Perhaps the greatest challenge for Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) is understanding just what it is. The term "MASINT" gained wide acceptance in the early 1980s as the catchall for several "boutique" intelligence disciplines (RINT, ACINT, IRINT, LASINT, RFINT, NUCINT,...) under a single identifier to facilitate management and budgeting. This consolidation didn't make it any easier to understand; as represented by one of the current "book" definitions for MASINT:

Measurement and Signal Intelligence (MASINT) provides technically derived intelligence to detect, locate, track, identify, and describe the specific characteristics of fixed and dynamic target objects and sources. Numerous scientific disciplines and advanced technologies are applied in dedicated MASINT systems. There are also advanced MASINT processing and exploitation techniques, which broaden the usefulness of data collected by IMINT and SIGINT systems. MASINT collection systems include, but are not limited to, radar spectroradiomentric, electro-optical, acoustic, radio frequency, nuclear detection, and seismic sensors, as well as techniques for gathering chemical, biological, nuclear, and other material samples.

This definition illustrates that MASINT is complex to define, especially when attempting to cover all of the possible things that it can do. MASINT is all over the map. It includes space-borne, airborne, surface (sea and ground-based), and sub-surface sensors operating across the electromagnetic spectrum - from acoustic signals through optical wavelengths to gamma rays, and, materials themselves.

MASINT is not conducted in one overarching intelligence agency, but is performed by military personnel and civilians in separate organizations with little to no linkage. At one end, MASINT requires detailed laboratory equipment and analysis taking weeks to reach conclusions that are subsequently documented in lengthy technical reports. At the other end, MASINT applies unsophisticated sensors with on-board processing that provide immediate indication of an activity of interest. MASINT is conducted using dedicated collection systems specifically designed to acquire the detailed measurements and signatures required for a particular mission area. MASINT is also conducted through specialized processing of the output - somewhere in the data stream - of sensors on operational or commercial systems. MASINT also includes the specialized processing of sensor data from other intelligence disciplines.

This complexity makes it difficult for potential users to understand and embrace MASINT as a contributor to their information needs, for policy and budget personnel to guide and invest in MASINT, and for any organization to adequately manage MASINT as an enterprise the way in which the other intelligence disciplines (SIGINT, IMINT, HUMINT) are managed. This article attempts to provide context to develop a better definition - and ultimately understanding - of the MASINT discipline. Creating this understanding is crucial to developing future organizational and procedural construct for MASINT. It is widely acknowledged that MASINT is a key contributor to the future US intelligence community. Understanding what MASINT is all about should help decision-makers create the most effective future for MASINT.

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Toward a Better Definition--->