Commercial space-based imagery is revolutionizing how battles are being planned, rehearsed, and executed by giving savvy military leaders a common skills unclassified tool that, in almost real-time, can access data that was previously regarded as highly classified and hard to disseminate.

Remote Sensing and the Advent of High-Resolution Satellites

Remote sensing is the science of collecting Earth data without being in physical contact with terrain. The data is prepared for use by geographic information system (GIS) or remote sensing analysts for use in decision-support tools and 3D fly-through visualization models. Remote sensing is important to military operations because often the information needed is of very large, denied areas where it is not possible to obtain that information through direct observation either from ground troops or aerial platforms. The fastest growing segment in the industry is the high-resolution (one-meter or better) satellites such as IKONOS, the world's first high-resolution commercial satellite launched in September 1999, which is owned and operated by Space Imaging. Other commercial high-resolution systems include QuickBird, OrbView, and EROS 1-A.

Military Application of High-Resolution Satellite Data

The military has traditionally used the discipline of military intelligence to disseminate low- to medium-resolution commercial imagery for more than a decade and since then has made major advances in the speed and range of dissemination. During the 1991 Gulf War, commercial satellite imagery from Landsat was sent by courier or transmitted over fax machines-often taking weeks to ingest into military systems. The war in Afghanistan was the first in which the U.S. government purchased high-resolution satellite imagery from the private sector and produced unclassified maps that were distributed and shared with Coalition forces. For example, high-resolution satellites were tasked to collect imagery for the U.S. Department of Defense for both conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. During the Iraqi war, geospatial intelligence was used for communications planning, mapping, infrastructure assessments, airfield security, and intelligence support. In one case, commercial imagery was used to determine soil moisture content that in turn allowed air defense artillery to know in advance where to safely deploy heavy equipment. In another case, commercial imagery was used to produce predictive flood models in case the Iraqi military destroyed the Qadisiyah Dam near Baghdad.

Now, the digitization and transmission of data has grown dramatically and many new battlefield systems and vehicles are being built with the capability to receive spatial data in support of future combat systems. High-resolution satellite imagery can be incorporated to distinguish many different features on the battlefield and derive information about the battle space such as maneuver areas and corridors; terrain and cultural features; borders and buffer zones; airfields, ports and harbors; battle damage assessment; military vehicle and facilities classification.

Decreasing the Future "Fog of War"

The challenge to future warfare lies in a military leader's ability to manage this onslaught of information in an age of transparency when evolving technology instantly affects decision-making. Strategic planners and commanders will need to define the terrain where they plan operations, manage all of the data source information, and establish a flexible, yet interconnected system with space-based imagery as the backbone of their geospatial intelligence. Understanding the benefits of space-based commercial imagery will improve the accuracy and timeliness of their decisions and reduce the "fog of war." If leaders can better visualize the battle space they can incorporate and efficiently distribute the information in mission rehearsals and change their future fighting strategies. The goal is to see and understand first, and then act decisively to defeat the enemy. However, this will only occur if military leaders learn to adopt the use of space-based imagery as a common skill just as they have incorporated the use of GPS into map reading, the cell phone into C2, and night vision devices into training programs faster than the enemy can.