Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Acquisitions, Policies and Defense Oversight

Increasing calls for intelligence support and continuing innovations in intelligence technologies combine to create significant challenges for both the executive and legislative branches. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems are integral components of both national policy-making and military operations, including counter-terrorism operations, but they are costly and complicated and they must be linked in order to provide users with a comprehensive understanding of issues based on information from all sources. These complications have meant that even though many effective systems have been fielded, there have also been lengthy delays and massive cost overruns. This book explores the uncertainties about the long-term acquisition plans for ISR systems that persist even as pressures continue for increasing the availability of ISR systems in current and future military operations and for national policy-making.