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Intelligence Community

NGA’s New Rapid Capabilities Office Taking Risks, Not Seeking 100 Percent Solution

By Cal Biesecker

Wednesday, May 6th, 2026

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NGA’s New Rapid Capabilities Office Taking Risks, Not Seeking 100 Percent Solution

User with handheld device observing imagery on a component of GAMBLER. Photo: NGA

AURORA, Colo.—The new Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) stood up last fall within the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is focused on quickly getting emerging technologies into the hands of operators and warfighters for testing and iteration with vendors rather than waiting on the traditional acquisition process, which can’t keep up with the pace of innovation in the commercial sector, the head of the office said on Tuesday. The initial focus is on “short duration pilots and prototypes” with technologies that have…

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