The purpose of the the National Imagery Transmission Format Standard (NITFS) is to transmit a file composed of an image accompanied by subimages, symbols, labels, text, and other information that relate to the image. One of the main features of the NITFS is that it allows several items of each data type to be included in one file, yet any data types may be omitted. In 1992, the Image Handling Standards and Guidelines document for Commercial Analyst Workstation (CAWS) adopted the NITF 2.0 file format (only) as the format for full frame National imagery to be distributed from IDEX II, System III, and Low Cost Media. Also in 1992, development responsibility moved to the Central Imagery Office (CIO) and was incorporated into the Defense Standardization Program under the auspices of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
