Armed Forces Intelligence Centre

The Armed Forces Intelligence Centre (CIFAS in Spanish) is the body responsible of obtaining for the Ministry of Defence (through the Chief of Defence Staff) and for the military authorities, the military intelligence needed to warn about situations of military concern with potential risk of external crisis that affect national defence. It is also in charge of giving the needed support to operations within its scope.

Likewise, it advises the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force on military counterintelligence and security affairs, within the scope of the Armed Forces, and contributes to provide strategic advice on military operations.

The CHOD will set up the circunstances for CIFAS to support the Operations Command in operations.

CIFAS is unique regarding military intelligence at the strategic level and is part of the intelligence community, being the only interlocutor of the Ministry of Defence in military intelligence matters in this field.

The Spanish Armed Forces Intelligence Centre is also in charge of the following tasks:

• Exploitation of joint intelligence, identification and surveillance systems, and coordination of the exploitation of specific systems of this kind.
• To provide Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force with the intelligence required for development of the Force's training activities.
• To plan, direct and, where appropriate, execute actions regarding cartography in the field of defence. To this end, the corresponding Units of the Army, Air Force and Navy maintain functional dependence on the Centre.