Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency

Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency emblem
Active	June 8, 2007
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Field Operating Agency
Role	Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance
Part of	United States Air Force
Garrison/HQ	Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
Motto	Freedom Through Vigilance
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Bradley Heithold[1]

The AF ISR Agency, headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, was activated June 8, 2007. ^[2] Formerly known as the Air Intelligence Agency, the Air Force ISR Agency reports to the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance as a field operating agency. The United States Department of Defense defines ISR as:

An activity that synchronizes and integrates the planning and operation of sensors, assets, and processing, exploitation, and dissemination systems in direct support of current and future operations. This is an integrated intelligence and operations function.^[3]

The agency organizes, trains, equips and presents assigned forces and capabilities to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for combatant commanders and the nation. It also implements and oversees the execution of Air Force policies intended to expand ISR capabilities.

The agency's 17,000 people serve at about 65 locations worldwide.

Organization

The agency oversees the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Technical Applications Center and the 361st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group. The agency also manages missions and provides support for specific signals intelligence operations within Twenty-Fourth Air Force, Twelfth Air Force's 55th Wing and 22 Air National Guard units. The support includes organizing, training and equipping the cryptologic elements of these organizations.

Air Force ISR Agency Major Units

National Air and Space Intelligence Center

The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the U.S. military's primary producer of intelligence on foreign air and space forces, weapons and systems. NASIC works to determine their performance characteristics, capabilities, vulnerabilities and intentions. NASIC assessments often shape national security and defense policies. As the Defense Department's experts on foreign aerospace system capabilities, the center also supports weapons treaty negotiations and verification. Since 1961, the center's mission and resources have expanded to meet worldwide technological developments and the national need for aerospace intelligence.^[4] In recent years, the emphasis has shifted toward evaluating worldwide aerospace systems and producing products tailored for specific customers. Further NASIC provides multidiscipline forensic intelligence products directly to ground units to enhance their battlespace awareness.

The Defense Intelligence Space Threat Committee has been established under NASIC, and coordinates "a wide variety of complex space/counterspace analytical activities."^[5]

Air Force Technical Applications Center

The Air Force Technical Applications Center, headquartered at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., monitors nuclear treaty compliance and develops proliferation monitoring technologies. AFTAC operates and maintains a global network of nuclear event detection sensors called the U.S. Atomic Energy Detection System. Once the USAEDS senses a disturbance underground, underwater, in the atmosphere or in space, the event is analyzed for nuclear identification and findings are reported to U.S. national command authorities through the U.S. Air Force.^[6]

70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing

The 70th ISR Wing, headquartered at Fort Meade, Md., integrates Air Force capabilities into global cryptologic operations, directly supporting national-level decision makers, combatant commanders and tactical warfighters. Activated Aug. 16, 2000, the wing works closely with the National Security Agency, drawing upon its worldwide signals intelligence efforts to gather useful information for joint and Air Force operations. The wing includes six operational intelligence groups in the U.S., Pacific and European theaters.

480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing

With headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va., the 480th ISR Wing operates the AN/GSQ-272 Sentinel ISR Weapon System also known as the Air Force 'Distributed Common Ground System' (DCGS). The wing produces and provides timely, tailored intelligence data and capabilities to meet Air Force needs. As a force multiplier, the wing delivers valuable information to U.S. combatants across the globe. The wing performs imagery intelligence, cryptologic and measurement and signatures intelligence activities, targeting and general intelligence production, intelligence data handling system network operations, and data/product dissemination. Subordinate to the wing are six intelligence groups located around the world from South Korea to Germany. The wing was activated December 1, 2003.

Supported Units

Twenty-Fourth Air Force

Headquartered at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, the 24 AF activated Aug. 18, 2009, to establish, operate, maintain and defend Air Force networks and to ensure warfighters can maintain the information advantage. The unit reports to Air Force Space Command.

9th Reconnaissance Wing

Headquartered at Beale Air Force Base, Cal, the 9th Reconnaissance Wing mission is to organize, train and equip U-2R Dragonlady and RQ-4 Global Hawk combat elements for peacetime intelligence gathering, contingency operations, conventional war fighting and Emergency War Order support.

55th Wing

With headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the 55th Wing conducts worldwide reconnaissance; command, control and communications; presidential support and international treaty verification as directed by the president, secretary of defense, joint chiefs of staff, theater combatant commanders, commanders of major Air Force commands and national intelligence agencies.

432d Wing

The 432d Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command, stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. The group operates unmanned reconnaissance aircraft which provide real-time reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision attack against fixed and time-critical targets.

References

1. ^ AFLink:"Heithold assumes command of Air Force ISR Agency"
2. ^ "Air Force aligns Air Intelligence Agency", U.S. Air Force Print News Today, 6/12/2007, Release Number: 010507, http://www.afisr.af.mil/news/story.asp?issn=123056796 ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ US Department of Defense (12 July 2007), Joint Publication 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ [NASIC_history.pdf "Providing Invaluable Intelligence - A Brief History of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center"]
5. ^ Mixed signals over Chinese missiles
6. ^ Air Force Technical Applications Center fact sheet

External links

United States Air Force portal

• AF ISR Agency Homepage
• AF ISR Agency Fact Sheet
• AF ISR Agency Fact Sheet
• AF ISR Agency 1948-2009 A Continuing Legacy