HawkEye 360 on Tuesday said it has received a $12.3 million contract from the Navy to continue providing its satellite-based radio frequency (RF) as part of a maritime domain awareness initiative in the Indo-Pacific region, expanding on existing work the company won last year.
The Phase II award in September by the Naval Information Warfare Center follows a $5.8 million Phase I contract HawkEye 360 received in October 2022 to continue supporting the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), an initiative agreed to in 2022 by the U.S. Australia, India, and Japan, which are referred to as the Quad.
Hawkeye 360 said that that the new contract is for RF data that covers more regions and sharing with more parties. The Northern Virginia-based company provides RF data, analytics, and training to partner nations in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, helping them understand vessel traffic, and potential illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing.
The RF data is shared through SeaVision, a multi-national information sharing platform used by the U.S. and its allies and partners for unclassified data to strengthen MDA.
The U.S., Australia, India, and Japan in May 2022 signed the IPMDA to leverage existing commercial technologies to observe ship vessel traffic patterns and create a common operating picture to track dark shipping—which refers to ships that turn off their identification transponders—and other activities such as ships meeting up at sea. HawkEye 360s satellite-based technology can sense dark ships through various other electronic transmissions aboard a ship.
The IPMDA was followed a month later by a National Security Memorandum issued by President Joe Biden that directed the Departments of Defense and State to work with the Quad members on implementing the initiative with a focus on South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands using advanced commercial data.
“The Indo-Pacific represents one of the most highly trafficked regions of the world, an epicenter of global trade with waters rich in resources,” Alex Fox, HawkEye 360’s chief growth officer, said in a statement. “The sheer size of these waters, coupled with endless vessel activity, demands vigilant maritime observation.”
HawkEye 360 operates a constellation of 21 satellites that detect, characterize, and geolocate RF signals from emitters used for communication, navigation, and security. The company is planning an upcoming launch of two additional clusters of three satellites in a mid-latitude orbit to meet increasing demand in the Indo-Pacific region.