Counter-Insurgency Star Wars: Geospatial Defence, Intelligence and Reconnaissance in Afghanistan

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Geospatial systems hold many benefits for both the civilian and military communities, providing detailed, mission critical information for use in military operations and infrastructure development.

The progression of asymmetric warfare in the Afghan theatre has produced many new challenges, both for operational specialists as well as tactical and command planning elements.

Geospatial systems have played a pivotal role in combating insurgency within urban hotspots in the Afghanistan war - and are also employed by Provincial Reconstruction Teams in their efforts to rebuild the country.

Examining those coalition forces executing the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission provides insight both into the challenges and opportunities which are facing the industry worldwide, as well as into the necessity for interoperability within geospatial defence and intelligence.

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NATO has signed agreements with a number of different countries to better utilise geospatial data from equipment such as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) with troops on the ground.

Upon signing the agreement with NATO, France's national armament director, Laurent Collet-Billon, stated openly: "We are, in essence, looking at a shift of paradigm. Traditionally, we have worked on developing capabilities nationally and then worked–and paid–again at the Alliance level to make them interoperable.

"Now we are seeking to engage nations in a direct, comprehensive approach that will deliver capabilities that are born interoperable."

Collaboration in Geospatial Systems

One of the issues that quickly came to light when military operations commenced in Afghanistan was the lack of accurate and up-to-date geospatial data available, a phenomenon particular to many remote regions of Asia.

In a bid to solve this, many nations began the process of collating geospatial data on the areas where their troops were deployed. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in the US highlighted that this led to duplication of data.

To combat this, the Afghanistan Production Coordination Working Group was formed, encompassing a number of European nations and headed by the NATO command in charge of ISAF operations. 

The group is responsible for coordinating individual efforts so geospatial systems meet the dynamic needs of troops on the ground.

NGA explained: "To date, seven nations are producing vector data, image city maps, Multinational Geospatial Co-Production Derived Graphics (MGCP-DGs), and full specification topographic line maps over most of Afghanistan, using commercial imagery."

Efforts were also made to ensure that the supply chain was managed sufficiently to ensure that troops were not provided with duplicate maps and the most accurate and up-to-date documents were shipped out.

To ensure that the collection of geospatial data continues after military operations are completed, NGA has been working with the Afghanistan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office. Members of the office have been working with NGA representatives to deal with management challenges and to better understand the technical challenges of geospatial systems.

Geospatial Systems and Reconstruction

The war in Afghanistan also serves to highlight how the global community can utilise geospatial systems after kinetic operations have been terminated.

Last year, NATO created a map illustrating flooding patterns in the country, which was subsequently handed over to Afghan authorities in Kabul.

Created by the Command and Control Agency (NC3A) Geo Team, the Afghanistan Flood Hazard Map (AFG-FHM) is intended to be used by the country's authorities to ensure construction does not take place in areas affected by flooding and to ensure flood defence measures are positioned effectively.

NATO also reported that the map will assist landmine clearing teams in prioritising locations, thus preventing landmine migration. 

Following the issues experienced by coalition troops in relation to flooding in 2006, John Teufert, NC3A Geo Team Chief, said that the map would hopefully prevent such difficulties in the future.

"This did not only affect military operations and logistical tasks, but also lack of actual data was sufficiently hindering the emergency response and emergency aid operations which NATO delivers to flood victims," Teufert explained.

"It was because of that reason that ISAF requested NC3A's support to create a Flood Map for entire Afghanistan at a minimum scale of 1:250,000."

Contributor: Defence IQ

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