategic, traditional, and nontraditional 

partners, to include interoperable networks and shared standards for data, automation, training, and exercises. With 

more GEOINT data publicly available and more partners seeking information, GEOINT partnerships will face different 

challenges associated with risk. NSG members trust mission partners to secure sensitive information from malicious 

actors, but those same mission partners also rely on the free flow of information across network classification 

levels to operate quickly and effectively together. The confidence and trust in partner technology holdings and 

data processing will intensify in importance as the GEOINT Enterprise expands its partnerships and interoperability 

to execute mission objectives outside of centralized hubs and across new domains. The NSG should aim to close 

capability gaps and leverage the comparative advantages of partners. Such collaboration will deliver mission-ready 

data and capabilities to provide a competitive advantage to the entire GEOINT Enterprise.

Partnerships

Imperatives for Change Barriers to Change

The NSG needs agile policies and governance structures 

to securely and rapidly bring critical capabilities to bear, 

enable evolving relationships across industries, and hold 

partners accountable.

Years of operating within a single agency or office 

will require a cultural shift within the larger GEOINT 

Enterprise to foster an open exchange of methodologies 

and solutions to successfully enhance public-private 

GEOINT partnerships. 

Given the growth of GEOINT providers and data 

availability, there must be common data and production 

standards to ensure interoperability. 

Changing procedures and workflows that have long 

been ingrained in business protocols requires time, 

diligence, training, enforcement, and accountability for 

personnel and organizations. 

Clear roles and responsibilities must be established 

among partners to decrease unnecessary duplication 

and maximize impact.

The GEOINT Enterprise currently lacks an efficient and 

collective means of reaching consensus on areas for 

improvement and assessments on the utility of new 

capabilities. 

GEOINT partners must be willing to balance sharing 

information with partners across classification levels

at a more rapid pace while still adhering to

security protocols. 

The growing prevalence of cyber attacks on any 

partner's infrastructure or communications system can 

disrupt the entire GEOINT Enterprise’s ability to securely 

deliver GEOINT. 
Approved for public release, 21-637

13 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

To stay ahead of adversaries in the data-rich environment of 2035, the NSG must produce, manage, and share 

assured data with speed, accuracy, and precision. National, commercial, academic, civil, and foreign sensors will 

deliver high-quality, persistent, near-global coverage. The volume and variety of information and geospatial data 

will exponentially increase. Human and machine teaming will be crucial to disseminating relevant information in the 

data flow from partners. No matter their location, users will tap into an assured data ecosystem and easily identify 

usable information. They will then be able to filter data in standardized formats to provide insight and support to

decision-making from tactical to strategic levels. Acceleration across all components of the tasking, collection, 

processing, prioritization, exploitation, and dissemination process, powered by automation and technological 

advances, will deliver timely, trusted, and curated GEOINT and geospatial information to users. The automation 

and seamless movement of data across security domains, rapid scaling of technical solutions, consistent and clear 

governance, data standardization, and a data literate workforce will promote rapid data accessibility and integrity 

across the GEOINT Enterprise.

Data

Imperatives for Change Barriers to Change

The GEOINT Enterprise must ensure the integrity of 

data that enables GEOINT workflows. Without assured 

GEOINT, there is a significant risk of eroding confidence 

and trust in the GEOINT Enterprise. 

Scaling, implementing, and maintaining data protection 

solutions across the GEOINT Enterprise is increasingly 

difficult and complex due to a growing influx of cyber 

attacks and disinformation.

Data must conform to standards for uniform 

communication across systems and domains for 

interoperability to succeed.

The absence of a GEOINT Enterprise data inventory 

increases the likelihood of data duplication and 

precludes a universal understanding of the breadth of 

usable data, to include data format, storage location, 

use restrictions, and data provenance. 

The NSG needs significantly larger volumes of 

shared, structured data to optimize AAA efforts, scale 

capabilities across missions, and fuel future advances

in AAA. 

The GEOINT Enterprise lacks shared training goals, 

requirements, and resources needed to achieve 

a common level of data literacy and data integrity 

proficiency across all partners. 

Maintaining decision advantage requires data to 

seamlessly and securely flow into and across the data 

ecosystem at increasingly faster speeds. The NSG must 

create resilience and trust in the automation of data 

technologies that enhance data volume, variety,

velocity, and accessibility when disconnected from

traditional networks.

A lack of knowledge of the existing governing data 

standards hinders communication across partners

and users.
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY 14

The GEOINT workforce will require significant innovation to meet the challenge of exponential change in technology 

over the next 15 years. Every employee in the NSG must be equipped with superior critical thinking skills and robust 

data literacy to increase the rate of innovation and adaptability necessary to maintain a competitive edge. Exposure 

to cross-NSG missions and systems should be a deliberate learning objective for NSG personnel. By creating a 

governance structure that allows for mutual exchange of talent flowing between government, academia, and 

commercial partners, the Enterprise can more rapidly evolve as the systems and processes around it advance. Such 

cross-pollination strengthens partnerships in the GEOINT Enterprise. The strategic workforce planning should also 

be structured to support speed and fluidity. By 2035, AI/ML advances will open new opportunities to enhance the 

value of the highly skilled workforce. Machines and technology will replace some roles previously held by humans, 

a major shift in workforce roles that requires the NSG to consider how to maximize the skills of employees and 

enhance safeguards for any decisions now made with limited human interaction.

Workforce

Imperatives for Change Barriers to Change

As automation and data increasingly become part of 

every work role in the NSG, breaking traditional barriers 

between technology providers and users, the workforce 

must be proficient with AI tools and technologies and 

the implicit ethical standards.

Many NSG structures currently separate technology 

providers and users bureaucratically, which limits 

technological collaboration between work roles and 

potentially constrains organizational change.

The NSG must shift its training methods from imagery 

and geospatial fundamentals to a broader range of 

analytical, scientific, and technological skills. 

Traditional incentive programs are currently ineffective 

for competing with the commercial sector for recruiting 

and retaining a skilled workforce.

The NSG must be more competitive with the commercial 

sector to attract and retain cross-trained talent. 

The rise of automation and data ubiquity challenges the 

recognized identities of existing work roles, especially as 

skill requirements shift in concepts of "expertise.” 

The NSG needs to expand its scientific and technological 

partnerships to remain competitive.

Current US government hiring and clearance processes 

are slow to adapt in near-term changes to talent needs.
Approved for public release, 21-637

15 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Standards provide the basis for system interoperability and operational efficiency. By 2035, to be adaptable and 

effective, an overhaul of older ISR standards is required to meet new GEOINT phenomenologies. Burgeoning 

commercial, academic, and international partnerships will require the increasing use of agile standards that can adapt 

to changes in data systems, technological advances, and the ways in which the GEOINT Enterprise interacts with them. 

The GFM requires changes to existing doctrine and the ability to conduct assessments in order to maintain purview 

over all aspects of DoD, IC, allied, commercial, and academic partner efforts. By working together, GEOINT Enterprise 

members can avoid creating unnecessary barriers and time-consuming processes to fuse data across multiple 

networks of sensors and systems. The inability to modify proprietary software or coding standards destabilizes 

interoperability with national resources. The evolving nature of the drivers requires the GEOINT Enterprise to mandate 

and enforce data standards across governance, sharing, tradecraft and training, and acquisition requirements. In 

2035, this will enable the GEOINT Enterprise’s breadth of customers to confidently fuse GEOINT, access the sources 

securely, and trust the information at the lowest classification level possible.

Standards

Imperatives for Change Barriers to Change

The existing NSG governance structure must evolve 

as a deliberate, integrated, and efficient decisionmaking forum to effectively exercise GFM authorities 

in requiring assessments and enforcing standards 

compliance for all aspects of partner GEOINT efforts.

Lack of accountability or incentives and consequences 

for NSG organizations prevents the GFM from enforcing 

standards compliance through NSG governance.

The proliferation of unclassified and non-governmental 

sensor sources requires a shift to more publicly available 

and open standards with an ability to adapt to changes.

As GEOINT production expands, the ability to draft 

comprehensive standards enforceable across all 

partners, including commercial partners, will prove 

challenging.

The NSG alignment is the competitive advantage against 

all adversaries. Technology advancements can only be 

fully realized across the GEOINT and multi-intelligence 

Enterprises with the implementation of capability-based 

standards and associated metadata.

The lack of GEOINT standards awareness across the 

GEOINT Enterprise inhibits successful unification 

around published guidance, preventing appropriate 

consideration when looking to implement new policies.
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY A1

Annex

Alignment to Enterprise 

Policy Objectives

This Enterprise-driven document was authored in 

conjunction with existing policies and directives across 

the DoD and IC, ensuring the recommendations for 

2035 align with previously released strategies. The 

2035 GEOINT CONOPS aligns with publications and 

policy objectives in circulation, to include NSG 2021-

2025, 2017 National Security Strategy, 2018 National 

Defense Strategy, 2012 Department of Defense 

Directive (DoDD) 5105, 2014 NSG Directive 1100, 

2019 National Intelligence Strategy, 2020 Defense 

Intelligence Strategy, and 2009 Intelligence Community 

Directive (ICD) 113. In mapping the strategic direction 

envisioned for people, process, technology, and 

infrastructure, this document encompasses over 100 

direct alignments to previous directives. 

Standards are consistently depicted with the intent 

of unifying the GEOINT Enterprise under joint 

doctrine. Authority to lead and provide functional 

management guidance to the NSG—including the 

issuance of doctrine, standards, policies, directives, 

and procedures—required for the NSG rests with 

the GFM through DoD 5101.iii The NSG Strategy 

2021-2025 outlines standards as processes unified in 

efficient collaboration, synchronization, and delivery 

of GEOINT across the enterprise to create strategic 

advantage.iv The DoD has been mandated to establish 

strategic partnerships with US companies to align 

commercial sector resources to priority national 

security applications.v Barriers must be removed to 

capitalize on the full use of talent across the GEOINT 

Enterprise.vi The NSG Strategy 2021-2025 envisioned 

by the GFM reiterates the goals of professionalism, 

interoperability, and unification through the metrics of 

speed, accuracy, and precision. This previous strategy 

document personifies the 2035 GEOINT CONOPS 

drivers of workforce, partners, and standards through 

fast, assured, connected, persistent, and resilient 

means. 

Scope

The 2035 GEOINT CONOPS, developed and authored 

by the NSG, provides a forward-thinking strategy 

for the 2035 GEOINT operating environment. This 

document is designed to prepare the warfighter, first 

responder, and policymaker for a future where GEOINT 

is fast, assured, connected, persistent, and resilient. 

The 2035 GEOINT CONOPS provides:

• Three desired future end states (S2E, IGOE, GSS) 

that drive the NSG toward the 2035 Vision. 

• Recommendations for the GEOINT Enterprise to 

take action and enable the desired future end 

states; and milestones in five-year increments 

of 2025, 2030, and 2035 to benchmark progress 

toward the desired end states.

• A roadmap for the NSG to apply the right skills, 

technology, and processes to prepare for future 

challenges while meeting the increased demands 

for GEOINT.

This 2035 GEOINT CONOPS will not provide detailed 

recommendations regarding specific budget or 

programming but will propose focus areas for future 

investment and acquisition. This CONOPS will not 

provide concrete staffing requirements in conjunction 

with its overall recommendations but will provide skill 

set and personnel priorities for future investment and 

growth. It is recommended these priorities are then 

used to create a five-year POA&M, under existing 

GEOCOM governing authorities, to validate and adjust 

the focus areas in the CONOPS as needed. 
Approved for public release, 21-637

A2 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Current Environment

The current GEOINT Enterprise is adapting capabilities 

to an increasingly commercialized and competitive 

sector. The drivers of future change (automation, 

technology, partnerships, data, workforce, and 

standards) are key to steer the GEOINT Enterprise 

toward its shared vision in 2035.

Over the past 15 years, the GEOINT Enterprise has 

faced a rapidly changing landscape, with a massive 

influx of new data and sources that has affected how 

GEOINT is delivered to customers. Change has been 

a constant theme in the GEOINT ecosystem since its 

inception, transitioning from wet film to digital remote 

sensing. Currently, GEOINT must adapt to process big 

data and transition into a more automated future. The 

GEOINT landscape will continue to rapidly change over 

the next 15 years, driven by advances in technology 

introduced by commercial GEOINT providers, 

increasing GEOINT data ubiquity, and the GEOINT 

posture of near-peer national competitors to the US 

and the ASG.

Encouraging emerging technologies through 

investment and partnership is a requirement to ensure 

the NSG remains the trusted source of GEOINT to the 

warfighters, first responders, and policymakers in the 

next 15 years. Collective Enterprise strategies and 

processes to accelerate acquisition of technology and 

the management of data will support advancement of 

the NSG.vii The GEOINT Enterprise’s current capabilities 

to manage data are lagging with respect to the volume 

of data, infrastructure, and AI management. This is 

only expected to become more problematic as volume 

increases with new technology.

Through over 45 hours of sensing sessions, the NSG 

members depicted the GEOINT Enterprise as fractured, 

without enforceable standards from the GFM to 

synchronize processes and invest in appropriate 

workstreams across partners and systems. The 

CONOPS emphasizes interoperability through unified 

partnerships and mutual investments in technology 

development.viii,ix Interoperability will progress through 

enhanced collaboration with commercial and R&D 

entities, as well as academia, often on the cutting 

edge of GEOINT innovation, and by establishing 

formal processes and pipelines that enable 

employees to easily move between government and 

commercial sectors.x,xi Increasing GEOINT Enterprise 

interoperability is an overarching theme from the 

community sensing sessions. Hurdles must be 

overcome through strong, enforceable directives if 

the NSG hopes to remain competitive with adversaries 

while supporting the warfighters, first responders, and 

policymakers. 

In order to expand GSS, realize S2E, and enhance 

the IGOE, the GEOINT Enterprise has reflected on its 

current state assessment with respect to the drivers 

that will guide progress. If GEOINT in 2035 is to be fast, 

assured, connected, persistent, and resilient, directives 

that are funded and enforceable across the enterprise 

must be continually evaluated and published.
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY A3

CONOPS Development Methodology 

The 2035 GEOINT CONOPS was developed by adapting 

methodology from strategic foresight and futuresplanning literature to design a custom methodology 

for assessing and projecting the future needs and 

challenges of the 2035 GEOINT operating environment.xii

The method described below streamlined data 

collection and stakeholder engagement support to 

develop a project plan that promoted buy-in and 

investment from partners across the GEOINT Enterprise. 

The use of the strategic foresight method provided 

a clear process to measure and visualize imperative 

strategic changes that must occur across the GEOINT 

Enterprise to ensure GEOINT superiority and maintain 

competitive advantage over adversaries. Drawing on 

professional futures and foresight training, certification, 

and extensive research, the 2035 GEOINT CONOPS 

development team (CONOPS Team) developed a 

process for creating a strategic plan driven by NSG 

needs, desires, and expectations. The 10-step plan was 

designed to help the NSG craft a vision of the ideal 2035 

GEOINT operating state and determine critical changes 

to make in order to reach the desired 2035 operating 

environment:

1. Assessment

2. Interviews/Open-Source Research

3. Data Analysis

4. Trend Determination

5. Enterprise Consensus

6. Outline and Writing Team Structure

7. Narrative Development

8. Enterprise Coordination

9. Revisions

10. Delivery 

First, previously published future-planning documents 

were assessed and analyzed. It was determined these 

plans were largely composed without engaging the 

wider GEOINT Enterprise, leading to poor visibility and 

little to no adoption of the recommendations in those 

documents. With this context, the CONOPS Team 

designed a collaborative process that involved the 

GEOINT Enterprise to create a sense of ownership and 

enable partners to invest in the success of the effort. 

Throughout the development of the CONOPS, the team 

operated based on the following assumptions:

• The United States will continue competing with 

traditional adversaries, with a rise in nontraditional 

competitors, such as sub-state actors.

• The commercial sector may increasingly gain 

access to commercial GEOINT capabilities through 

purchasing, brokerage agreements, or theft.

• The United States will face an increasingly complex 

battlespace that spans traditional domains of air, 

land, and sea and newer domains of cyberspace 

and space. 

• Collateral damage will be progressively scrutinized; 

the demand for minimal civilian casualties will in 

turn drive the necessity for more accurate and 

assured GEOINT products.

• Global proliferation of technology and weaponry 

will continue in an increasingly connected world, 

as will the growth of more advanced sensors and 

processes in the GEOINT Enterprise.

• The end user will increasingly demand greater 

coverage and persistence of surveillance systems 

worldwide, leading to on-demand, real-time S2E 

capabilities.

• Warfare will become progressively more 

automated, with less need for “human-inthe-loop” overwatch. This will correlate to 

fewer troops on the ground in theater as the 

warfighter moves into an increasingly automated 

environment.

• Budgeting restraints will remain consistent with 

current levels.

• Outsourcing and partnership with commercial 

entities will grow substantially as government 

recognizes and leverages commercial supremacy.

• Military forces will operate in denied, degraded, 

intermittent, and limited bandwidth (D-DIL) 

environments for extended periods of time.
Approved for public release, 21-637

A4 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Second, the CONOPS Team constructed a database, 

collecting over 900 statements derived from over 40 

hours of interviews with over 220 stakeholders across 

government, the commercial sector, academia, and 

allied partners. These interviews captured insights 

regarding needs, desires, challenges, and imperatives 

for change across the entire GEOINT ecosystem. 

Simultaneously, the team ran a rigorous open-source 

collection effort to capture statements from publicly 

available scientific research, commercial developments, 

and technology advances. 

Using Python feature extraction and vectorization on 

the aforementioned database, the team identified 

key themes from the GEOINT Enterprise responses 

to fuse and display data from interviews and opensource research. Data was analyzed by processing 

quotations to provide fidelity and insight into GEOINT 

Enterprise sentiment. Data analysis helped the team 

determine the top 15 trends raised by the group 

during the data collection process. These trends were 

visualized and presented during a two-day offsite where 

representatives from across the GEOINT Enterprise 

convened to discuss the results and determine the key 

focus areas for the CONOPS document. 

The team drafted a vision statement for 2035 based 

on feedback from the GEOINT Enterprise offsite, and 

the results drove the creation of the CONOPS table 

of contents. The table of contents was then used to 

design an organizational structure and project plan 

for the subject matter experts (SMEs) recruited from 

across the NSG to draft the recommendations for 

change and strategic emphasis. The overall data-driven 

approach removed biases and led to the adoption 

of recommendations that were actionable and 

incrementally achievable over the next 15 years. 

SMEs participated in four workshops designed to 

encourage the incorporation of the foresight planning 

method into draft recommendations, employ 

storytelling as a means of brainstorming, and begin 

narrative development. A writing team of 24 SMEs 

drafted sections of the document, and the CONOPS 

development team assisted with the editing process 

to produce the document. Several versions of the 

document were circulated for GEOINT Enterprise 

feedback. The final draft was then distributed twice 

through the GEOCOM and Joint Staff Action Process 

for formal comment and approval by the GEOINT 

Enterprise, including the DoD, IC, and partnering 

agencies. The final product was delivered for signature 

to the GFM for the US government.
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY A5

A

Automation, Augmentation, and 

Artificial Intelligence (AAA)

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also refers to this as 

Augmenting Intelligence Using Machines, or AIM

Automation The method or technique of making an apparatus, process, or system operate without 

a manual maneuver or driver

Adversary A party acknowledged as potentially hostile to a friendly party and against which the 

use of force may be envisagedxiii

Allied System for Geospatial 

Intelligence (ASG)

The governance model to manage the GEOINT-sharing relationship of the allied 

partners, which are the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation, Canadian 

Forces Intelligence Command, GEOINT New Zealand, National Centre for Geospatial 

Intelligence, and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)xiv

C

Collection The acquisition of information and the provision of this information to processing 

elements

Concept of Operations (CONOPS)

CONOPS is defined within this context as a roadmap to sustain GEOINT excellence and 

counter adversaries by uniting the GEOINT Enterprise toward one collective vision. 

This document is the catalyst for subordinate organizations to craft their own specific 

strategies in achieving the overarching vision

Customer

A person, organization, or enterprise that commissions the engineering of a product 

or system; is a prospective purchaser of the end products of a product or system or 

portions thereof; or is an acquirer of a product or systemxv

Current State Assessment An examination of current GEOINT capabilities, including examining strengths and 

identifying opportunities

Cyberspace

A global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent 

networks of information technology infrastructures and resident data, including the 

Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors 

and controllersxvi

D

Data

A representation of facts, concepts, or instructions, such as text, numbers, graphics, 

documents, images, sound, or video, in a form suitable for communication, 

interpretation, or processing, which individually may have no meaning by and in 

themselvesxvii

Desired Future The ideal future operating state of the GEOINT Enterprise in 2035, as agreed upon by 

the GEOINT Enterprise in sensing sessions and offsite facilitations

Domain

The operating environment or area of work, whether conceptual or physical, in which 

the GEOINT Enterprise communicates and executes its mission; a conceptual domain 

includes security domains such as the classified or unclassified space; a physical 

domain encompasses air, land, maritime, space, and cyberspace

Drivers of Change Actions, capabilities, or organizational concepts that are catalysts for change; new 

developments in these areas are likely to disrupt or transform the GEOINT industry 

E

End State

A desired outcome, derived from GEOINT Enterprise consensus, regarding mission 

critical capabilities that must evolve to maintain or increase competitive advantage and 

succeed in the 2035 environment

Glossary of Terms
Approved for public release, 21-637

A6 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

End User

The consumer at the final stage of the GEOINT or geospatial information delivery 

chain; the warfighters, first responders, and policymakers who use products directly as 

they apply GEOINT in the decision-making process

G

The National Geospatial Intelligence 

Committee (GEOCOM)

DNI-chartered forum for GEOINT that provides a venue for community members to 

discuss, coordinate, and vote on substantive issues of common concern; the GEOCOM 

administers subcommittees and working groups composed of SMEs from GEOCOMmember organizationsxviii

Geodesy

The science of accurately measuring and understanding three fundamental properties 

of the Earth: its geometric shape, its gravity field, and its orientation in space, as well 

as the changes of these properties with timexix

GEOINT Enterprise

The combination of technology, data, people, policies, capabilities, doctrine, activities, 

and organizations necessary to produce GEOINT in any government, academic, or 

commercial environment in the US and partner countries;xx this includes all GEOCOM 

Members, Principal Partners, and nontraditional partners

GEOINT Functional Manager (GFM)

The authoritative advisor to the DNI and Secretary of Defense, through the Under 

Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, on GEOINT issues and resources; Executive Order 

12333, “United States Intelligence Activities,” as amended in 2008, legally designates 

the Director of NGA (D/NGA) as the GFM for the IC. DoDD 5105.60; “National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,” 2009, designates the D/NGA as the DoDD GEOINT 

Manager; the title GFM refers to both roles, thereby encompassing the IC and DoDxxi

GEOINT Functional Manager 

Standards Assessment (GFMSA)

The NSG Directive (NSGD) 3201[13] established the GFMSA program: “The GFMSA 

defines and implements NSG methods and processes to assess Information Technology 

(IT) and National Security Systems, referred to as IT, conformance with GEOINT data 

and service standards policies and standards as key enablers of interoperability with 

the DoD and/or the IC”

GEOINT Superiority from Space 

(GSS)

A web of government, commercial, and foreign remote-sensing resources that cover 

the planet in a near real-time stream of images and geospatial data

Geospatial Information Information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or 

constructed features and boundaries on or about the Earthxxii

Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT)

Exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, 

and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the 

Earth; GEOINT consists of imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial informationxxiii

I

Integrated GEOINT Operating 

Environment (IGOE)

Seamless interoperability and collaboration across multiple domains in the GEOINT 

Enterprise

Intelligence, Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance (ISR)

An array of systems used to acquire and process information for warfighters, first 

responders, and policymakers

Interoperability The ability to act together coherently, effectively, and efficiently to achieve tactical, 

operational, and strategic objectives
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY A7

N

National System for Geospatial 

Intelligence (NSG)

The combination of technology policies, capabilities, doctrine, activities, people, data, 

and organization necessary to produce GEOINT in integrated, multi-intelligence, multisecurity domain environments; it includes members and partners that produce and 

employ GEOINT across the full range of national, military, and civil domainsxxiv

NSG Member

IC and DoD organizations that fall under GEOINT Functional Management authorities, 

as outlined in Executive Order 12333, DoDD 5105.60, and ICD 113. NSG Members 

include the IC, the Joint Staff, the Military Departments, and Combatant Commands 

(CCMDs)

O

Ontology A set of concepts in a particular subject area that shows its properties and the relations 

between them 

P

Partnerships

A formal or informal agreement between two or more entities who participate in a 

shared mutual mission to further benefit operational requirements, R&D, or other 

support functions of GEOINT

Phenomenology

The study of naturally occurring and measurable activity, especially as it refers to 

sensor technology, which allows discovery, observation, and characterization of natural 

and measurable occurrencesxxv

Platform The vehicle to which one or many sensors are attached; platforms include satellites, 

aircraft, and ground; and water-based platformsxxvi

Positioning, Navigation, and

Timing (PNT)

The ability to accurately and precisely determine one’s location and orientation in two 

or three dimensions

S

Sensor

A technical device designed to detect and respond to at least one stimulus and that 

may record and/or transmit a resultant impulse for interpretation or measurement; 

two primary categories of sensors are electro-optical and radar, both of which have 

several types or variants, known as phenomenologiesxxvii

Sensor to Effect (S2E)

A fully integrated, automated GEOINT future with streamlined tasking, collection, 

processing, exploitation, prioritization, and dissemination of GEOINT and geospatial 

information across the NSG for informed and near real-time delivery to the end user

Standards

Common and repeated use of rules, definitions, conditions, guidelines, or 

characteristics for products or related processes, procedures, and production methods 

and related management systems practicesxxviii

Space Capability The ability of a terrestrial-based asset to accomplish a mission in or through spacexxix

T

Technology The tools, methods, or systems developed and used to enable or automate the 

production of goods or services toward an objectivexxx

U

United States Space Command 

(USSPACECOM OR SPACECOM)

SPACECOM conducts operations in, from, and to space to deter conflict and, if 

necessary, defeat aggression, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined 

force, and defend US vital interests with allies and partners

W

Workforce The personnel employed or supporting an agency, CCMD, or other entity within the 

GEOINT Enterprise
Approved for public release, 21-637

A8 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

i Current estimates place human reliance between 75 and 90% depending on the sector in the GEOINT

Community.

ii Opportunities identified for automation of processes of routine tasks to allow analysts to focus on

developing more complex products and verify the automation is working as expected.

iii Executive Office of the President of the United States, “2017 National Security Strategy,” December 2017, 

p. 20.

iv National System for Geospatial Intelligence, “NSG Strategy 2021-2025.”

v Executive Office of the President of the United States, “2017 National Security Strategy,” December 2017, 

p. 21.

vi Ibid, p. 20.

vii Ibid, p. 29.

viii National System for Geospatial Intelligence, “NSG Strategy 2021-2025,” p. 3.

ix Department of Defense, “2018 National Defense Strategy,” January 2018, p. 8.

x National System for Geospatial Intelligence, “NSG Strategy 2021-2025,” p. 3.

xi National System for Geospatial Intelligence, “Directive 1100,” 2014, p. 4.

xii Houston Strategic Foresight, UK Government Office for Science, University of Houston foresight course.

xiii “DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms,” Jun. 2020, p. 9.

xiv NGA, International Activities: The Allied GEOINT Enterprise, https://www.nga.mil/resourc

es/1600979386974_International.html.

xv US Department of Homeland Security, “DHS Lexicon,” 2018, p. 140.

xvi “DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms,” Jun. 2020, p. 55.

xvii DAMA Dictionary of Data Management, “IC Data Management Lexicon,” Apr. 2011, Derived From: (1) 

DAMA Dictionary of Data Management, April 1, 2011.

xviii NSG, GEOINT Basic Doctrine, Apr. 2018, www.nga.mil/assets/files/170901-038_GEOINT_Basic_Doctrine_

Pub_1.pdf, p. 31.

xix National Geodetic Survey, Nov. 2020, https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/INFO/geodesy.shtml.

xx NSG, GEOINT Basic Doctrine, Apr. 2018, www.nga.mil/assets/files/170901-038_GEOINT_Basic_Doctrine_

Pub_1.pdf, p. 35.

xxi Ibid.

xxii America, The United States of, United States Code § 467.5 ed., vol. Title 10.

xxiii NSG, GEOINT Basic Doctrine, Apr. 2018, www.nga.mil/assets/files/170901-038_GEOINT_Basic_Doctrine_ 

Pub_1.pdf, p. 35.

xxiv Ibid, p. 38.

xxv Ibid.

xxvi Ibid.

xxvii Ibid, p. 39.

xxviii US Department of Homeland Security, “DHS Lexicon.” 2017, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/

publications/18_0116_MGMT_DHS-Lexicon.pdf, p. 616.

xxix “DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms,” Jun. 2020, p. 198.

xxx Ibid, p. 651.

End Notes
Approved for public release, 21-637

NSG STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY A9

Publications Referenced

Photo Source

• America, The United States of, United States Code § 467.5 ed., vol. Title 10.

• Department of Defense, “Defense Space Strategy Summary,” June 2020.

• Department of Defense, “Directive 5105,” 2012. 

• Department of Defense, “DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms,” 2020, https://www.jcs.mil/

Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/dictionary.pdf.

• Department of Defense, “2018 National Defense Strategy,” January 2018.

• Earley, Susan, The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management, Technics Publications, 2011. 

• Executive Office of the President of the United States, “2019 National Plan for Civil Earth Observations,” 

December 2019.

• Executive Office of the President of the United States, “2017 National Security Strategy,” December 2017.

• Houston Strategic Foresight, UK Government Office for Science, University of Houston foresight course,

National Geodetic Survey, Nov. 2020, https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/INFO/geodesy.shtml.

• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, “NGA GEOINT CONOPS 2022,” 2016.

• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, “NSG GEOINT Basic Doctrine,” April 2018, www.nga.mil/assets/

files/170901-038_GEOINT_Basic_Doctrine_Pub_1.pdf. 

• Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “Intelligence Community Directive Number 113,” May 2009.

• Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “2019 National Intelligence Strategy.”

• Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, “2020 Defense Intelligence Strategy.”

• National Air and Space Intelligence Center, “Competing in Space,” December 2018. 

• National System for Geospatial Intelligence, “Directive 1100,” 2014.

• National System for Geospatial Intelligence, “NSG Strategy 2021-2025.”

• US Department of Homeland Security, “DHS Lexicon,” 2017, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/

publications/18_0116_MGMT_DHS-Lexicon.pdf.

Photos Courtesy: https://unsplash.com/, 2020.

Unsplash grants you an irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide copyright license to download, copy, modify, distribute, perform, and use photos 

from Unsplash for free, including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Unsplash. This license 

does not include the right to compile photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar or competing service.
Approved for public release, 21-637

A10 2035 GEOINT CONOPS

Approved for public release, 21-637