Feb 25 2026

NCIA joins the discussion on geospatial intelligence at DGI Conference

From 23 to 25 February 2026, experts from the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) attended the annual Defence Geospatial Intelligence (DGI) event in London, the United Kingdom. The conference is a global forum gathering senior military leaders, industry and academia for high-level discussions about the future of multi-domain intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).

NCIA was represented by Matt Roper, Chief of the Joint ISR (JISR) Centre and members of his team. The JISR Centre directly supports NATO decision-making and situational awareness by enabling the collection, processing, exploitation and dissemination of intelligence data and information to ensure NATO is well informed at political, strategic and tactical levels in operational and strategic environments.

This year, Roper delivered a keynote speech on ‘How ISR data access, fusion and analytics are strengthening decision advantage for Allied Nations.’ Roper addressed enhanced Allied access to timely and secure ISR data, accelerated data fusion, advanced analytics to detect threats faster, and strengthened interoperability to support seamless collaboration across NATO forces. “By strengthening ISR access, fusion, analytics and interoperability, NATO doesn’t just keep pace, we shape the decision environment,” he concluded.

Dr Eva Vandersmissen, Senior Data Scientist from NCIA’s Chief Technology Office, delivered a presentation at DGI titled ‘Breaking the Demo Illusion: From Perfect AI Demos to Challenging Operational Reality in Geospatial Intelligence.’ Dr Vandersmissen discussed commercial analytics tools, their challenges in real operational ISR settings, and proposed a collaboration framework for industry to ensure the development of trustworthy and operationally relevant artificial intelligence.

The event saw productive exchanges of ideas and discussions about harnessing multi-domain geospatial intelligence for accelerated and better-informed decision-making. Providing tools and secure systems to NATO for situational awareness and an operational picture, remains a cornerstone of NCIA’s work. By attending these specialized conferences, NCIA personnel bring back fresh ideas and new industry perspectives to further improve NCIA’s support to the Alliance.