DIA showcases importance of IC collaboration with new facility

With the ground softened by recent rains, seven shovels easily bit into the dirt to signify the ceremonial groundbreaking of a highly anticipated DIA facility at the Intelligence Community Campus-Fort Belvoir North Area in Springfield, Virginia.

When the $185 million DIA Headquarters Annex opens in 2028, it will represent a major leap forward in IC collaboration. Located adjacent to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s headquarters, the new DIA facility will create a foundational intelligence center capable of leveraging its proximity to key mission partners — including NGA and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency — while enhancing all-source analytic synergy in support of strategic competition initiatives.

DIA Director Lt. Gen. Jeff Kruse acknowledged the benefits of joining NGA and DTRA as mission partners on Fort Belvoir.

“This facility will make it possible for geographically dispersed organizations and those with complementary objectives to coalesce and work in a central location, providing more opportunities for close collaboration to enable all of our mission success — not just DIA’s, but all of our mission partners as well.”

When complete, DIA’s Directorate for Analysis will consolidate key National Capital Region-based foundational intelligence missions at the new facility.

Kruse said the new facility will help the Agency operationalize intelligence in support of the broader goals of the U.S. Government.

“Now more than ever, integration is key to strategic competition and to defense of the Nation,” Kruse said. “Our adversaries are overcoming historical friction points to partner together in new ways and towards new ends, aiming to defy the international rules-based order, and increase their own technological advances. We must match and outpace their efforts and their advances, and the outcomes that we’ll create by building this state-of-the-art facility will do just that.”

The DIA Headquarters Annex will also address a 630-seat space shortfall in the NCR. By enabling geographically disparate organizations with complementary missions to consolidate in one location, the facility will provide greater opportunities to enhance mission success.

Of particular note is the facility’s planned floor configuration, which will allow for the integration of Five Eyes partners and country liaisons with minimal disruption and greater flexibility.

“What makes it special is that it represents the Intelligence Community’s future — IC campuses,” said Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Dr. Stacey Dixon. “IC campuses are designed to bring us closer together in a shared mission imperative to provide timely, insightful, objective and relevant intelligence to inform decisions on national security events and issues.”

The project will consist of an office building and parking garage. DIA has worked closely with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, IC partners, Fort Belvoir leadership and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to plan for the construction of the facility. In June, the project was awarded to Clark Construction Group of McLean, Virginia.

Col. Frank Pera, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District Commander, shared that the DIA Headquarters Annex will be nearly 119,000 square feet and include more than 172,000 square feet of covered parking. However, their mission extends beyond construction.

“For USACE, it’s not about concrete and steel,” said Pera. “It’s about ensuring our Nation has the capabilities it needs to safeguard its citizens.”

With a state-of-the-art modern facility that will meet growing and diverse DIA mission requirements, the DIA Headquarters Annex will enhance the Agency’s operational capabilities while still existing within close proximity to DIA’s Headquarters on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.