Boston Globe 9/27/2001
US has mix of spy techniques
By Bryan Bender, Globe Correspondent,
From new sources of intelligence such as commercial satellite photos and remote-controlled spy drones to familiar tools such as U-2 spy planes and secret satellites orbiting the Earth, US intelligence officials are working to provide the military with the most critical weapon in this war: information.
Relying on a variety of so-called ''national technical means'' and other intelligence-gathering systems, America's spy agencies are trying to fill in as many knowledge gaps as possible - about potential targets to be attacked in Afghanistan and to head off any new rounds of terrorist attacks.
What the intelligence agencies may lack in human spies - field operatives who can infiltrate terrorist organizations are almost nonexistent - they are trying to make up for with high-tech know-how, which is Washington's strong suit, according to government officials and specialists.
Many of these technologies have been used over decades of spying on more traditional enemies, but the United States also has some new cards to play in the high-tech spy game.
For example, to supplement its multibillion-dollar system of photographic satellites, officials say, the Defense Department will spend a significant portion of its share of a $40 billion counterterrorism package approved last week on images gathered from private satellites.
Officials say the Pentagon is concerned that it doesn't have an adequate database of digital terrain and other geographical data to provide military planners with sufficient coordinates for pinpoint strikes.
A Defense Department official confirmed that ''commercial imagery is high on the list.'' Another source said that as much as $1 billion could be spent on commercial satellite photos in the coming months and years, said an industry official who has been in contact with intelligence officials.
Other new tools include a family of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, pilotless drones that can beam live video of an area of interest over vast distances. US officials, responding to reports from the Taliban over the weekend that they shot one down, said a drone aircraft is missing in Afghanistan.
While these spy craft have been used in previous conflicts, most recently in Iraq and the Balkans, the technology is still considered to be in its infancy.
In a major advance, the drones can now provide real-time images through satellite communications. In the past, they could provide up-to-the-minute intelligence only if a radio signal could be beamed directly back to the base where it took off, a limiting factor when operating in mountainous terrain.
Another new capability under consideration is a modified Lockheed Martin aircraft called the NP-3, which has been tested in recent war games. Outfitted with air-to-ground sensors and data links, the NP-3 considerably improves the time between when a target is identified and when combat forces can attack it, according to Jane's Information Group, a leading clearinghouse on military and security information. This is particularly important for mobile and other time-sensitive targets such as a terrorist camp being evacuated.
Meanwhile, US intelligence officials are relying on many of their old stand-by systems, said Jeffrey Richelson, senior fellow at the National Security Archive. Classified satellites, including those that can look and listen, will be playing a crucial role in the coming days.
Among the United States' inventory of spy satellites are three KH-11 electro-optical and infrared satellites; 2 Onyx photographic satellites that can image targets in the day, at night, and in bad weather; and five low-orbit satellites designed for intercepting communications, known as signals intelligence, or SIGINT.
Meanwhile, the National Reconnaissance Office, the super-secret agency that builds and operates the nation's spy satellites, plans to launch an Adyx imaging satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Monday to supplement about a half a dozen older satellites now in orbit.
The military is also likely to be using a variety of aircraft outfitted with high-tech sensors to gather critical information from the air, according to John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense and foreign policy organization. These include the U-2 spy plane; RC-135 and EP-3 SIGINT aircraft; and P-3 surveillance planes.
©Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
