Operation Rampant Lion / Rampant Lion I
Project Rampant Lion

Operation Rampant Lion I, conducted in Afghanistan during 2006, involved the collection, processing, analysis, and interpretataion of data, which were then integrated into US Geological Survey natural resource assessments for the country. The operation was conducted by scientists and engineers from the Naval Research Laboratory's Remote Sensing Division, personnel from the US Navy's Scientific Development Squadron One (VXS-1), and personnel from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The government of Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey, and the Canadian Forces also participated in the operation.

Essentially a nation-building operation, Rampant Lion I collected an integrated set of aerogeophysical data to support reconstruction, economic development, and infrastructure and natural resources assessment efforts. During Rampant Lion I, 40 mission flights produced more than 125,000 line-kilometers of airborne survey tracks and 330,000 kilometers of imagery. Among the products were magnetic anomaly maps, which provided data for oil, gas, and mineral exploration. These assessments were released to the Afghanistan government, international donor organizations, private investment groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on the reconstruction and economic revitalization of Afghanistan. The collected imagery was enormously important for seismic and flood hazard analysis; development of roads, pipelines, and property boundaries; other civil infrastructure projects; and agriculture and mineral resource management.