F3EAD — Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, Disseminate
BLUF
F3EAD (pronounced “F-three-E-A-D”) is an intelligence-driven targeting methodology developed within US special operations and joint doctrine that fuses the operational targeting cycle with the intelligence cycle into a single, self-reinforcing loop. It emerged operationally in Iraq and Afghanistan as the framework underpinning high-tempo counterterrorism and “find-the-network” operations, where each completed strike generated material that fed the next. The cycle runs in two coupled halves: an operations-led front end — Find, Fix, Finish (locate the target, maintain custody/track it, then act against it) — and an intelligence-led back end — Exploit, Analyze, Disseminate (process captured material and intelligence, analyse it, and push findings back into the system to generate new targets). Its defining feature is the Exploit/Analyze phase, which converts tactical action into renewed intelligence, accelerating the loop against networked adversaries.
Key Points
- Find — develop and confirm a target through all-source intelligence; nominate it for action.
- Fix — establish and maintain positive identification and location (“pattern of life”), holding the target until forces are ready.
- Finish — execute the operation (capture, strike, or other effect) against the fixed target.
- Exploit — the pivot: process site-exploitation material, detainees, media, and documents (DOMEX/MEDEX) for intelligence value.
- Analyze — fuse exploited material with existing holdings to map the network and surface new nodes.
- Disseminate — push finished intelligence to consumers and back into Find, closing the loop.
- F3EAD is contrasted with the linear kill chain (F2T2EA) by its explicit intelligence-regeneration tail; it is heavily associated with targeted-killing operations and now AI-accelerated target nomination.
Key Connections
- Kill Chain — F3EAD extends the linear find-finish kill chain with an intelligence-regeneration loop
- Intelligence Cycle — F3EAD’s Exploit-Analyze-Disseminate tail is the intelligence cycle embedded in targeting
- Targeted Killing Doctrine — F3EAD is the operational backbone of network-targeting and targeted-killing campaigns
- The Gospel — AI target-generation systems compress and accelerate the Find/Analyze phases of F3EAD
Sources
- US Army FM 3-60 / JP 3-60, Targeting (joint targeting doctrine) — [High confidence — primary doctrine]
- Charles Faint & Michael Harris, “F3EAD: Ops/Intel Fusion ‘Feeds’ the SOF Targeting Process,” Small Wars Journal (2012) — [High confidence]
- Stanley McChrystal, Team of Teams (2015) — operational account of F3EAD-driven JSOC targeting — [Medium confidence — memoir]