To support its mission, Defence Intelligence has four key roles:
Support to Operations
We play an integral part in the planning process throughout all stages of military operations, by providing intelligence collection and analysis at the tactical, operational and strategic levels.
Examples of the support we have provided to operations are:
- Coalition action in Iraq
- NATO led forces in Afghanistan and Bosnia
- UN humanitarian and peace-support operations in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cyprus, Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo
We have deployed intelligence analysts, linguists and reservists overseas, and provide geographic support by supplying both standard and specialised mapping to overseas theatres.
Support to contingency planning for operations
We provide intelligence data and all source assessments that assist in preparations for future situations with the potential to require the commitment of UK Armed Forces. These products, which cover political and military developments, country and cultural information, critical infrastructure and internal security, all aid contingency planning.
Provision of early warning
A fundamental responsibility of Defence Intelligence is to alert Ministers, Chiefs of Staff, senior officials and defence planners to impending crises around the world. Such warning is vital for short- and medium-term planning.
We meet this responsibility by focusing on current areas and topics of concern, highlighting the effects of changing circumstances, predicting security and stability trends, and assessing how these trends may develop. The assessments are distributed to decision-makers throughout the MOD, the Armed Forces, other Government departments, allies, and UK Embassies and High Commissions.
Provision of longer-term analysis of emerging threats
We provide longer-term assessments of likely scenarios around the world where UK Armed Forces might need to operate and of the equipment that they might face. We also provide technical support to the development of future military equipment and to the development of countermeasures against potentially hostile systems.