The Directorate of Science & Technology (DS&T) is the branch of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tasked with collecting and analyzing information through technological means and developing technical systems to advance the CIA's intelligence gathering. [1]
On December 31, 1948, the CIA formed the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) by merging the Scientific Branch in the Office of Reports and Estimates with the Nuclear Energy Group of the Office of Special Operations. [2]
In 1962, the CIA formed the Deputy Directorate of Research (DDR), headed by Herbert Scoville. Under it was the newly formed Office of Special Activities, along with the Office of ELINT and the Office of Research and Development, which were quickly integrated into the DDR. [2] [3] However, the OSI remained part of the Directorate of Operations.
In 1963, Scoville resigned, frustrated by the unwillingness of other departments to transfer their responsibilities. [4] Director of Central Intelligence John McCone asked Albert Wheelon to replace Scoville in the renamed Deputy Directorate of Science and Technology. [2] [5] [6] The OSI was transferred to the Deputy Directorate of Science and Technology, along with the Office of Computer Services. [5]
In 1965, the directorate was renamed to the Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T), and in 1966, Carl Duckett succeeded Wheelon as the Deputy Director for Science and Technology. [2]
In April 1973, DCI James Schlesinger transferred the Technical Services Division of the Operations Directorate to the DS&T, where it would be renamed the Office of Technical Services (OTS). [2] Its primary focus was technical support of CIA case officers in the field, including development of exotic weapons and eavesdropping devices and production of forged documents. [7] It developed a poison pen and exploding seashells to assassinate Fidel Castro. [2]
In September 1995, Ruth David replaced James Hirsch as Deputy Director for Science and Technology, and established three new offices: the Clandestine Information Technology Office, the Office of Advanced Analytical Tools, and the Office of Advanced Projects. [2] [8] The Office of Research and Development was simultaneously abolished. [2]
In April 1999, Gary L. Smith became the Deputy Director for Science and Technology and resigned nine months later. [2] DCI George Tenet quickly appointed a new deputy director, Joanne Isham. [2] [9]
The Directorate of Science and Technology is organized to accommodate classified personnel based on their technical strengths. Depending on their background and area of expertise, DS&T has:
While DS&T's organizational structure is based on an expertise agenda, meaning employees are placed into one of the four departments based on their previous knowledge and future aspirations, this directorate can be more easily understood by dividing it into two functionalities. The first is the processing and analysis of collected information, and the second is future technological advances and innovations.
DS&T is one of five directorates within the CIA, with the other four being administration, analysis, operations, and digital innovation. DS&T plays a special role in the CIA since it provides a wide range of data and intelligence to all other directorates. From here, the various other directorates can take this information, analyze it, and effectively procure it for their needs.
DS&T has morphed into a vastly elaborate directorate since its inception in 1948. This can be primarily due to the increasing data dependency many countries and societies are beginning to turn towards. The volume of intelligence sifting through to find what is needed can be cumbersome. To help with this data overload, DS&T has grown into a major player within the CIA. Many DS&T employees have provided reliable and accurate information, which has helped to squander negative outcomes within traumatic worldwide events. [11]
Among its early interests was the use of drugs, hypnosis, and isolation in interrogation. [2] These experiments were conducted under the program Project BLUEBIRD, later known as ARTICHOKE, and MKULTRA, which led to the suicide of Frank Olson, a US Army scientist who was given a dose of LSD. [2] [12]
Another of the ONI's earliest programs, started in the early 1950s, was developing and operating the Lockheed U-2 spy plane under the AQUATONE program. [13] [14] This program was transferred to the DDR's Office of Special Activities upon its formation, along with the plans for its successor, known at the time as Project GUSTO, which had begun in 1957 under the direction of Richard Bissell and Edwin Land. [15]
In late 1957, Lockheed's Skunk Works facility under the direction of Clarence Johnson [2] [16] began developing stealthy subsonic reconnaissance aircraft, but in the spring of 1958 turned to supersonic designs, known as the Archangel series. Convair's advanced development group under Robert Widmer was invited to compete with Lockheed, and they proposed the FISH parasite aircraft, derived from their Super Hustler concept. In June 1959, the B-58B launch aircraft for FISH was canceled, and the Convair KINGFISH design was proposed. The Lockheed A-12 [15] was chosen for development, and in the fall of 1959, Project GUSTO was closed, and Project OXCART was started.
Also, in 1958, the development of the CORONA Program was started, which was a spy satellite crafted through a joint effort of the CIA and Air Force. CORONA was used to gain intelligence on the USSR's nuclear development. This incredibly advanced program had a variety of daunting tasks. Because of this, 13 unsuccessful attempts were made to get the satellite in orbit with the camera fully functioning. On August 18, 1960, on the 14th launch attempt, CORONA's systems succeeded. With the formation of the Deputy Directorate of Research in 1962, the CORONA and ARGON satellite programs were taken under its wing. [17]
In 1958, the OSI made the first significant attempt to measure the power of a radar for intelligence gathering, known as the Quality ELINT program. It consisted of installing electronic measuring equipment into a C-119 aircraft, and flying missions, disguised as supply-runs, through the air corridors of Germany. [2] This led to the MELODY and PALLADIUM programs, which attempted to gauge the power and sensitivity of Soviet ground-based tracking radars using "ghost aircraft". [18] [19] These programs were integrated into the DDR upon its formation, under the Office of ELINT. [2] [3]
While this is not commonly[ clarification needed ] known,[ according to whom? ] the CIA developed and created the concept of long-term, reliable battery life with the lithium-ion battery. [20] The reasoning for the interest in this technical development was to prolong the battery lifetime of many surveillance equipment used in the field. Once developers within the DS&T perfected the chemical composition in the mid-1960s, it was then declassified to allow for use in the private sector. [21]
Surveillance systems are at the core of the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology. Without the many advances done through EarthViewer brought forward by the CIA's venture capitalist firm In-Q-Tel, Google Earth would be a shell of what it was when it first came out. [20] EarthViewer's imaging possibilities provided the US Government with intelligent information about Iraqi troops and their overall movements. This 3D imaging system enabled CIA operatives to gain intelligent data on these visuals before entering a new region. The detail provided by these images allowed those in the field to acquire precious and accurate coordinate information.
EarthViewer's primary use in the Middle East for reconnaissance was quickly sought after by many news outlets attempting to gain intel into the region. With all this newfound attention, Google sparked an interest and bought the software in 2004 and developed it into Google Earth. [22]
In 1967, the DS&T's Operation Acoustic Kitty attempted to train a surgically altered cat, wired with transmitting and control devices, to become a mobile, eavesdropping platform. [2] [23]
In 1975, the DS&T funded remote viewing experiments at the Stanford Research Institute, where remote viewers were asked to determine details about targets in the USSR. It was not judged to be a success. [24]
Cold War espionage describes the intelligence gathering activities during the Cold War between the Western allies and the Eastern Bloc. Both relied on a wide variety of military and civilian agencies in this pursuit.
The Corona program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORONA satellites were used for photographic surveillance of the Soviet Union (USSR), China, and other areas beginning in June 1959 and ending in May 1972.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security. Initially known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) from 1996 to 2003, it is a member of the United States Intelligence Community.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. federal government. It provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the NSA, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the NGA, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the DIA. The NRO announced in 2023 that it plans within the following decade to quadruple the number of satellites it operates and increase the number of signals and images it delivers by a factor of ten.
Measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) is a technical branch of intelligence gathering, which serves to detect, track, identify or describe the distinctive characteristics (signatures) of fixed or dynamic target sources. This often includes radar intelligence, acoustic intelligence, nuclear intelligence, and chemical and biological intelligence. MASINT is defined as scientific and technical intelligence derived from the analysis of data obtained from sensing instruments for the purpose of identifying any distinctive features associated with the source, emitter or sender, to facilitate the latter's measurement and identification.
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest, with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies, it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) also known as Scientific Intelligence Division was a department of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1963, it was incorporated into the Directorate of Science & Technology.
The Directorate of Operations (DO), less formally called the Clandestine Service, is a component of the US Central Intelligence Agency. It was known as the Directorate of Plans from 1951 to 1973; as the Directorate of Operations from 1973 to 2005; and as the National Clandestine Service (NCS) from 2005 to 2015.
Richard Mervin Bissell Jr. was an American Central Intelligence Agency officer responsible for major projects such as the U-2 spy plane and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He is seen as one of the most important spymasters in CIA history.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia.
The Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (OICI), also abbreviated IN, DOE-IN, DOE/IN, I&CI, or OIC, was established in 2006 by the merger of pre-existing Energy Department intelligence and security organizations. It is an office of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) responsible for all intelligence and counterintelligence activities throughout the DOE complex; due to this central role, OICI is designated DOE's Headquarters Intelligence. As a component of the United States Intelligence Community in addition to the Department of Energy, OICI reports to both the Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Energy.
S. Eugene Poteat was a retired senior Central Intelligence Agency executive. He was awarded the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit and the National Reconnaissance Office Meritorious Civilian Award. He was President of AFIO - the Association of Former Intelligence Officers for fifteen years, retiring in 2014, and appointed AFIO's President-emeritus in 2015. He previously served on the Board of Advisors of the International Spy Museum. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C., teaching a course on "Technology, Intelligence, Security, and Statecraft".
John Kringen was named Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), effective February 2005. In 2008, he joined the United States European Command at the Stuttgart-Vaihingen base.
Scott F. Large is an American intelligence officer who served as the sixteenth Director of the National Reconnaissance Office from 2007 to 2009. He previously served as the Principal Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office from April to October 2007, and as the Central Intelligence Agency's Associate Deputy Director for Science and Technology.
This article deals with activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, specifically dealing with arms control, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and weapons proliferation. It attempts to look at the process of tasking and analyzing, rather than the problem itself, other than whether the CIA's efforts match its legal mandate or assists in treaty compliance. In some cases, the details of a country's programs are introduced because they present a problem in analysis. For example, if Country X's policymakers truly believe in certain history that may not actually be factual, an analyst trying to understand Country X's policymakers needs to be able to understand their approach to an issue.
Jeffrey King Harris is an American aerospace executive who served as 11th director of the National Reconnaissance Office from 1994 to 1996. Currently, he chair of the RIT Board of Trustees.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a United States intelligence agency that "provides objective intelligence on foreign countries", also informally referred to as the Agency. The CIA is part of the United States Intelligence Community, is organized into numerus divisions. The divisions include directors, deputy directors, and offices. The CIA board is made up of five distinct entitles called Directorates. The CIA is overseen by the Director of Central Intelligence. Under the Director of Central Intelligence is the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. Under this the CIA is divided into four directorates. These directorates are as follows:
Carl Ernest Duckett was the founder of the Central Intelligence Agency's science and technology operations.
Robert M. Huffstutler was director of National Photographic Interpretation Center from February 1984 to January 1988.
Project AQUILINE was a secret 1960s CIA program to develop an unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle.
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