Lesson 3

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GEOINT Data Sources & Collection Strategies

Introduction

Welcome to Lesson 3! This lesson introduces GEOINT Data Sources and Collection Strategies and focuses on the third GEOINT principle that geospatial intelligence source and collection strategies are about getting enough information to answer a question about place and time. GEOINT data is collected from a variety of sources using various collection strategies. In general, "sources" are the means or systems used to observe and record data. The term "collection strategy" is used to convey a high-level approach to GEOINT data collection. The nature of access to the data is important and determines the source. In general, GEOINT data can be collected openly and covertly (secretly). Data collected openly and maintained transparently is considered "open source." Data collected covertly and maintained in secret is considered "closed source."

Learning Objectives

Throughout this lesson, we will address the concepts of GEOINT data sources and collection strategies. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Describe the need for an intelligence requirements process.
  • Identify high-level GEOINT data sources and collection strategies.
  • Describe the advantages and disadvantages of GEOINT data sources and collection strategies.
  • Match the GEOINT data source and collection strategy to a task.