The Case for Open Source Intelligence

By Sean Corbett

Sean Corbett retired from the Royal Air Force in September 2018 after a 30-year career as a professional intelligence officer, where he reached the pinnacle of his profession. His last appointment in the military was two years in Washington DC as the first non-US Deputy Director of a major US Intelligence Agency. His primary role here was to optimise intelligence sharing with US allies, by developing and implementing a transformational change programme throughout the US intelligence community. He then established a Defence, Security and Intelligence Directorate within a ‘new space’ geospatial intelligence company, Earth-i, where he advanced innovative AI applications to earth observation data in support of the defence and security sector, and instigated the concept of ‘intelligence as a service’. In October 2019, he established his own business as a consultant specialising in the provision of strategic advice, commercial intelligence, the space sector, and the optimisation of organisational leadership and change management. He brings with him a wealth of operational experience from his time in the military, having served tours of duty in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Balkans, Libya and Central America. He has commanded at every rank level, including a tour as Commander of the Joint Service Signals Organisation, as the J2 at the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters and Chief of UK Intelligence in Afghanistan in 2010-2011. Sean has a strong NATO background, having held the influential roles of Principal Staff Officer to the Deputy Supreme Commander, Europe, and as the deputy UK Military Representative to NATO. Continuing the theme of working closely with allies and partners, He was awarded an MBE is 1999 for his role in the Kosovo crisis and in 2018 was made a CB. He is a senior associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the oldest independent defence and security think-tank in the UK.