Geo-Spatial Intelligence
The capabilities of GEOINT are wide ranging, allowing various objectives to be secured no matter what the area of interest is. This is what makes GEOINT such an attractive new enterprise for our nation’s government, having the ability to conduct various intelligence gathering operations to gather all different types of information. The main reason for the above described advantages of incorporating geo-spatial intelligence operations is due to the fact that there are so many different types of products that can be produced in order to achieve the desired outcome set forth by officials employing this tact. The following section is going to address some of the major products and analysis that are produced as a result of the technology used during the GEOINT process.
GEOINT APPLICATIONS
Still Imagery
This is the most basic form of analysis that can be conducted for the purposes of intelligence gathering. With that being said, the term basic does not refer to how simple the process is, it just simply intends to describe how the final product is just a still image or map. The imagery created in this form is developed as a result of the process described earlier, through the use of the energy emitted from the sun towards the earth. There are various types of images that can be produced that all offer different types of advantages in regards to seeing specific phenomena occurring on our planet’s surface. For example, we know that panchromatic imagery can be formed suing the visible light portion of the spectrum; this is typically what is used to produce a true image of an area. Another major type of still imagery that is produced comes from the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared imagery allows those analyzing the data to quickly focus on heat signatures found on a specific landscape. This type of imagery has become a mainstay for operations conducted against enemies of our nation in hostile environments. Multi-Spectral imagery is a form of remote sensing incorporated by intelligence gathering in which they use more than one energy band, allowing for more than one phenomenon to be detected in the imagery. Ultimately, regardless of the type it is, still imagery has been a vital aspect of the intelligence gathering community, and as technology becomes more innovative, the quality and detail of the images increase as well.
Image provided by http://www.imagingnotes.com/ee_assets/Fig1_Iraqi_GEOINT.jpg
Motion Imagery
Motion imagery has also become a crucial aspect of the capabilities GEOINT operations can have when dealing with crisis across the world. With the innovations surrounding the predator drone, there has been a huge increase in the amount of real time motion imagery being recorded for the purpose of intelligence gathering. Typically, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can record real time video in a variety of ways, including the use of the visible, infrared, and radar wave bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Having the ability to place these type of sensors into platforms that can hover and stay over areas of interest has become a crucial tactic for the intelligence gathering community, because it allows for hostile situations to be monitored through the use of real time video feeds. Just as stated before, with the incorporation of the UAV’s, the task of acquiring data over these specified areas has become a lot more safe for the human pilot, considering it does not require the use of a pilot since the drones do not need to be manually piloted from the cockpit. As stated in the doctrine written by the office of geo-spatial intelligence, motion imagery can be used to track moving targets, new emerging targets, as well as targets that could be shifting their position (NGA, 2014). Another important factor regarding the acquisition of motion imagery that is worth noting, with recent innovations in technology, it has become easily accessible to deploy to events occurring around the world in a very fast manner. Knowing that now a days, things can happen in an instant, it is no surprise that the incorporation of the UAV and motion imagery technology to analyze and maintain a watchful eye over hostile environments.
Active Sensing Technology
As described earlier, when dealing with remote sensing, GEOINT analysts have the luxury of being able to choose between using passive and active sensors. The above described technology was all typically passive sensing systems, but various agencies also find use for active sensing systems for a variety of reasons. To begin, it is worth listing some of the various active sensing technology that departments have at their disposal, most notably including the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems. Both of these offer various types of analysis including target detection and the characterization of the earth’s surface in an undefined area (NGA, 2014). But, one of the most important reasons as to why the above described active systems have become a staple point in many GEOINT operations is the fact that since they are active, they can typically work in any type of environment, regardless of the suns illumination. Not only this, but the above described systems also work when there is thick cloud cover spread across our atmosphere or not so friendly weather conditions forming over the target area. Having the ability to be able to still record data on the spot, rather than having to wait for the storm to pass is invaluable in regards to the successful implementation of geo-spatial intelligence.
Image provided by http://www.coptercraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/lidar_mapping.jpg
GEOINT Capabilities (NGA, 2014)
The following is a list describing a few of the many capabilities that GEOINT systems offer to any agency wishing to employ its strategy.
-
Surveillance – provides accurate Intel on a specified target during any given time period.
-
Common Operational Pictures – Data collected regarding the terrain of the target area.
-
Mission Visualization – creates a 4 dimensional model of the mission area.
-
GPS – Global Position System
-
Targeting – assures precision in targeting as well as battle field assessments.