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Air Intelligence

Air Intelligence operates for the purpose of keeping air units informed of the situation of the enemy's air forces and the developments in his aviation service. For the purpose of intelligence production, the Air Force would have “dominant interest” in air intelligence. Insure proper dissemination of current intelligence information on:

• location of enemy forces
• location of friendly forces;
• location of friendly airfields
• location of enemy airfields
• activities at these enemy airfields
• location of friendly and enemy surface forces

Air intelligence collects information about air operations and assist in the direction of their execution for maximum effect. The evaluation of target damage is an essential task of air intelligence, which uses a variety of technologies to acquire, analyze, and assess information regarding the effects of air operations and the potential results of future operations. The air intelligence officer typically serves as the G-2 officer (the staff officer responsible for intelligence) in a particular command staff, however such an officer may also serve as G-3 officer (operations and plans) where their role will be more focused on the direction of air operations than on the collection and analysis of intelligence.

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance assets that will be in high demand by numerous entities, make it imperative that fire support planners carefully consider their ISR requirements and closely coordinate with ISR planners. Target and munition selection, mitigation of collateral damage, and assessment cannot be accomplished without accurate and timely ISR support. They offer a broad range of collection capabilities, including communications intelligence, electronic intelligence, electro-optical, infrared imagery, and real-time imagery.

The purpose of targeting is to integrate and synchronize fires into joint operations. Targeting is the process of selecting and prioritizing targets and matching the appropriate response to them, considering operational requirements and capabilities. Aimpoint development involves interactive application of point mensuration, weaponeering, and collateral damage estimation (CDE). This, in turn, requires suitably skilled target analysts using integrated toolsets to reduce human pointing and transcribing errors.

Assessment is conducted at all levels of war. At the operational and strategic levels it is typically more wide-ranging than at the tactical level and uses measures of effectiveness that support strategic and operational mission accomplishment. Strategicand operational-level assessment efforts concentrate on broader tasks, effects, objectives, and progress toward the end state. Tactical-level assessment typically uses measures of performance to evaluate task accomplishment. The results of tactical tasks are often physical in nature, but also can reflect the impact on specific functions and systems.

Fixed-wing aircraft offer the versatility and capability to deliver combat power against the enemy when and where needed to attain objectives across the range of military operations.