The latest iteration of the annual Defence Geospatial Intelligence (DGI) conference concluded yesterady, leaving delegates safe in the knowledge that GEOINT will remain a critical element in future military operations.
The event closed with Chief of the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence Capabilities and Integration at the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Shawn Stith describing how the GEOINT sector at large had changed immensely over recent years.
Referring to updated data collectors, extended ranges and improved technology, Stith described how end-user awareness and expectations of GEOINT capabilities had increased, with standard operating procedures now common across international and coalition partners. However, there is room for further improvement, he urged.
“I’ve seen this complexity grow from the time I first entered the US Marine Corp in the 1970s where GEOINT involved manual processing and was labour intensive using equipment manufactured in the 1880s. A technological explosion has changed this and over the next few years, technology will continue to advance with the integration of all different assets to take advantage of all the capabilities that are in the offering,” Stith explained while highlighting the importance of plug-and-play technology which could be incorporated into existing architectures.
Described as a US “framework” for GEOINT, the NGA comprises 30 organisations from across the government, including the Department of Defense, intelligence community and a variety of civil organisations and agencies.
“NGA relies on technological capabilities from collection to sharing enterprise, policies and procedures to allow that whole enterprise to work holistically,” he continued.
Many delegates echoed the same sentiments as they predicted how best GEOINT should progress into the future, with the UK’s director of Cyber Intelligence and Information Integration (DCI3), Air Vice Marshal Jon Rigby, asserting how the UK Ministry of Defence should “mirror” the US and NGA’s approach.
However, Stith warned: “These requirements are expanding at a time of more constrained, if not decreasing, resources across the enterprise. There has been greater awareness of capabilities, expectations of timelines and access to [GEOINT] by end users and expectations of greater accuracy of data. “Add to this, expectations that data will be integrated with other forms of data and intelligence in order to support other products, and it means all those technological advances have increased the expectation of the end user community who want it all available instantly.”
Highlighting the utility of GEOINT information during operations over the past year in Syria and Ukraine, Stith said: “These things come out of the blue. We know we are going to work in a collaborative environment but how do we prepare for that? How do we set up the collaborative mechanisms beforehand so we can build GEOINT capabilities in a timely fashion. We need to understand how labour intensive some of that initial coordination can be.”
Finally, Stith warned that policy aspects of generating a mature GEOINT capability, were arguably some of the most daunting challenges to be overcome. “We will see cooperation desired at an operational level and yet policy issues and restrictions presented by national Capitals will set the framework for what can be done and can be achievable in the near term."
"I would encourage open dialogue as early as possible. Frameworks and agreements take time to establish and require additional approvals from national governments,” he concluded.
The event closed with Chief of the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence Capabilities and Integration at the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Shawn Stith describing how the GEOINT sector at large had changed immensely over recent years.
Referring to updated data collectors, extended ranges and improved technology, Stith described how end-user awareness and expectations of GEOINT capabilities had increased, with standard operating procedures now common across international and coalition partners. However, there is room for further improvement, he urged.
“I’ve seen this complexity grow from the time I first entered the US Marine Corp in the 1970s where GEOINT involved manual processing and was labour intensive using equipment manufactured in the 1880s. A technological explosion has changed this and over the next few years, technology will continue to advance with the integration of all different assets to take advantage of all the capabilities that are in the offering,” Stith explained while highlighting the importance of plug-and-play technology which could be incorporated into existing architectures.
Described as a US “framework” for GEOINT, the NGA comprises 30 organisations from across the government, including the Department of Defense, intelligence community and a variety of civil organisations and agencies.
“NGA relies on technological capabilities from collection to sharing enterprise, policies and procedures to allow that whole enterprise to work holistically,” he continued.
Many delegates echoed the same sentiments as they predicted how best GEOINT should progress into the future, with the UK’s director of Cyber Intelligence and Information Integration (DCI3), Air Vice Marshal Jon Rigby, asserting how the UK Ministry of Defence should “mirror” the US and NGA’s approach.
However, Stith warned: “These requirements are expanding at a time of more constrained, if not decreasing, resources across the enterprise. There has been greater awareness of capabilities, expectations of timelines and access to [GEOINT] by end users and expectations of greater accuracy of data. “Add to this, expectations that data will be integrated with other forms of data and intelligence in order to support other products, and it means all those technological advances have increased the expectation of the end user community who want it all available instantly.”
Highlighting the utility of GEOINT information during operations over the past year in Syria and Ukraine, Stith said: “These things come out of the blue. We know we are going to work in a collaborative environment but how do we prepare for that? How do we set up the collaborative mechanisms beforehand so we can build GEOINT capabilities in a timely fashion. We need to understand how labour intensive some of that initial coordination can be.”
Finally, Stith warned that policy aspects of generating a mature GEOINT capability, were arguably some of the most daunting challenges to be overcome. “We will see cooperation desired at an operational level and yet policy issues and restrictions presented by national Capitals will set the framework for what can be done and can be achievable in the near term."
"I would encourage open dialogue as early as possible. Frameworks and agreements take time to establish and require additional approvals from national governments,” he concluded.
Andrew White
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