The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) delivers world-class geospatial intelligence that provides a decisive advantage to policymakers, warfighters, intelligence professionals and first responders.
Anyone who sails a U.S. ship, flies a U.S. aircraft, makes national policy decisions, fights wars, locates targets, responds to natural disasters, or even navigates with a cellphone relies on NGA.
NGA enables all of these critical actions and shapes decisions that impact our world through the indispensable discipline of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT).
NGA is a unique combination of intelligence agency and combat support agency. It is the world leader in timely, relevant, accurate and actionable GEOINT. NGA enables the U.S. intelligence community and the Department of Defense (DOD) to fulfill the president’s national security priorities to protect the nation. NGA also anticipates its partners’ future needs and advances the GEOINT discipline to meet them.
NGA is the lead federal agency for GEOINT and manages a global consortium of more than 400 commercial and government relationships. The director of NGA serves as the functional manager for GEOINT, the head of the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) and the coordinator of the global Allied System for Geospatial Intelligence (ASG). In its multiple roles, NGA receives guidance and oversight from DOD, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Congress.
NGA is headquartered in Springfield, Va. and has two major locations in St. Louis and Arnold, Mo. Hundreds of NGA employees serve on support teams at U.S. military, diplomatic and allied locations around the world.
Anywhere the warfighter has to be... Any decision the policymaker has to make...
Any mission the intelligence community has to accomplish...
Any disaster that responders have to overcome...
NGA is there to Know the Earth… Show the Way… Understand the World.
WHAT IS GEOSPATIAL INTELLIGENCE?
GEOINT is a highly evolved intelligence discipline that goes beyond telling you what is happening, where it is happening and when it is happening — it also reveals how it is happening, why it matters and what is likely to happen next.
GEOINT is the foundation of all intelligence disciplines. NGA’s highly skilled analysts apply their advanced tools and tradecraft to evaluate imagery, maps, charts, multiple layers of foundation data — such as terrain, elevation and gravity — and the full spectrum of visible and invisible light. They seek to understand what is happening at any location on the Earth and to share their insights with mission partners to protect national security and respond to natural and manmade disasters.
NGA AT A GLANCE
- NGA delivers the strategic intelligence that allows the president and national policymakers to make crucial decisions on counterterrorism, weapons of mass destruction, global political crises and more.
- NGA enables the warfighter to plan missions, gain battlefield superiority, precisely target the adversary and protect our military forces.
- NGA provides timely warnings to the warfighter and national decisionmakers by monitoring, analyzing and reporting imminent threats. Often, NGA has the only “eyes” focused on global hot spots and can give unique insight into these critical areas.
- NGA protects the homeland by supporting counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and border and transportation security.
- NGA supports security planning for special events, such as presidential inaugurations, state visits by foreign leaders, international conferences and major public events (Olympics, Super Bowls, satellite launchings, etc.).
- NGA ensures safety of navigation in the air and on the seas by maintaining the most current information and highest quality services for U.S. military forces and global transport networks.
- NGA defends the nation against cyber threats by supporting other intelligence agencies with in-depth analysis of cyber networks.
- NGA creates and maintains the geospatial foundation data, knowledge and analysis that enable all other missions.
- NGA assists humanitarian and disaster relief efforts by working directly with the lead federal agencies responding to fires, floods, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes or other natural or manmade disasters.