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Letter from the Director

We are in the midst of a revolution in military 

affairs, as modern warfare transitions to the 

unmanning of considerable portions of power 

projection. Our adversaries—ascending 

powers and declining ones—are accepting 

of more remote applications of combat 

power and are forcing us to do the same. 

This environment underlines the urgency 

to address a dynamic and increasingly 

complex threat environment and the critical 

need for our national decision makers to 

have accelerated effects and decision 

advantage—at the right time, every time.

Our role is to deeply understand how to best deliver GEOINT products from 

various sources to enable decision advantage at speed that will meet these 

critical missions and needs—that is, GEOINT supremacy. It is vital that we take 

all actions necessary to maintain the decision advantage for our warfighters 

and policymakers, which include addressing growing threats and harnessing 

growing opportunities associated with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) 

without encouraging reluctance or nostalgia. With the holistic approach 

mapped out within “The Way of AI,” NGA sets forth a unified path to prepare 

the GEOINT enterprise for wide adoption.

Indeed, our use of AI solutions will leverage the GEOINT community’s resident 

knowledge and support collaboration among government, academia, and the 

private sector. It will lead to a unified geospatial AI architecture for the US 

and allied national security and national defense ecosystem where we will 

provide disposition information in denied territory at machine speeds for future 

conflicts. Ultimately, the intelligence professional—enabled by AI triage and 

cueing—will be able to control the deluge of information and collect, produce, 

find key reports, evaluate veracity, put into context, and recommend a way 

ahead to become the future warfighter we envision.

From our warfighters to national decision makers and mission partners, our 

application and adoption of AI to the GEOINT mission will enable the decision 

advantage and lead the way of AI.

Frank D. Whitworth VADM, USN Director

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|NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Vision Statement

Primary Goal

NGA | The Way of AI

NGA will lead the Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Enterprise in 

applying artificial intelligence to the GEOINT mission, enabling 

the decision advantage for our warfighters, policy makers, and 

mission partners.

To achieve the primary goal of producing GEOINT data and AI 

models, of increasing accuracy, that generate high-quality 

and useful detections, to be applied to defense and 

intelligence missions.
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US warfighters and policy makers face two 

conditions to maintain decision advantage: first, 

addressing the growing threats from a range 

of adversaries in multiple domains that require 

increased intelligence collection; and second, 

harnessing the growing opportunities associated 

with the rise of artificial intelligence capabilities 

enabled by high-performance compute and massive 

amounts of data.

The influx of information and technology, coupled 

with the compressing timelines for sensing and 

sense-making, driven by the DoD Joint All-Domain 

Command and Control (JADC2), will challenge the 

GEOINT Enterprise as it strives to achieve the US 

National Defense Strategy priorities.

NGA will use its strengths and resident knowledge to 

lead the enterprise to overcome threats and harness 

opportunities by applying artificial intelligence to 

GEOINT and achieve the primary goal of producing 

GEOINT data and AI models, of increasing accuracy, 

that generate high-quality and useful detections, to 

be applied to defense and intelligence missions.

NGA will work in a unified manner to prepare the 

GEOINT Enterprise to widely adopt AI. This will aid 

warfighters and policy makers by:

• Force-enable and force-multiply our warfighters by 

maintaining a deep understanding of their missions, 

needs, and desired outcomes to deliver AI-derived 

GEOINT

• Providing strategic GEOINT AI direction, standards, 

and AI governance

• Fostering GEOINT AI innovation by establishing 

MLOps and DataOps environments and practices that 

are supported by modern software engineering, rapid 

acquisition pathways, and data assurance

• Collaborating with academia, industry, the DoD 

and Intelligence Community, and international and 

other mission partners to identify and accelerate the 

transition of innovative emerging GEOINT AI capabilities

Mission Outcomes
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Before NGA can fully achieve its primary goal of producing increasingly accurate GEOINT data and AI 

models, three challenge areas must be overcome. These challenge areas represent the primary friction 

points that prevent a customer-centric approach to applying AI solutions to mission. They will act as a 

focal point for unity and ensure AI both serves the warfighter/policy maker and is fully integrated into the 

GEOINT Enterprise.

The past decade of AI and ML 

research and development has 

kicked off an unprecedented 

new era of AI. Developing and 

applying AI to defense and 

intelligence applications is 

still nascent and requires new 

data, models, and techniques 

to achieve accurate, highquality detections. Platforms 

and use-cases are needed that 

enable solutions from industry, 

academia, and government 

to thrive in an interoperable 

environment to create the best 

GEOINT AI solutions for mission.

GEOINT customers need AI 

solutions that will help streamline 

and identify relevant GEOINT 

against the influx of data in all 

workflows to enhance the quality 

and speed of their intelligence. 

NGA will manage and improve 

the quality and quantity of 

labels, models, and detections, 

thereby increasing the utility of 

GEOINT AI applied to supporting 

combat, analysis, indications and 

warning, and targeting.

Applying the right resources 

to achieve the best GEOINT AI 

development and operations 

requires the GEOINT Enterprise 

to prioritize investments in 

labeling, algorithm development, 

inference compute, and label 

and data management.

GEOINT customers need 

leadership and coordination of 

previously localized resources 

to create interoperability of 

capabilities and fully harness all 

AI-data types when building and 

maintaining the effectiveness 

of their GEOINT models and 

detections in support of their 

intelligence mission.

AI data must maintain and build 

upon the rigor and confidence 

required by our warfighters 

and policy makers, so that 

they understand how AI will 

function when applied to 

mission (e.g., shared IV&V 

processes involving both formal 

and functional verification, or 

risk methodologies that inform 

proper use and application).

GEOINT customers need to 

know that when applying AI to 

mission, it is assured and secure, 

so they can trust the information 

provided by AI-derived GEOINT 

detections and know that it will 

function as intended.

GEOINT AI Challenges

Challenge Area 

Developing and 

Adopting AI 

Solutions

Challenge Area

GEOINT AI 

Governance

Challenge Area 

Responsible 

and Assured 

GEOINT AI
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Among the many forms of AI (Natural Language Processing, Rules-Based Learning, etc.), each of which will 

benefit the GEOINT mission, NGA is best positioned to lead machine learning (ML) in the domain of computer 

vision (CV). Applying and combining ML and CV against geospatial information is imperative because the quality 

of the end product can only be as good as the quality of the data on which the model is trained and tested.

Therefore, the Director of NGA, as the Intelligence Community’s GEOINT Functional Manager, will leverage the 

resident knowledge and capabilities within the Agency to define ML/CV operations and work to continuously 

improve the quality of NGA’s data—as they are core to the primary goals of producing GEOINT AI models and 

applying AI to accurately detect objects.

The Path Forward

• To take advantage of NGA collection operations 

and expertise to feed GEOINT ML/CV systems and 

leverage ML/CV detections in automating the TCPED 

(Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation, and 

Dissemination) cycle.

• To leverage current and historical records within NGA 

to ensure accuracy, speed, and precision of quality 

labeled data for GEOINT ML/CV in providing strategic 

deterrence.

• To apply a keen understanding of intelligence 

issues and key indicators possessed by NGA 

analysts, positioning them to be the first in the 

GEOINT Enterprise to know when CV models require 

adjustment or replacement.

• To regularly assure the pedigree, provenance, 

integrity, and quality of the data workflow, including 

models and simulations, as well as contractors, 

vendors, and national assets that inject new data.

• Applying a deep understanding of GEOINT AI 

technology and methods that enable improvement of 

GEOINT AI operations in support of mission.

• Approaching GEOINT ML/CV capabilities in a 

collaborative, responsive, and agile manner that 

minimizes cost and maximizes performance for 

GEOINT consumers.

• Leveraging a close connection with national security, 

warfighters, and mission partners, enabling it to 

anticipate GEOINT ML/CV requests and to swiftly 

adjust or establish such CV projects.

NGA has the experts, the 

tradecraft, and the data:

NGA leads the GEOINT 

Enterprise by:
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|NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

A Collaborative and Nested Approach

AI solutions best benefit the GEOINT mission and warfighter through a unified approach. Responding to 

the DoD’s and IC’s needs with the deep expertise of NGA in numerous GEOINT tradecraft disciplines is 

that unified approach. The following strategy documents help inform NGA’s AI approach and focus areas:

National Security Strategy 

“We are investing in a range of advanced technologies including 

applications in . . . trusted artificial intelligence, and quantum systems, 

while deploying new capabilities to the battlefield in a timely manner.”

National Intelligence Strategy

“Increase insight, knowledge, and speed through artificial intelligence, 

automation, and augmentation.”

Summary of the 2018 DoD AI Strategy

“Harness the potential of AI to transform all functions of the 

Department positively.”

NSG Strategy 2021–2025

“Establish and enforce institutional data standards . . . Deliver relevant, 

secure, discoverable foundation geospatial content.”
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A Collaborative and Nested Approach

NSG Commercial GEOINT Strategy 2021

“Drive Unity of Effort . . . Apply automation and artificial intelligence/

machine learning to commercial data in combination with other sources to 

accelerate our activities.”

2035 GEOINT ConOps

“GEOINT must be fast, assured, connected, persistent, and resilient . . . 

available for rapid access . . . to keep pace with the automated warfighter 

and . . . civilian customer.”

NGA Technology Strategy

“Bring AI . . . into GEOINT mainstream . . . Establish enterprise-wide 

access . . . to handle data that support automation, augmentation, 

and AI initiatives.”

NGA Data Strategy

“Supporting NGA’s mission AI use cases, including machine learning, 

computer vision and natural language processing techniques, is a key 

priority for this Data Strategy.”
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|NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Glossary

AI-Data Types: Labeled training data, AI models, AI algorithms, and AI-derived GEOINT detections.

AI-Derived GEOINT: Academic-, commercial-, or government-created computer-derived AI applied to the 

GEOINT Enterprise’s technology, data, people, policies, capabilities, doctrine, activities, or organizations 

necessary to produce GEOINT.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that 

normally require human intelligence: e.g., visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and 

[spoken] language translation. {Derived from NSG Artificial Intelligence, Augmentation, and Automation 

Lexicon}

Computer Vision (CV): An interdisciplinary field that deals with how computers can be made for gaining 

high-level understanding from digital images or videos, CV seeks to automate tasks that the human visual 

system can do. In a GEOINT context, CV comprises the automation of GEOINT tradecraft such as target 

recognition, characterization, geospatial feature extraction, change detection, and geolocation. {Derived 

from NSG Artificial Intelligence, Augmentation, and Automation Lexicon}

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 United States and partner countries.

Machine Learning (ML): Broadly describes the technical services/methods that enable AI and the 

development of algorithms that allow machines to improve their performance over time, based on data. 

{Derived from NSG Artificial Intelligence, Augmentation, and Automation Lexicon}

US Warfighters and Policy Makers: US military personnel, US decision makers, DoD/IC analysts, DoD/

IC collectors, and their mission partners, who rely upon premier GEOINT to enable their own decision 

advantage and that of the customers they support.

Approved for public release, NGA-U-2023-00607

OCC 230222-008