How GEOINT Can Sustain US Advantages in Africa

"Commercial remote sensing and geospatial analytics have significantly expanded coverage and revisit rates across the African continent, enabling sustained monitoring of infrastructure development, environmental stress, and security-relevant activity even in areas with limited physical access."

"North Africa and the Sahel-from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean to the Red Sea-illustrate how African dynamics create a complex nexus of US security and commercial concerns that intersect with Europe and the Middle East. Extremism, maritime chokepoints, energy infrastructure, and military modernization hold implications beyond the continent itself."

"Central and Southern Africa are at the heart of the increasing US focus on critical minerals. This includes the recent US deal with Congo on mineral access-Congo produces more than 70 percent of the world's cobalt-and the sustained US investment in the Lobito corridor, a critical infrastructure project spanning 1,300 kilometers from Zambia to Angola."

Africa presents multifaceted security, economic, and humanitarian challenges requiring sustained US intelligence monitoring. Commercial remote sensing and geospatial analytics have expanded coverage across the continent, enabling observation of infrastructure development, environmental stress, and security activities in areas with limited physical presence. African challenges are geographically dispersed and interconnected across subregions. North Africa and the Sahel involve extremism, maritime chokepoints, energy infrastructure, and military modernization with implications for Europe and the Middle East. Central and Southern Africa focus on critical minerals, including US agreements with Congo for cobalt access and infrastructure projects like the Lobito corridor. Eastern Africa hosts major US military operations from Djibouti and involves strategic partnerships with Kenya.

Read at The Cipher Brief