[Air Force Seal]

Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance,
and Reconnaissance
The mission of Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) is focused on ensuring the US military team - whether in peacetime operations, a crisis, or war - attains information superiority: the ability to collect, control, exploit, and defend information while denying the adversary the ability to do the same. To do this, Air Force ISR, in partnership with the other Military Services and national intelligence agencies, delivers intelligence information when, where, and how it's needed. This mission is more and more challenging in light of the fact that the nature of US military operations is changing to keep pace with a dynamic security environment marked by a global economy, the blurring of traditional geopolitical boundaries, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, advanced weapon systems, and information technologies. Air Force intelligence professionals are taking a leading role in defining the demands of future military operations. Faced with a multidimensional battlespace - land, sea, air, space, and now the virtual medium of information, these professionals are seeking innovative ways to help establish superiority in the air, space, and the flow of information.

Like the other Military Services, Air Force ISR fills a variety of roles to meet the US' national security requirements. As a member of the Intelligence Community, the Air Force operates worldwide ground sites and an array of airborne reconnaissance and surveillance platforms such as the U-2, the RC-135, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to meet national-level intelligence requirements. As a member of the Joint team, Air Force intelligence professionals work in the Unified Commands' intelligence centers and Air Force personnel and resources are embedded in each Unified Command's air component. To support day-to-day Air Force operations, intelligence professionals at the wing and squadron levels use suites of interoperable analysis tools and dissemination systems to tailor information received from all levels and agencies in the Intelligence Community to meet specific Air Force requirements.

Air Force ISR's organizational structure reinforces the roles and responsibilities it must fulfill from national requirements to the cockpit. On the Air Staff, operations and intelligence were merged in January 1997 to ensure a tight ops-intel formation extending from the Pentagon to the squadron. The Director of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (XOI) is the headquarters proponent and functional manager for all Air Force ISR and information warfare capabilities and serves as the Air Force's Senior Official of the Intelligence Community (SOIC) in accordance with Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) directives. In addition, the XOI provides headquarters oversight for the Air Intelligence Agency (AIA), an Air Force field operating agency. AIA is the executive agent for implementing Air Force intelligence policy. AIA operates the National Air Intelligence Center (NAIC), which exploits all-source information to produce intelligence on aerospace systems and potential adversaries' capabilities and intentions. Its products directly support warfighters, policymakers, and the weapons acquisition community. The Air Force Information Warfare Center (AFIWC), which is also part of AIA, spearheads development of information warfare concepts, tools, and a wide array of support services. The Operations Support Central, part of AFIWC, is a 24-hour source of information and assistance to forces deployed around the world

Who We Are &
What We Do		 Intelligence Community
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Central Intelligence Welcome Page