More than a dozen sources tell Breaking Defense that tensions between the NGA and Space Force are rising on commercial ISR, with White House officials watching closely.
By Theresa HitchensGA-ASI’s MQ-9B: The right UAV for persistence, power, and performance
When assessing the state of the art of unmanned aerial systems, it’s critical to be very clear about what various aircraft can and can’t do – and could never do.
The executive branch is “still talking through exactly what the scope and scale” of any new NRO program would be, but the “intent” is to “more cost effectively leverage” commercial capabilities “over the longer term,” said NRO’s head of commercial programs Pete Muend.
By Theresa Hitchens
“Approximately 90 [percent] of our foundational data is unclassified, which helps us share products more broadly with partners and allies across the globe,” a spokesperson for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency told Breaking Defense.
By Theresa Hitchens
NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth also gave an update on Project Maven and how NGA is working to incorporate artificial intelligence, responsibly, to sift through mountains of data.
By Jaspreet Gill
“We’ve hit our milestones and you’ll start seeing as we look to the next few months a lot more activity from the Maven office in terms of contracting,” Rachel Martin said.
By Jaspreet Gill
One of the questions the Army’s ISR Task Force is grappling with regard to sensing is how best to “leverage the vast proliferation of commercial satellite providers,” said task force director Andrew Evans.
By Theresa Hitchens
When it comes to leveraging commercial space tech, one analyst said, “The old adage holds — show me your budget and I’ll show you your priorities.”
By Theresa Hitchens
ROC-X – The solution to organic precision strike capabilities
At AUSA Global Force 2024, IAI will present integrated, AI-driven combat systems – both manned and unmanned – that are opening new opportunities on the battlefield.
China’s “space weaponry” arsenal “includes missiles that launch from the Earth that go up and destroy satellites, it includes lasers, it includes jammers, it includes a whole magazine of diversity for that,” a top Space Force officer said.
By Theresa Hitchens
The National Reconnaissance Office has “grown and evolved and recognized, just as well as we have, that they have responsibilities that are not traditional” with regard to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance from satellites, said Space Force vice chief Gen. DT Thompson.
By Theresa Hitchens
“The bottom line here is that under NGA’s watch, Maven… has made some of its most significant technological strides and has already contributed to some of our nation’s most important operations,” Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth said.
By Jaspreet Gill “And make no mistake, distinguishing friendly from unfriendly behavior and space has become particularly important to us,” NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth told the GEOINT 2023 conference today.
By Theresa Hitchens
While there is no formal agreement, NRO and the Space Force have reached an informal accord to each use commercial imagery the other has acquired, and are in discussions about a potential DoD-IC “marketplace” to ease sharing.
By Theresa Hitchens
Project Maven, the Pentagon’s flagship AI program established in 2017, was shifted to the NGA last year.
By Jaspreet Gill
Under the deal, Maxar will be able to expand its SAR data offerings to international customers, and Umbra will get global eyes on its products, company officials told Breaking Defense.
By Theresa Hitchens
