Choosing not to depend on other nations for geospatial intelligence, France has own system of military intelligence satellites, according to a report in Defense News. The satellite network is important for political independence, according to an unidentified French defense official.
The geospatial capability allows the nation’s defense ministry to have an “autonomous appreciation” of conflicts in the world, the official said. France is using its own geointel to track Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Syria, for example.
The Military Intelligence Department inaugurated its joint office for geointel in January, at the Creil airbase.
“The military intelligence department is investing heavily in this domain,” an Air Force officer said. “Geoint will be a useful tool to fuse different sources of information — imagery, signal and human intelligence — and to produce accurate intel data.”
Read the full report at DefenseNews.com.
