About NGA

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) delivers world-class geospatial intelligence that provides a decisive advantage to policymakers, military service members, intelligence professionals and first responders.

Anyone who sails a U.S. ship, flies a U.S. aircraft, makes national policy decisions, fights wars, locates targets, responds to natural disasters, or even navigates with a cellphone relies on NGA.

NGA enables all of these critical actions and shapes decisions that impact our world through the indispensable discipline of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT).

NGA is a unique combination of intelligence agency and combat support agency. It is the world leader in timely, relevant, accurate and actionable GEOINT. NGA enables the U.S. intelligence community and the Department of Defense (DOD) to fulfill the president’s national security priorities to protect the nation. NGA also anticipates its partners’ future needs and advances the GEOINT discipline to meet them.

NGA is the lead federal agency for GEOINT and manages a global consortium of more than 400 commercial and government relationships. The director of NGA serves as the functional manager for GEOINT, the head of the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) and the coordinator of the global Allied System for Geospatial Intelligence (ASG). In this capacity, the director is charged with synchronizing operations to realize a professional, interoperable, agile and integrated GEOINT enterprise. NGA receives guidance and oversight from DOD, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Congress.

NGA is headquartered in Springfield, Virginia, and has two major locations in St. Louis and Arnold, Missouri. Approximately 14,500 civilian, military and contractor employees work across more than 100 locations in the U.S. and 20 international locations. Hundreds of NGA employees also serve on support teams at U.S. military, diplomatic and allied locations around the world.

NGA at a Glance

  • NGA delivers the strategic intelligence that allows the president and national policymakers to make crucial decisions on counterterrorism, weapons of mass destruction, global political crises and more.
  • NGA enables the warfighter to plan missions, gain battlefield superiority, precisely target the adversary and protect our military forces.
  • NGA provides timely warnings to the warfighter and national decision makers by monitoring, analyzing and reporting imminent threats.
  • NGA protects the homeland by supporting counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and border and transportation security. NGA supports security planning for special events, such as presidential inaugurations, state visits by foreign leaders, international conferences and major public events (Olympics, Super Bowls, satellite launchings, etc.).
  • NGA ensures safety of navigation in the air and on the seas by maintaining the most current information and highest quality services for U.S. military forces and global transport networks.
  • NGA defends the nation against cyber threats by supporting other intelligence agencies with in-depth analysis of cyber networks.
  • NGA creates and maintains the geospatial foundation data, knowledge and analysis that enable all other missions.
  • NGA assists humanitarian and disaster relief efforts by working directly with the lead federal agencies responding to fires, floods, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes or other natural or manmade disasters.



NGA's Mission

Our Mission

We provide GEOINT for our nation’s security.

Our Vision

Know the Earth…Show the Way…Understand the World.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has a responsibility to provide the products and services that decision makers, military service members, and first responders need, when they need it most. As a member of the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense, NGA supports a unique mission set. We are committed to acquiring, developing and maintaining the proper technology, people and processes that will enable overall mission success.

Geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT consists of imagery, imagery intelligence and geospatial information.

Military members and partners seeking information on accessing NGA’s products and services should visit the Products & Services Section.




NGA Careers: When you want more than a job, you want a mission.

Thank you for your interest in a career with NGA. NGA is pleased to announce that external applicants can view and apply for jobs directly on the Intelligence Careers web site.

Visit Intelligence Careers to:

  • Apply for positions with NGA.
  • Match your education, skills and interest to NGA career fields via the Exploration Tool.
  • Browse career fields and view sample jobs.
  • Find a student program that fits your needs.
  • Read more about NGA benefits, career development and diversity initiatives.
  • Check out intelligence community news and careers blog posts.
  • Browse NGA's frequently asked questions.

Visit our Virtual Recruiting Booth Page for more information.