[FPSPACE] Tenet Directive On Commercial Imagery Sets New Tone For Industry Providers

[jgabryno]

Copyright 2002 Phillips Business Information, Inc.

 C4I NEWS
 July 4, 2002

Tenet Directive On Commercial Imagery Sets New Tone For Industry
Providers

By Kerry Gildea

       New direction from CIA Director George Tenet to the intelligence
agencies to use more commercial imagery is a long-awaited policy
declaration setting a serious tone for change, but won't be easy to put
into action, industry and government observers said last week.

        The directive, which came in the form of a memo from Tenet sent
June 7 to the director of the  National Imagery and Mapping Agency
(NIMA), carries a lot of  clout in changing policy regarding use of
commercial imagery, according to  industry observers.

        However, implementing the policy and cutting through the
bureaucratic red  tape and old ways of thinking will be the real test if
the policy filters down  the chain of command, they said.

        "There will always be debate within the agencies, who
intellectually are interested in the commercial imagery, but they only
have so many resources and other priorities," one industry observer
said. "But, if you don't get this off the ground now, when you really
need it, it might not be there."

        For example, a few years ago, the National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO)  and NIMA agreed to spend about $1 billion over five years on
commercial remote  sensing. However, when the agencies grappled with
their annual budget needs and limited resources, the commercial imaging
industry never saw the money,
 officials noted.

        But, Tenet contends his goal in establishing the new policy "is
to stimulate as quickly as possible" and maintain for the future a
"robust" commercial imagery industry.  The new policy was first reported
in the
June 26  edition of the New York Times.

        "You should take all the possible steps to remove any remaining
institutional obstacles to its use in meeting government needs," Tenet
said in  the memo to NIMA. "If you need additional resources to
implement this policy, please include your requirements in your FY 2003
NIMA request."

        There also is agreement among observers that the Tenet memo,
combined with the post-Sept. 11 law enforcement and intelligence imagery
needs, will set  a strong tone for change. And, Congress in recent
months has appeared to be putting more pressure on the government to
turn to the commercial
providers than  ever before.

        For example, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and
House Armed Services Committee (HASC), in report language accompanying
their FY '03 Defense Authorization Bills, directed DoD and the
intelligence agencies to do a better job of utilizing commercial imagery
now available (Defense Daily, May 23).

        SASC also included $30 million in its version of the bill for
the purchase of commercial imagery, imagery products and services from
U.S. commercial remote sensing entities. And, SASC directed a new
separate budget line be created within the FY '04 defense budget for
this purpose. HASC, also in its report language, stressed the importance
of commercial remote sensing and criticized the director of central
intelligence and secretary of defense for  making little progress in
meeting the commercial imagery goals outlined by  Congress in the FY '02
defense bill.

        The Tenet memo directs that U.S. commercial satellite imagery be
the  "primary source of data used for government mapping, regardless of
whether the production work is performed by NIMA or is outsourced."
National technical means only will be tasked under "exceptional
circumstances as determined by the NIMA director," according to Tenet.

        Commercial imagery map providers have been trying for some time
to promote this type of outsourcing process. The commercial remote
sensing industry is ready to provide services and products and that
would allow DoD and the intelligence agencies to devote their own
national technical means and
space assets to the more highly sensitive mission areas, according to
officials from  Denver-based Space Imaging (Defense Daily, May 23).

        Space Imaging is currently on contract with NIMA to provide maps
that are made with data gathered from national technical means. That
data can be several years old, whereas Space Imaging could provide maps
with its own satellites and other sources using imagery that would be
only a day old, company officials have said. During Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan, NIMA opted to buy exclusive use of all the
commercial imagery collected over the region by Space Imaging rather
than risk that imagery falling into the hands of enemies (Defense Daily,
Jan. 22).

        Other commercial providers, ORBIMAGE, of Dulles, Va., and
DigitalGlobe, of Longmont, Colo., also have been seeking expanded
opportunities with the federal government.

        Meanwhile, Tenet also directed that NIMA position to facilitate
the acquisition of commercial imagery for other federal agencies that
request such support on a reimbursable basis to encourage and streamline
the acquisition of such data and products in an effort to expand the
market for the imagery.

        If funds have to be reprogrammed to purchase the commercial
imagery, Tenet said NIMA should seek the concurrence of himself and the
secretary of defense.

    In addition, he directed NIMA to take the lead for the intelligence
community in communicating the new policy to the commercial imagery
industry.

###


--
Prof. Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz
Director, National Remote Sensing and Space Law Center
University of Mississippi School of Law
jgabryno@olemiss.edu
(662) 915-6877
www.spacelaw.olemiss.edu