# National System for Geospatial Intelligence **Entity class:** National intelligence enterprise **Aliases:** NSG ## Definition The **National System for Geospatial Intelligence** is the combination of technology, policy, capabilities, doctrine, activities, people, data, and organizations required to produce and use GEOINT across national, military, intelligence, and civil domains. It is an enterprise rather than a single database or facility. ## Relationships - **functional manager:** the Director of the [[wiki/National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]]. - **standards layer:** NSG Standards Registry and NSG Application Schema. - **engagement nodes:** [[wiki/Moonshot Labs|Moonshot Labs]], [[wiki/NGA Industry Days and Technology Showcases|NGA Industry Days and Technology Showcases]], and [[wiki/GEOINT Symposium|GEOINT Symposium]]. - **collection:** [[collections/Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment|Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [NGA — GEOINT Basic Doctrine Publication 1](https://www.nga.mil/assets/files/170901-038_GEOINT_Basic_Doctrine_Pub_1.pdf) - [NGA — About NGA and NSG functional management](https://www.nga.mil/about/About_Us.html) ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > "Advanced Geospatial and Imagery Processing: Technologies on the frontiers of geospecific feature extraction, compression, data interoperability and fusion of sub-centimeter natural, built and augmented environments." > **— USSOCOM**, *accessed September 23, 2026, USSOCOM Capability Areas of Interest* [[reminders/Information/Geospatial Processing Should Fuse Sub-Centimeter Environments by USSOCOM|Geospatial Processing Should Fuse Sub-Centimeter Environments by USSOCOM]] > "Thanks to automation, that rate of cartographic accomplishment has never been matched." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/Automation Has Set a New Pace for Cartography by Frank Whitworth|Automation Has Set a New Pace for Cartography by Frank Whitworth]] > "But through the new map production automation tools that NGA developed, we can now deliver a safe, usable, and readable map … in 20 minutes." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/A Safe Usable Map Can Be Delivered in Twenty Minutes by Frank Whitworth|A Safe Usable Map Can Be Delivered in Twenty Minutes by Frank Whitworth]] > "At NGA, we’re leveraging AI to help sift through the millions of detects we get a day and are also starting to train the best industry models on the corpus of NGA reporting." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/AI Can Sift Millions of Detections a Day by Frank Whitworth|AI Can Sift Millions of Detections a Day by Frank Whitworth]] > "As always, we want to let the computers do their thing, so the humans can be better at ours." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/Computers Should Free Humans for Human Work by Frank Whitworth|Computers Should Free Humans for Human Work by Frank Whitworth]] > "We accredit GEOINT AI models to enable decentralized innovation – and we will work hard to make the process swift and repeatable…not like an onerous authority-to-operate." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/GEOINT AI Models Should Be Accredited for Decentralized Innovation by Frank Whitworth|GEOINT AI Models Should Be Accredited for Decentralized Innovation by Frank Whitworth]] > "NGA is demonstrating that AI and automation tools are not just here to help, they’re here to stay, and are a part of how we will live and breathe, as we continue to work at pace, to keep our Nation safe, and our freedom close at hand." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/AI and Automation Are Now Part of National Security Work by Frank Whitworth|AI and Automation Are Now Part of National Security Work by Frank Whitworth]] > "And there’s no doubt in my mind that the timing for GEOINT AI is now. It’s the key to building a secure tomorrow … together." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 19, 2025, 2025 GEOINT Symposium Keynote* [[reminders/Information/The Time for GEOINT AI Is Now by Frank Whitworth|The Time for GEOINT AI Is Now by Frank Whitworth]] > "True intelligence convergence requires collaboration across the separate intelligences — the director called for ‘a data fabric built for real interoperability, a common language and metadata standards, so a GEOINT tag means the same thing a HUMINT system that reads it.’" > **— Defense Intelligence Agency**, *September 8, 2026, 2026 DoDIIS Worldwide Conference Recap* [[reminders/Information/Intelligence Convergence Requires a Common Data Language by Defense Intelligence Agency|Intelligence Convergence Requires a Common Data Language by Defense Intelligence Agency]] > "To manage the significant growth in the volume of GEOINT data and data sources available, NGA is making significant investments in automation to speed workflows, as well as AI/ML to fuse data to enable sense-making. We are leveraging computer vision to rapidly exploit data; using advanced modeling techniques to understand, correlate, and predict activity; and integrating automated modeling capabilities to prompt dynamic collection." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 14, 2025, 2025 HASC Testimony on National Security Space Programs* [[reminders/Information/Automation AI and Machine Learning Can Fuse Data for Sense-Making by Frank Whitworth|Automation AI and Machine Learning Can Fuse Data for Sense-Making by Frank Whitworth]] > "Today, NGA is incorporating GEOINT AI into warfighting headquarters around the world, accelerating their operations and enabling lethality through programs like NGA Maven." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 14, 2025, 2025 HASC Testimony on National Security Space Programs* [[reminders/Information/GEOINT AI Is Accelerating Operations and Enabling Lethality by Frank Whitworth|GEOINT AI Is Accelerating Operations and Enabling Lethality by Frank Whitworth]] > "NGA is also making strides with generative AI, developing geospatial agents to enable Large Language Models (LLMs) to seamlessly access geospatial data and aid in the creation of GEOINT — freeing up analysts for GEOINT exploitation requiring deeper analytical insight." > **— Frank Whitworth**, *May 14, 2025, 2025 HASC Testimony on National Security Space Programs* [[reminders/Information/Geospatial Agents Can Give Language Models Direct Access to GEOINT by Frank Whitworth|Geospatial Agents Can Give Language Models Direct Access to GEOINT by Frank Whitworth]]