{ "id": "RL31425", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31425", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 101256, "date": "2003-01-17", "retrieved": "2016-05-24T19:59:56.669941", "title": "Military Transformation: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance", "summary": "The Department of Defense (DOD) indicates it is undertaking a major alteration in its\ncapabilities,\nfrom a force designed to fight the Soviet Union to one tailored to 21st century adversaries including\nterrorism. This shift has been prompted by the perception of a changing threat and improved\ntechnology, especially information technology. As the military services attempt to increase the\nagility and versatility of their weapon systems, they also see a need to increase the capabilities of\nmilitary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to support the new weapon systems and\noperating methods against these new threats. \n To judge whether service activities are likely to help the military \"transform,\" the head of\nDOD's Office of Force Transformation, retired Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowski (U.S. Navy) has\nproposed three criteria--whether the proposed capability can communicate and operate easily in\nconjunction with the other services, whether it helps the military develop new methods of\nwarfighting, and whether it will be useful against a wide range of threats. In addition, ISR activities\nshould, in the aggregate, provide a world-wide perspective of the threat, \"fuse\" all types of\nintelligence into one picture, access extensive details about the enemy, and monitor specific targets\nfor long periods of time.\n All of the services are planning ISR programs which exhibit at least some attributes of\ntransformation. Many observers believe military ISR has already achieved some transformation, as\nshown in the war in Afghanistan by the military's ability to detect a target and destroy it within\nminutes. The military's ability to move intelligence quickly has improved dramatically. However,\nmany observers are concerned that analysis may be lagging behind. Proposals to make revolutionary\nchanges in analysis include using contractors to produce competing unclassified analyses, developing\nartificial intelligence capabilities for database work, and establishing more operations analysis\ncenters. \n The military intelligence community is supported by the national intelligence community,\nwhich even before the September 11 attacks was under intense scrutiny. Therefore, the aspects of\nthe national intelligence community's operations in which Congress has expressed interest directly\naffect the quality of military intelligence. In addition, DOD's plans for improving its ISR\ncapabilities raise potential issues for Congress with regard to cost, the balancing of potentially\ncompeting efforts to improve the flow of intelligence and the quality of the data, and the support of\nmilitary leadership. Finally, the consequences of the military's role in homeland defense, and\nintelligence community reform may generate concern. Discussion of these issues is provided as\nbackground as Congress considers ISR programs as part of defense and intelligence authorization\nand appropriations legislation. This report will not be updated.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31425", "sha1": "7ff47c3f5dd42c69a6996339c136bdf72405350f", "filename": "files/20030117_RL31425_7ff47c3f5dd42c69a6996339c136bdf72405350f.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31425", "sha1": "a6f967e7449ac82fb002b73f2f94fc453bfaf1f8", "filename": "files/20030117_RL31425_a6f967e7449ac82fb002b73f2f94fc453bfaf1f8.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs2516/", "id": "RL31425 2002-05-31", "date": "2002-05-31", "retrieved": "2005-06-11T04:33:30", "title": "Military Transformation: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20020531_RL31425_a10eacdb700b5a94eb731bfc49e1e250243f79c0.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20020531_RL31425_a10eacdb700b5a94eb731bfc49e1e250243f79c0.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Defense policy", "name": "Defense policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Military policy", "name": "Military policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Military readiness", "name": "Military readiness" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Foreign Affairs", "National Defense" ] }