Air Force Intelligence (Air Force Intel)

The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AF ISR Agency), with headquarters at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, was activated June 8, 2007. Formerly, the Air Intelligence Agency, the AF ISR Agency is aligned under the Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR as a Field Operating Agency. The AF ISR Agency's mission is to organize, train, equip and present assigned forces and capabilities to conduct ISR for combatant commanders and the nation. It implements and oversees the execution of Air Force headquarters policy and guidance to expand ISR capabilities to meet current and future challenges.

The AF ISR Agency's 14,500 assigned personnel serve at 70 locations worldwide including the 70th Intelligence Wing at Fort Meade, Md., and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The AF ISR Agency commander serves as the service cryptologic component under the National Security Agency (NSA), and oversees Air Force Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) activities.

Further, through the NASIC, the Air Force is the executive agent for the technical analysis of aircraft, long-range ballistic missiles and space-based technologies -- a history that began with the Army Signal Corps in 1917. Under the federated intelligence analysis process overseen by Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Air Force Intelligence provides expertise on foreign air forces, air defenses and ballistic missile developments. Air Force ISR assets include the U-2, RC-135, Global Hawk, Predator/Reaper, Senior Scout, Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System (TARS), Scathe View and AF Distributed Common Ground System (AF DCGS).