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Library > Fact Sheets > NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE INTELLIGENCE CENTER
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE INTELLIGENCE CENTER
Posted 10/2/2012
Printable Fact Sheet
The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) is the Department of Defense's (DoD) primary source for foreign air and space threats. NASIC (nā-sik') creates integrated, predictive intelligence in the air, space and cyberspace domains enabling full spectrum military operations, force modernization and policymaking.
Mission
NASIC analysts create predictive intelligence to ensure the nation is at the cutting edge of understanding foreign threats to U.S. air and space operations. NASIC all-source analysts are national experts on threats that span air, space and cyberspace domains and NASIC is a recognized innovator in information and data exploitation. The Center's world-class connectivity ensures analysts have physical access to key mission data and partnerships throughout the intelligence community.
Because of this innovation and expertise, NASIC intelligence products are relevant to key customers daily. The President, members of Congress and senior U.S. military leaders rely on NASIC all-source analysis to form U.S. defense policy decisions. NASIC products are used by Airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines to make their operations safer and more effective and are used to develop the next generation of Air Force systems, preparing the nation to combat future air and space threats.
The Center's broad intelligence analysis products are founded on a unique ability to exploit every major single intelligence source and leverage communications connectivity enabling IC wide collaboration, to create fused all-source analysis. In the end, connectivity, world-class expertise, and leading intelligence community innovation working together to make NASIC products relevant to key operational, policy, and acquisition decision makers.
Personnel & Organization
NASIC has a global force of more than 3,000 military, civilian, Reserve, Guard and contract personnel. The center has four intelligence analysis groups -- with 18 subordinate squadrons -- and four support directorates:
· Air and Cyberspace Intelligence Group
· Global Exploitation Intelligence Group
· Geospatial and Signatures Intelligence Group
· Space, Missiles and Forces Intelligence Group
· Communications and Information Directorate
· Human Resources Directorate
· Logistics Directorate
· Plans and Policies Directorate
Through these intelligence analysis groups, enabled by the directorates, NASIC accomplishes a diverse set of missions. These missions are broken into eight main categories:
Air & Counterair
Assess the capabilities of foreign aircraft, air-launched weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles and the likelihood of their employment against US forces. Fuse IC air defense component analysis to produce a macro-level assessment of a country's Integrated Air Defense System (IADS).
Space & Counterspace
Develop integrated, all-source space and counterspace threat assessments and provide detailed understanding of foreign threats to US space systems, capabilities of foreign space users and systems support to act as force multipliers.
Ballistic Missiles
Assess land-based foreign ballistic missile systems with a range of 1000 km and greater, their subsystems, operational capabilities, effectiveness, proliferation, and technology transfer.
National Processing, Exploitation, Dissemination (PED) Node
Process and analyze multiple intelligence data sources (signals, imagery, measurement and signature, open source, advanced geospatial, human and foreign materiel exploitation) on behalf of internal analytic requirements as well as part of broader IC responsibilities. Provide unique and innovative exploitation capabilities directly to operational customers and throughout the IC.
Integrated Assessments
Assess foreign integrated warfighting capabilities, force structure, operational art and intent across the air, space and cyberspace domains, for both current and future forces. NASIC brings together the personnel, systems, and concepts of operations to form a complete picture of adversary air and space capabilities.
Cyberspace
Assess foreign cyberspace system and network capabilities impacting air and space force employment. Determine computer network threats to USAF systems and operations.
Disruptive Technologies
Assess emerging technologies that could potentially be used in an air, space, and/or cyberspace warfighting capacity against the US.
C4ISR
Assess the characteristics, capabilities, limitations, and vulnerabilities of foreign air and space Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance infrastructure, networks, systems and processes.
The center use a variety of products to provide analysis, ranging from one- or two-page executive summaries to multiple volumes in comprehensive studies, and from presentation briefings to video simulations. These simulations condense intelligence documents, technical diagrams and engineering work into a three- to five-minute video representation of current or predicted threats. This innovative technique allows the clearest communication of threat capabilities and intents, regardless of the technical and scientific background of the audience.
History
NASIC traces its heritage back to 1917 at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, and T-2 intelligence at Wright Field, Ohio, in 1945. The Foreign Technology Division marked the beginning of NASIC's historical lineage in July 1961. The Air Force redesignated the unit as the National Air Intelligence Center in October 1993 and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center in February 2003. To mirror the Air Force's wing structure, NASIC changed its internal structure April 15, 2008, activating four groups and 17 squadrons. On October 1, 2012, NASIC reorganized its four groups and 18 squadrons to align with updated mission areas.
(Current as of October 2012)
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