Electro - optical MASINT Electro - optical MASINT is a subdiscipline of Measurement and Signature Intelligence , ( MASINT ) and refers to intelligence gathering activities which bring together disparate elements that do not fit within the definitions of Signals Intelligence ( SIGINT ) , Imagery Intelligence ( IMINT ) , or Human Intelligence ( HUMINT ) . Electro - optical MASINT has similarities to IMINT , but is distinct from it . IMINT ' s primary goal is to create a picture , composed of visual elements understandable to a trained user . Electro - optical MASINT helps validate that picture , so that , for example , the analyst can tell if an area of green is vegetation or camouflage paint . Electro - optical MASINT also generates information on phenomena that emit , absorb , or reflect electromagnetic energy in the infrared , visible light , or ultraviolet spectra , phenomena where a " picture " is less important than the amount or type of energy reported . For example , a class of satellites , originally intended to give early warning of rocket launches based on the heat of their exhaust , reports energy wavelengths and strength as a function of location ( s ) . There would be no value , in this specific context , to seeing a photograph of the flames coming out of the rocket . Subsequently , when the geometry between the rocket exhaust and the sensor permits a clear view of the exhaust , IMINT would give a visual or infrared picture of its shape , while electro - optical MASINT would give , either as a list of coordinates with characteristics , or a " false - color " image , the temperature distribution , and spectroscopic information on its composition . In other words , MASINT may give warning before characteristics visible to IMINT are clear , or it may help validate or understand the pictures taken by IMINT . MASINT techniques are not limited to the United States , but the U . S . distinguishes MASINT sensors from others more than do other nations . According to the United States Department of Defense , MASINT is technically derived intelligence ( excluding traditional imagery IMINT and signals intelligence SIGINT ) that – when collected , processed , and analyzed by dedicated MASINT systems – results in intelligence that detects , tracks , identifies , or describes the signatures ( distinctive characteristics ) of fixed or dynamic target sources . MASINT was recognized as a formal intelligence discipline in 1986 . Another way to describe MASINT is " a ' non - literal ' discipline . It feeds on a target ' s unintended emissive byproducts , the ' trails ' of thermal energy , chemical or radio frequency emission that an object leaves in its wake . These trails form distinct signatures , which can be exploited as reliable discriminators to characterize specific events or disclose hidden targets " . As with many branches of MASINT , specific techniques may overlap with the six major conceptual disciplines of MASINT defined by the Center for MASINT Studies and Research , which divides MASINT into Electro - optical , Nuclear , Geophysical , Radar , Materials , and Radiofrequency disciplines . MASINT collection technologies in this area use radar , lasers , staring arrays in the infrared and visual , to point sensors at the information of interest . As opposed to IMINT , MASINT electro - optical sensors do not create pictures . Instead , they would indicate the coordinates , intensity , and spectral characteristics of a light source , such as a rocket engine , or a missile reentry vehicle . Electro - optical MASINT involves obtaining information from emitted or reflected energy , across the wavelengths of infrared , visible , and ultraviolet light . Electro - optical techniques include measurement of the radiant intensities , dynamic motion , and the materials composition of a target . These measurements put the target in spectral and spatial contexts . Sensors used in electro - optical MASINT include radiometers , spectrometers , non - literal imaging systems , lasers , or laser radar ( LIDAR ) . Observation of foreign missile tests , for example , make extensive use of MASINT along with other disciplines . For example , electro - optical and radar tracking establish trajectory , speed , and other flight characteristics that can be used to validate the TELINT telemetry intelligence being received by SIGINT sensors . Electro - optical sensors , which guide radars , operate on aircraft , ground stations , and ships . Airborne electro - optical missile tracking MASINT . U . S . RC - 135 S COBRA BALL aircraft have MASINT sensors that are " … two linked electro - optical sensors — the Real Time Optics System ( RTOS ) and the Large Aperture Tracker System ( LATS ) . RTOS consists of an array of staring sensors encompassing a wide field of regard for target acquisition . LATS serves as an adjunct tracker . Due to its large aperture , it has significantly greater sensitivity and resolving power than the RTOS , but is otherwise similar . COBRA BALL cues the COBRA DANE ground radar and the COBRA JUDY ship - based radar . See Radar MASINT Tactical counter - artillery sensors . Both electro - optical and radar sensors have been coupled with acoustic sensors in modern counter - artillery systems . Electro - optical sensors are directional and precise , so need to be cued by acoustic or other omnidirectional sensors . The original Canadian sensors , in the First World War , used electro - optical flash as well as geophysical sound sensors . Purple Hawk . Complementing counter - mortar radar is the Israeli Purple Hawk mast - mounted electro - optical sensor , which detects mortars and provides perimeter security . The device , remotely operated via fiber optics or microwave , is intended to have a laser designator . Rocket launch spotter . A newer U . S . system couples an electro - optical and an acoustic system to produce the Rocket Artillery Launch Spotter ( RLS ) . RLS combines components from two existing systems , the Tactical Aircraft Directed Infra - Red Countermeasures ( TADIRCM ) and the UTAMS . The two - color infrared sensors were originally designed to detect surface - to - air missiles for TADIRCM . Other TADIRCM components also have been adapted to RLS , including the computer processors , inertial navigation units ( INU ) , and detection and tracking algorithms . It is an excellent example of automatic cueing of one sensor by another . Depending on the application , the sensitive but less selective sensor is either acoustic or non - imaging electro - optical . The selective sensor is forward looking infrared ( FLIR ) . RLS uses two TADIRCM sensors , an INU , and a smaller field - of - view single - color ( FLIR ) camera on each tower . The INU , which contains a GPS receiver , allows the electro - optical sensors to align to the azimuth and elevation of any detected threat signature . The basic system mode is for rocket detection , since a rocket launch gives a bright flare . In basic operation , RLS has electro - optical systems on three towers , separated by 2 to 3 kilometers , to give omnidirectional coverage . The tower equipment connects to the control stations using a wireless network . When a sensor measures a potential threat , the control station determines if it correlates with another measurement to give a threat signature . When a threat is recognized , RLS triangulates the optical signal and presents the Point of Origin ( POO ) on a map display . The nearest tower FLIR camera then is cued to the threat signature , giving the operator real - time video within 2 seconds of detection . When not in RLS mode , the FLIR cameras are available to the operator as surveillance cameras . Mortar launches do not produce as strong an electro - optical signature as does a rocket , so RLS relies on acoustic signature cueing from an Unattended Transient Acoustic Measurement and Signal Intelligence System ( UTAMS ) . There is an UTAMS array at the top of each of the three RLS towers . The tower heads can be rotated remotely . Each array consists of four microphones and processing equipment . Analyzing the time delays between an acoustic wavefront ' s interaction with each microphone in the array UTAMS provides an azimuth of origin . The azimuth from each tower is reported to the UTAMS processor at the control station , and a POO is triangulated and displayed . The UTAMS subsystem can also detect and locate the point of impact ( POI ) , but , due to the difference between the speeds of sound and light , it may take UTAMS as long as 30 seconds to determine the POO for a rocket launch 13 km away . This means UTAMS may detect a rocket POI prior to the POO , providing very little if any warning time . but the electro - optical component of RLS will detect the rocket POO earlier . Infrared MASINT . While infrared IMINT and MASINT operate in the same wavelengths , MASINT does not " take pictures " in the conventional sense , but it can validate IMINT pictures . Where an " IR IMINT " sensor would take a picture that fills a frame , the " IR MASINT " sensor gives a list , by coordinate , of IR wavelengths and energy . A classic example of validation would be analyzing the detailed optical spectrum of a green area in a photograph : is the green from natural plant life , or is it camouflage paint ? The Army ' s AN / GSQ - 187 Improved Remote Battlefield Sensor System ( I - REMBASS ) contains a Passive Infrared Sensor , DT - 565 / GSQ , which " detects tracked or wheeled vehicles and personnel . It also provides information on which to base a count of objects passing through its detection zone and reports their direction of travel relative to its location . The monitor uses two different [ magnetic and passive infrared ] sensors and their identification codes to determine direction of travel . Shallow - water operations require generalizing IR imaging to include a non - developmental Thermal Imaging Sensor System ( TISS ) to surface ships with a day / night , high - resolution , infrared ( IR ) and visual imaging , and laser range - finder capability to augment existing optical and radar sensors , especially against small boats and floating mines . Similar systems are now available in Army helicopters and armored fighting vehicles . Optical measurement of nuclear explosions . There are several distinctive characteristics , in the range of visible light , from nuclear explosions . One of these is a characteristic " dual flash " measured by a bhangmeter . This went into routine use on the advanced Vela nuclear detection satellites , first launched in 1967 . The earlier Velas only detected X - rays , gamma rays , and neutrons . The bhangmeter technique was used earlier , in 1961 , aboard a modified US KC - 135B aircraft monitoring the preannounced Soviet test of Tsar Bomba , the largest nuclear explosion ever detonated . The US test monitoring , which carried both broadband electromagnetic and optical sensors including a bhangmeter , was named SPEEDLIGHT . As part of Operation BURNING LIGHT , one MASINT system photographed the nuclear clouds of French atmospheric nuclear tests to measure their density and opacity . This operation is borderline with Nuclear MASINT . Bhangmeters on Advanced Vela satellites detected the what is variously called the Vela Incident or South Atlantic Incident , on 22 September 1979 . Different reports have claimed that it was , or was not , a nuclear test , and , if it was , probably involved South Africa and possibly Israel . France and Taiwan have also been suggested . Only one bhangmeter detected the characteristic double - flash , although US Navy hydrophones suggest a low - yield blast . Other sensors were negative or equivocal , and no definitive explanation has yet been made public . Schlieren Photography . Schlieren Photography can be used to detect Stealth aircraft , UAV , and missile flights even after engine cutoff . Schlieren analysis is based on the principle that any disturbances to the surrounding air may be detected ( the Schlieren effect ) , like the shadow cast by the sun through the steam and hot air from a hot coffee , or even the Mirage wave effect caused by the hot air on pavement on a summer day . It is essentially the reverse of Adaptive optics , rather than minimizing the effect of atmospheric disturbance , Schlieren detection capitalizes on that effect . This form of MASINT is both Optical and Geophysical because of the Optical detection of a Geophysical ( Atmospheric ) effect . Schlieren photography may be used to provide an early warning of an imminent threat or impending attack , and if sufficiently advanced , may be used in the elimination of stealth targets . Laser MASINT . This discipline includes both measuring the performance of lasers of interest , and using lasers as part of MASINT sensors . With respect to foreign lasers , focus of the collection is on laser detection , laser threat warning , and precise measurement of the frequencies , power levels , wave propagation , determination of power source , and other technical and operating characteristics associated with laser systems strategic and tactical weapons , range finders , and illuminators . In addition to passive measurements of other lasers , the MASINT system can use active lasers ( LIDAR ) for distance measurements , but also for destructive remote sensing that provides energized material for spectroscopy . Close - in lasers could do chemical ( i . e . , materials MASINT ) analysis of samples vaporized by lasers . Laser systems are largely at a proof of concept level . One promising area is a synthetic imaging system that would be able to create images through forest canopy , but the current capability is much less than existing SAR or EO systems . A more promising approach would image through obscurations such as dust , cloud , and haze , particularly in urban environments . The laser illuminator would send a pulse , and the receiver would capture only the first photons to return , minimizing scattering and blooming . Use of LIDAR for precision elevation and mapping is much closer , and again chiefly in urban situations . Spectroscopic MASINT . Spectroscopy can be applied either to targets that are already excited , such as an engine exhaust , or stimulated with a laser or other energy source . It is not an imaging technique , although it can be used to extract greater information from images . Where an " IMINT " sensor would take a picture that fills a frame , the " Spectroscopic MASINT " sensor gives a list , by coordinate , of wavelengths and energy . Multispectral IMINT is likely to discriminate more wavelengths , especially if it extends into the IR or UV , than a human being , even with an excellent color sense , could discriminate . The results plot energy versus frequency . A spectral plot represents radiant intensity versus wavelength at an instant in time . The number of spectral bands in a sensor system determines the amount of detail that can be obtained about the source of the object being viewed . Sensor systems range from More bands provide more discrete information , or greater resolution . The characteristic emission and absorption spectra serve to fingerprint or define the makeup of the feature that was observed . A radiometric plot represents the radiant intensity versus time ; there can be plots at multiple bands or wavelengths . For each point along a time - intensity radiometric plot , a spectral plot can be generated based on the number of spectral bands in the collector , such as the radiant intensity plot of a missile exhaust plume as the missile is in flight . The intensity or brightness of the object is a function of several conditions including its temperature , surface properties or material , and how fast it is moving . Remember that additional , non - electro - optical sensors , such as ionizing radiation detectors , can correlate with these bands . Advancing optical spectroscopy was identified as a high priority by a National Science Foundation workshop in supporting counterterrorism and general intelligence community needs . These needs were seen as most critical in the WMD context . The highest priority was increasing the sensitivity of spectroscopic scanners , since , if an attack has not actually taken place , the threat needs to be analyzed remotely . In the real world of attempting early warning , expecting to get a signature of something , which is clearly a weapon , is unrealistic . Consider that the worst chemical poisoning in history was an industrial accident , the Bhopal disaster . The participants suggested that the " intelligence community must exploit signatures of feedstock materials , precursors , by - products of testing or production , and other inadvertent or unavoidable signatures . " False positives are inevitable , and other techniques need to screen them out . Second to detectability , as a priority was rejecting noise and background . It is especially difficult for biowarfare agents , which are the greatest WMD challenge to detect by remote sensing rather than laboratory analysis of a sample . Methods may need to depend on signal enhancement , by clandestine dispersion of reagents in the area of interest , which variously could emit or absorb particular spectra . Fluorescent reactions are well known in the laboratory ; could they be done remotely and secretly ? Other approaches could pump the sample with an appropriately tuned laser , perhaps at several wavelengths . The participants stressed that the need to miniaturize sensors , which might enter the area in question using unmanned sensors , including miniaturized aerial , surface , and even subsurface vehicles . Electro - optical spectroscopy is one means of chemical detection , especially using non - dispersive infrared spectroscopy is one MASINT technology that lends itself to early warning of deliberate or actual releases . In general , however , chemical sensors tend to use a combination of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry , which are more associated with materials MASINT . See Chemical Warfare and Improvised Chemical Devices . Laser excitation with multispectral return analysis is a promising chemical and possibly biological analysis method . Multispectral MASINT . SYERS 2 , on the high - altitude U - 2 reconnaissance aircraft , is the only operational airborne military multi - spectral sensor , providing 7 bands of visual and infrared imagery at high resolution . Hyperspectral MASINT . Hyperspectral MASINT involves the synthesis of images as seen by visible and near infrared light . US MASINT in this area is coordinated by the Hyperspectral MASINT Support to Military Operations ( HYMSMO ) project . This MASINT technology differs from IMINT in that it attempts to understand the physical characteristics of what is seen , not just what it looks like . Hyperspectral imaging typically needs multiple imaging modalities d , such as whiskbroom , pushbroom , tomographic , intelligent filters , and time series . Design issues . Some of the major issues in visible and infrared hyperspectral processing include atmospheric correction , for the visible and short wave infrared . ( 0 . 4 – 2 . 5 micrometer ) dictate sensor radiances need to be converted to surface reflectances . This dictates a need for measuring , and connecting for : Hyperspectral , as opposed to multispectral , processing gives the potential of improved spectral signature measurement from airborne and spaceborne sensor platforms . Sensors on these platforms , however , must compensate for atmospheric effects . Such compensation is easiest with high contrast targets sensed through well - behaved atmosphere with even , reliable illumination , the real world will not always be so cooperative . For more complicated situations , one can not simply compensate for the atmospheric and illumination conditions by taking them out . The Invariant Algorithm for target detection was designed to find many possible combinations of these conditions for the image . Sensors . Multiple organizations , with several reference sensors , are collecting libraries of hyperspectral signatures , starting with undisturbed areas such as deserts , forests , cities , etc . Signature libraries . Under the HYMSMO program , there have been a number of studies to build hyperspectral imaging signatures in various kinds of terrain . Signatures of undisturbed forest , desert , island and urban areas are being recorded with sensors including COMPASS , HYDICE and SPIRITT . Many of these areas are also being analyzed with complementary sensors including synthetic aperture radar ( SAR ) . A representative test range , with and without buried metal , is the Steel Crater Test Area at the Yuma Proving Grounds . This was developedfor radar measurements , but is comparable to other signature development areas for other sensors and may be used for hyperspectral sensing of buried objects . Applications . In applications of intelligence interest , the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory ( JHU / APL ) has demonstrated that hyperspectral sensing allows discrimination of refined signatures , based on a large number of narrow frequency bands across a wide spectrum . These techniques can identify include military vehicle paints , characteristic of particular countries ' signatures . They can differentiate camouflage from real vegetation . By detecting disturbances in earth , they can detect a wide variety of both excavation and buried materials . Roads and surfaces that have been lightly or heavily trafficked will produce different measurements than the reference signatures . It can detect specific types of foliage supporting drug - crop identification ; disturbed soil supporting the identification of mass graves , minefields , caches , underground facilities or cut foliage ; and variances in soil , foliage , and hydrologic features often supporting NBC contaminant detection . This was done previously with false - color infrared photographic film , but electronics are faster and more flexible . Minefield detection . JHU / APL target - detection algorithms have been applied to the Army Wide Area Airborne Minefield Detection ( WAAMD ) program ' s desert and forest . By using the COMPASS and AHI hyperspectral sensors , robust detection of both surface and buried minefields is achieved with very low false alarm rates . Underground construction . Hyperspectral imaging can detect disturbed earth and foliage . In concert with other methods such as coherent change detection radar , which can precisely measure changes in the height of the ground surface . Together , these can detect underground construction . While still at a research level , Gravitimetric MASINT can , with these other MASINT sensors , give precise location information for deeply buried command centers , WMD facilities , and other critical target . It remains a truism that once a target can be located , it can be killed . " Bunker - buster " nuclear weapons are not needed when multiple precision guided bombs can successively deepen a hole until the no - longer - protected structure is reached . Urban spectral target detection . Using data collected over US cities by the Army COMPASS and Air Force SPIRITT sensors , JHU / APL target detection algorithms are being applied to urban hyperspectral signatures . The ability to robustly detect unique spectral targets in urban areas denied for ground inspection , with limited ancillary information will assist in the development and deployment of future operational hyperspectral systems overseas . Mass graves . Peace operations and war crimes investigation may require the detection of often - clandestine mass graves . Clandestinity makes it difficult to get witness testimony , or use technologies that require direct access to the suspected grave site ( e . g . , ground penetrating radar ) . Hyperspectral imaging from aircraft or satellites can provide remotely sensed reflectance spectra to help detect such graves . Imaging of an experimental mass grave and a real - world mass grave show that hyperspectral remote imaging is a powerful method for finding mass graves in real time , or , in some cases , retrospectively . Ground order - of - battle target detection . JHU / APL target detection algorithms have been applied to the HYMSMO desert and forest libraries , and can reveal camouflage , concealment and deception protecting ground miitary equipment . Other algorithms have been demonstrated , using HYDICE data , that they can identify lines of communication based on the disturbance of roads and other ground surfaces . Biomass estimation . Knowing the fractions of vegetation and soil is of helps estimate the biomass . Biomass is not extremely important for military operations , but gives information for national - level economic and environmental intelligence . Detailed hyperspectral imagery such as the leaf chemical content ( nitrogen , proteins , lignin and water ) can be relevant to counterdrug surveillance . Space - based staring infrared sensors . The US , in 1970 , launched the first of a series of space - based staring array sensors that detected and located infrared heat signatures , typically from rocket motors but also from other intense heat sources . Such signatures , which are associated with measurement of energy and location , are not pictures in the IMINT sense . Currently called the Satellite Early Warning System ( SEWS ) , the program is the descendant of several generations of Defense Support Program ( DSP ) spacecraft . The USSR / Russia n US - KMO spacecraft has been described , by US sources , as having similar capabilities to DSP . Originally intended to detect the intense heat of an ICBM launch , this system proved useful at a theater level in 1990 - 1991 . It detected the launch of Iraqi Scud missiles in time to give early warning to potential targets . Shallow water operations . Several new technologies will be needed for shallow - water naval operations . Since acoustic sensors ( i . e . , passive hydrophones and active sonar ) perform less effectively in shallow waters than in the open seas , there is a strong pressure to develop additional sensors . One family of techniques , which will require electro - optical sensors to detect , is bioluminescence : light generated by the movement of a vessel through plankton and other marine life . Another family , which may be solved with electro - optical methods , radar , or a combination , is detecting wakes of surface vessels , as well as effects on the water surface caused by underwater vessels and weapons .