Our Partners Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

The National League of Families POW/MIA flag.
The flag symbolises support for those who served the USA in the Vietnam War.

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) leads the search for tens of thousands of missing American service personnel from World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and other designated conflicts during and beyond the Cold War. This mission is being supported by a research partnership between the DPAA and NCAP.

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

The mission of the DPAA is to identify and recover unaccounted service personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from past conflicts, from countries around the world. As of 2026, this United States Department of Defense agency continues to search for approximately 80,000 missing Americans.

The DPAA employs an expert workforce, including active-duty military from all branches and civilian specialists including forensic anthropologists and archaeologists. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., the DPAA operates world-class forensic laboratories at Offutt Air Force Base (Nebraska) and Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (Hawaii). Specialised teams (Research, Investigation, and Recovery) deploy globally to conduct site surveys, archaeological excavations, and underwater recoveries.

The DPAA was formed in 2015 through the merger of three federal government agencies. The goal was to create a single, accountable agency to boost identification capacity and improve transparency for families. Over the past decade, the organisation has transformed its operating model and now has more than 100 active partnerships with external organisations globally, notably with academia.

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An image digitised as part of the DPAA partnership, showing the Bagana volcano on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea; Collection: NARA, Sortie: 4B/0196/C, Frame: LT_0025 (19 September 1944)

The DPAA and NCAP

Over recent decades, the DPAA (and predecessor bodies) have used NCAP imagery to discover the remains of missing service personnel from World War II. NCAP is now considered a key information source for pinpointing aircraft crash sites, understanding ground war manoeuvres, and the location of makeshift graves that have since been obscured by nature or development.

The vast NCAP holdings of global conflict imagery, alongside our partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) of the United States, provide a unique opportunity to transform and accelerate historical research into the missing. Our partnership with the DPAA delivers critical geospatial intelligence that supports its mission to bring closure to the families and citizens of the United States by providing the fullest possible accounting for missing American service personnel.

DPAA Website

IN THIS SECTION

Arcadia

Thanks to generous funding from Arcadia, NCAP will transform access to over 100,000 aerial photographs of the Middle East and North Africa.

A long, low profile building fills the frame. It has lots of square edges and sharp angles, and our view of it is partially blocked by spindly trees and dense, low bushes. The photograph has been taken at night, and the clear, dark blue sky glows behind the building. Three rows of windows are illuminated with orange light from inside.

Directorate of Overseas Surveys Partnership

Working with Stockholm University and the University of California (Berkeley), this partnership delivered a pioneering digitisation programme.  

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Edinburgh International Data Facility

Our research collaboration with the EIDF facilitates access to high-performance computing infrastructure, enabling the development of advanced algorithms and creation of analytics-ready datasets.

The logo of the Irish Military Archives.

Irish Defence Forces

NCAP has been working with the Irish Defence Forces to digitise tens of thousands of aerial photographic images and associated records held by the Irish Military Archives.

The logo of the Medmenham Collection.

The Medmenham Collection

With significant elements of the NCAP collection originating from RAF Medmenham, our relationship with the Medmenham Collection remains a valuable one.

The logo of the National Archives and Records Administration.

National Archives and Records Administration

In 2016, NCAP began a partnership with NARA to copy its extensive holdings of aerial photography, with a particular focus on images from the Second World War.

Logo of the National Library & Archives UAE.

National Library and Archives of the United Arab Emirates

NCAP has been working with the National Library and Archives of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to digitise tens of thousands of aerial photographic images of the UAE.

Qatar National Library

We have been working with the Qatar National Library to digitise tens of thousands of aerial photographic images covering Qatar held by NCAP.

The logo of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

NCAP has been working with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales to digitise tens of thousands of aerial photographic images held in The National Monuments Record of Wales.