UPDATED: SMC Clarifies That Certification Is Not Indefinite. PENTAGON: Word from the Air Force is that SpaceX “remains certified” to launch the nation’s most expensive and heaviest intelligence and Air Force satellites. It took a few days, which is not surprising how politically and legally sensitive everything involving Elon Musk and SpaceX national security launch certification…
By Colin ClarkModernizing military simulation with open systems architecture
Best-of-breed common models and architecture enable virtual training and testing with the same data in a cyber-resilient posture.
NGA HEADQUARTERS: It’s not often defense reporters listen to a beautifully restrained brass quintet while working. But Tish Long, the outgoing director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, brought that kind of glamor to the increasingly crucial NGA, so we did get to listen to a unique and pleasing rendition of God Bless America, among other…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: How well did the American Intelligence Community do in its most fundamental job: providing strategic warning of war and major strategic events to the president when it came to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ISIL’s invasion of Iraq? The heads of the Central Intelligence, Defense Intelligence, National Geospatial Intelligence and National Security agencies claimed today…
By Colin Clark
UPDATED: With DNI Clapper’s Comments WASHINGTON: Robert Cardillo, the man who has organized President Obama’s daily intelligence briefing and brought the first tablet to the White House for a president to see intelligence product firsthand, will be named the new director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Cardillo, the current Deputy Director of National Intelligence for…
By Colin Clark
TAMPA: It’s the stuff of science fiction: intelligence analysts hands spinning a shimmering virtual globe and pulling strands of complex streams of data over it to build a three-dimensional planning model which they can share with soldiers on the battlefield. It’s clear the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is nowhere near deploying such capabilities, but its…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: Australia used both black and white and multispectral satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe satellites shot on March 16 to search for the purported wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. A source familiar with the issues said DigitalGlobe supplied several types of imagery other than the black and white satellite photos. The Australians used multispectral but…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: Positing the future of intelligence — even for one year — poses unique challenges. First, there’s so much those of on the outside don’t know. Then there’s the simple truth that our enemies and competitors drive so much of intelligence. Since we can’t know with certainty what will happen, it’s difficult to predict what the intelligence…
By Colin Clark
How to ensure readiness of next-generation defense technology: Solving the issue of massive heat.
High-performance systems generate tremendous amounts of heat that can compromise missions and make high-tech systems less effective in tactical environments. But there is a solution to this modern-age challenge.
UPDATED: NGA RESPONDS WASHINGTON: It’s not a lot of money in the Pentagon’s scheme of things, but the Defense Department’s Inspector General has found that the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) wasted millions because it did not close a rented building and made improvements to a building when it was supposed to leave the facility.…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: As FEMA, firemen, police and the National Guard wade into the devastation visited upon us by Hurricane Sandy, many of them are using maps and other information made available to them by intelligence agencies. While intelligence analysts and their technical specialists usually spend their time targeting bad guys and helping troops plan to get…
By Colin ClarkThe Air Force provides the essential capabilities that make America’s joint operations possible and has been involved in nearly every military operation overseas since 1991. As the Pentagon delves into the details of the 2014 budget, getting the Air Force budget right is critical to ensure that the nation can count on its indispensable role…
By Michael AuslinORLANDO: (Story Delayed Due to Software Problems) A study by the intelligence community raised industrial base “concerns” about the merger between commercial spy satellite companies GeoEye and DigitalGlobe but found no showstoppers. That’s the word from Letitia Long, director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). I asked Long today if industrial base issues had…
By Colin ClarkAt heart of the new Army program is an online applications development technology, designed by Raytheon, called Appsmart.
By Colin ClarkNEAR CHANTILLY, VA.: The White House plans to reconsider the existing policy governing the use of commercial imagery by the Pentagon and the intelligence community, raising even more questions about the direction of the commercial imagery market. The head of space policy at the National Security Council, Chirag Parikh, is reportedly leading the effort. Several…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: The commercial imagery company, GeoEye, has made its play to buy competitor DigitalGlobe. UPDATED: DigitalGlobe Rejects GeoEye Bid (Monday 10 a.m.) The two companies built and operate satellites that provide unclassified overhead imagery used extensively by allies and the intelligence community. The companies had to act, faced as they are with deep cuts to…
By Colin Clark
