Airbus Teams Up with UK Royal Navy for Groundbreaking Satellite-Enhanced Maritime Monitoring

The UK Royal Navy has granted a 12-month contract extension to Airbus for the ongoing delivery of satellite-driven maritime surveillance solutions for the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC).

This contract is a result of the successful culmination of a proof of concept phase and will guarantee the sustained observation of areas of interest within UK waters, thereby safeguarding UK sovereign borders against dubious vessel activities. By utilizing optical and radar imaging alongside AIS (Automatic Identification System) data, Airbus will furnish reports regarding vessels in the UK Exclusive Economic Zone and furnish information vital for the deterrence of potential illegal operations.

JMSC, recognized as the UK government’s center of excellence in maritime security, necessitated a collection of services to bolster their own surveillance efforts. Under this agreement, JMSC will reap the benefits from a wide array of Airbus’ surveillance and analytical capabilities.

The contract encompasses Vessel Detection Reports through SAR data analytics, which can be delivered in emergency mode for urgently needed satellite tasking to track suspicious vessels of interest globally, or on a bi-daily basis for general vessel identification and categorization of ‘dark’ vessels in critical areas. Furthermore, the Defence Site Monitoring service utilizes automated algorithms applied to optical imagery for the detection, recognition, and identification of vessels. This will outline the trends in port activities and trigger alerts whenever irregular activities transpire.

The Airbus surveillance solutions will provide JMSC with enhanced insights into various activities across UK waters, particularly in relation to potentially non-compliant vessels, thus aiding in tackling security issues more proficiently and enabling rapid deployment of resources for interception.