The Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC) is a component of the U.S.

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the ...

. MSIC is located at

Redstone Arsenal Redstone Arsenal (RSA) is a United States Army post and a census-designated place (CDP) adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a garrison ...

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...

History

MSIC began as a part of

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

's missile team, a component of the

Army Ballistic Missile Agency The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was formed to develop the U.S. Army's first large ballistic missile. The agency was established at Redstone Arsenal on 1 February 1956, and commanded by Major General John B. Medaris with Wernher von ...

in 1956. The missile agency's first iteration, known as the Technical Intelligence Division, consisted of only six people.Defense Intelligence History Renamed in 1962, the TID, now the Missile Intelligence Office (MIO) analyzed developments in the Soviet Union
and played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Missile Intelligence Office was renamed the Missile Intelligence Agency in 1970; in 1985, it was reassigned to the Army Intelligence Agency and renamed to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC). MSIC's final organizational move came on January 1, 1992 when it became part of the

. In 2009, the Center employed 650 civilian and military personnel. In 2014, it employed roughly the same amount at its headquarters in

. Between 2014 and the present (2021), the Center employed approximately 350 civilians, 60 military personnel, and, indirectly, hundreds of defense contractors.

Mission

MSIC's overall mission is to support field commanders, weapon system developers, and policy makers with scientific and technical all-source intelligence on

surface-to-air missiles A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft sys ...

(SAM),

short-range ballistic missiles A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of about or less. In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their rela ...

(SRBM) with ranges less than 1,000 kilometers,

anti-tank guided missiles An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder- ...

(ATGM), missile defense systems,

directed-energy weapons A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include w ...

(DEW), selected space programs and systems, and relevant

command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

(C4ISR). It also provides analyses of those materials to the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and other U.S. government organizations such as the FBI.DIA's Missile And Space Intelligence Center Groundbreaking
/ref> In 2011, a years-long MSIC dispute with the Air Force's

NASIC The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) is the United States Air Force unit for analyzing military intelligence on foreign air and space forces, weapons, and systems. NASIC assessments of aerospace performance characteristics, ca ...

over which agency held authority over

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within t ...

intelligence analysis was settled in favor of MSIC, which became lead integrator of the Defense Intelligence Ballistic Missile Analysis Committee (DIBMAC).

Organization

MSIC is a component of the is part of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Directorate for Analysis; the DIA itself is a part of the

and Intelligence Community. The Center is led by a Director, currently Kimberly "Kim" King, who replaced Mark Clark after his 2019 retirement. MSIC's Foreign Military Exploitation team is responsible for dismantling, researching, and testing foreign missile systems. MSIC also possesses laboratories dedicated to

materials Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolog ...

microelectronics Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre- ...

, missile guidance and control systems, radio frequency hardware, and

electro-optical Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the pr ...

and

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of Light, visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from ...

hardware; there is also a

Signal Analysis Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, di ...

Lab. It also possesses an

anechoic chamber An anechoic chamber (''an-echoic'' meaning "non-reflective") is a room designed to stop reflections of either sound or electromagnetic waves. They are also often isolated from energy entering from their surroundings. This combination means t ...

and oversees the Joint Research Analysis and Assessment Center (JRAAC), a state-of-the-art

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...

integration facility supporting multi-fidelity scientific and

technical analysis In finance, technical analysis is an analysis methodology for analysing and forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. Behavioral economics and quantitative analysis use many of the sam ...

of integrated weapons systems in complex environments to determine their capabilities, vulnerabilities, and limitations. JRAAC integrates over 80 weapons systems models, including

radars Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

employs human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization o ...

(C2) systems, and C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance).

Headquarters

MSIC employs engineering analysts, support professionals, and support assistants at the 38,000 acre Richard. C Shelby Center for Missile Intelligence in

. The building includes various

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physi ...

, high-performance computing operations, and test areas making up a vast engineering complex capable of hosting physical and simulated missile tests.

References

External links