NGA

After Sandy, Intelligence Agencies Scramble To Feed Maps, Data To Rescuers

By


WASHINGTON: 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 them, some of them have gotten the rare and welcome chance to help their countrymen at home several times since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. Keep reading →

Published October 30, 2012 at 4:00 PM

The Air Force Needs More Dough; Make Up $30B That Goes To Intel Agencies

By


The 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 in a time of shrinking resources.

Our adherence to the idea of a joint force has led to a roughly equal cut of spending among the services. This is not the optimum allocation of scarce resources in coming years if our national strategy is to maintain global presence and communications, as well as to fight cost-effectively and be capable of defeating modernized militaries. Keep reading →

Published October 17, 2012 at 6:00 AM

‘Concerns’ Raised About Commercial Spy Satellite Merger, But No Showstoppers: NGA Director Long

By

ORLANDO: (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 been considered by the government as it mulls the merger of America’s only two companies that make and operate spy eyes in the sky. She said Michael Vickers, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for intelligence, and Jim Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, had ordered a study. It raised “concerns” – but no showstoppers – about some of the subcontractors who serve the two companies. Several of them are single-source companies, meaning they are the only ones who provide certain services, software or parts. Keep reading →

Published October 9, 2012 at 7:28 PM

Army Launches App Store For INSCOM, NGA

By


At heart of the new Army program is an online applications development technology, designed by Raytheon, called Appsmart.

Published September 27, 2012 at 12:35 PM

White House To Reconsider Commercial Space Imagery Policy

By


NEAR 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 government sources familiar with the effort were careful to point out that while the policy would certainly be reviewed there was no firm commitment to change the existing policy. Keep reading →

Published June 4, 2012 at 5:09 PM

GeoEye Plans DigitalGlobe Purchase; USDI Confirms Imagery Budget Cuts

By


WASHINGTON: The commercial imagery company, GeoEye, has made its play to buy competitor DigitalGlobe.

UPDATED: DigitalGlobe Rejects GeoEye Bid (Monday 10 a.m.) Keep reading →

Published May 4, 2012 at 10:08 AM

Intel Agencies Scramble to Aid Irene Response, Cleanup: EXCLUSIVE

By


Washington: They spend most of their time analyzing maps for buried bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq or looking at what turned out to Osama bin Laden’s last residence, but intelligence analysts sometimes help out on the home front as well.

As Hurricane Irene sends the East Coast scrambling to find shelter, clear out its drains and to endlessly watch the Weather Channel, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency has readied special teams and vehicles called DMIGS to plan for and assist after the storm rolls north. Keep reading →

Published August 26, 2011 at 5:29 PM