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Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) provides intelligence about activity on Earth, through the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information that describes, assesses, and visually depicts physical features and geographically referenced activities on Earth.
Geospatial intelligence and related tradecraft were traditionally confined to the United States government and related military powers. The term and its related functions were created by an agency within the US government in 2005 for defense analytics, geospatial intelligence, and government data analytics. The features and responsibilities of GEOINT are contained within the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a department within the United States Department of Defense.
In a 2005 memo, Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper, then director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, defined GEOINT:
GEOINT encompasses all aspects of imagery and geospatial information and services. It includes, but is not limited to, the analysis of literal imagery; geospatial data; and information technically derived from the processing, exploitation, literal, and non-literal analysis of spectral, spatial, and temporal fused products. These types of data can be collected on stationary and moving targets by electro-optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), related sensor programs, and non-technical means (to include geospatial information acquired by personnel in the field).
GEOINT has played a role in military operations and the broader context of human security operations for decades. This includes providing intelligence used in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and helping facilitate negotiations that ended the Bosnian War in 1992.
GEOINT has since grown out of its uses in military-specific applications and expanded to the academic and commercial worlds. With this expansion has also come an evolution of new technologies and product packages to develop the applications possible of GEOINT.
New applications of GEOINT based on technology
GEOINT products have been used for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. Whether derived from satellite, aircraft, uncrewed aerial vehicles, or ground views, imagery offers event confirmation and impact, early assessment, and a foundation on which to initiate response planning. These actions can include using GEOINT to help understand how a refugee camp is operating and to monitor the situation and better deliver humanitarian assistance, as well as collect information such as number for refugees, their provenance, the presence of any paramilitary activity, and the possibility of attacks.
GEOINT and related products are used on a wide range of topics relevant for general crime and international security issues, including border control, terrorism, piracy, illegal cropping, or cross-border state disputes. This can include treaty verification as GEOINT offers a non-intrusive means of treaty monitoring and a way of avoiding on-ground dangerous situations. In a case such as piracy and coastal analysis, GEOINT can track piracy events for off-shore vessel activity and the analysis of inland pirate infrastructure in order to deter, prevent, or repress acts of piracy on shipping vessels.
GEOINT can be used to monitor at-risk elements, such as dams, water treatment facilities, oil fields, pipelines, pumping stations, airports, highways, and governmental buildings. At-risk elements can include systems and assets, either physical or virtual, that the destruction of would have a negative impact on security, health, or safety of a nation or group of nations. GEOINT systems can follow possible threats, whether natural or human-induced, and offer mapping in order to provide new perspectives for risk management and decision-making. GEOINT can also offer threat analysis and vulnerability analysis at sites. Whether the threats are natural or human, GEOINT can provide context and data in order to help protect against threats of vulnerabilities or provide a vulnerability scale in order to understand possible vulnerable infrastructure points.
Contingency planning can contain procedures and specifics for actions and for controls for sudden and unforeseen situations. The goal of contingency planning is to diminish the probability of consequences of emergencies through prevention of fatalities or injuries, reduction of damage to infrastructure, and increased resumption of normal operations. For these operations, GEOINT can make a full description of the vulnerable areas, assess potential extension of a disaster, and evaluate the necessary measures that can mitigate or neutralize the restrictions to normal emergency procedures.
With GEOINT's beginnings in military operations, the use cases for military capabilities of GEOINT are wide and varied. These can include remote sensing for military analysis, such as the assessment of military capabilities, punctual analysis of deployed forces, and the assessment of military infrastructure—such as military camps, airfields, naval bases, and missile sites. This can also be extended to elements related to paramilitary activity. GEOINT can also be used during conflict for battle damage assessment, in order to understand the physical and functional damage of an attack and the possible impact on civilian casualties versus the impact on urban guerilla fighters. GEOINT can also be utilized in conjunction with radar imagery in order to monitor night-time activity and reduce the possibility of surprise attacks.
