CCI-Sat Reconnaissance Satellite

As of 2010 India was planning it first CCI-Sat [Communications Centric Intelligence Satellite] which is planned for launch in 2014 in a circular 300 mile high orbit. By 2015 the launch had slipped to 2016. The satellite payload is valued at $25 million for the satellite program that is in its early stages of development. That payload is being built by the Defense Electronic Research Laboratory of India but its design and Research and development testing is being handled by the Indian ISRO space research administration. It is a part of a larger development for military intelligence enhancement utilizing advanced electronic warfare systems capability as applied through satellites to operate as RECSAT and SIGINT platforms for military requirements.

Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) supports joint forces in their ability to rapidly respond to threats around the world by providing geo-referenced visual and data products that serve as a foundation and common frame of reference for any joint operation. GEOINT is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT consists of imagery, imagery intelligence (IMINT), and geospatial information.

Imagery is a likeness or representation of any natural or man-made feature or related object or activity and the positional data acquired at the same time the likeness or representation was acquired, including products produced by space-based intelligence reconnaissance systems, and likenesses and representations produced by satellites, airborne platforms, unmanned aerial vehicles, or other similar means (except that such term does not include handheld or clandestine photography taken by or on behalf of human intelligence collection organizations).

Imagery Intelligence is the technical, geographic, and intelligence information derived through the interpretation or analysis of imagery and collateral materials.

Geospatial Information is information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the Earth, including: statistical data and information derived from, among other things, remote sensing, mapping, and surveying technologies; and mapping, charting, geodetic data, and related products.

The term GEOINT encompasses both the standard, or traditional, and the specialized (integrated) capabilities of imagery, IMINT, and geospatial information. The full utility of GEOINT comes from the integration of all three, which results in more comprehensive, tailored GEOINT products for a wider scope of problems and customers across all functional areas. Advances in technology and the use of geospatial data throughout the joint force have created the ability to use geography as an integrating function resulting in more sophisticated capabilities for visualization, analysis and dissemination of fused views of the operational environment.

GEOINT provides a common framework for supporting joint operations to better enable mission accomplishment across the range of military operations and with all mission partners. The use of GEOINT can be categorized into five general areas: general military intelligence and indications and warning; safety of navigation; operational environment awareness; mission planning and command and control; and target intelligence.