Collection Planning: What Is Knowable?

This chapter describes the collection planning process with emphasis on aligning limited resources with mission requirements, particularly for warning and targeting. Collection planners match intelligence requirements to the optimum ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities, considering factors like sensor fit, timeliness, quality, coverage, risk, and cost. Key collection types include GEOINT, SIGINT, MASINT, HUMINT, and OSINT, each with unique strengths and constraints to detect the indicators of COAs covered in Chapter 15. The chapter concludes with a guide to tailor the plan, leveraging a joint task force's operational assets.