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EXPERT OPINION
Bolstering National Security with GEOINT
Lt. Gen. VG Khandare, PVSM, AVSM, SM (Retd.) Senior Advisor, Ministry of Defence, provided strategic insights into how geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is providing comprehensive solutions towards optimization of the armed forces and empowerment of the general public. He also highlighted the significance of GEOINT data in defense and security operations.
O
ur government has laid down a clear intent towards the country's security. It promotes different segments of practitioners, research and development. The Defence Space Agency (DSA) completed
three years of existence in June 2022. Now, it is for the practitioners to get into the act and deliver results at a fast pace.
What is GEOINT? There is always a struggle between resources and priori-
ties, but to my mind, resources will come at a particular pace as per the country's strength. The priorities cannot wait because adversaries don't wait for challenges to be resolved. GEOINT can overcome challenges if the knowledge is correctly applied. [GEOINT, or Geospatial Intelligence, is any knowledge gained from analysis of geographic imagery and geospatial data]. GEOINT specifically empowers people like us. We have been consistently looking towards optimization of our forces, and that can be done by adopting deep technology and smart solutions — GEOINT is one of those.
GEOINT for national security GEOINT is among several types of intelligence produced in support of national security. It is one particular segment of the comprehensive intelligence that a nation needs. It gives us a broad spectrum of the events that happen for the tri-services – air, land and sea. Each one of these requires GEOINT. A nation needs comprehensive intelligence, which is an essential part of the national security planning process. It gives us the capability to detect and identify objects and changes temporally or spatially. Along with this, our nation needs a synergy of all forms of intelligence to get a comprehensive picture of what is going wrong or right in aerospace, outer Space, along land borders, in the hinterland, along maritime states (for detecting unauthorized fishing) — anything that degrades our territorial and economic security. Comprehensive national security needs synergy. When we look at our defense and security strategy, which goes
GEOSPATIAL ARTHA Volume 01 » ISSUE 02
