Coast Guard Utilizing Satellite Data to Increase Maritime Domain Awareness

The U.S. Coast Guard is increasingly depending on automatic identification system-provided data to help safeguard the maritime border of the Customs and Border Protection and potentially the Indo-Pacific region, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

AIS works to provide specific information during vessel monitoring efforts to increase situation awareness.

“So part of what you’re able to do with a lot of these systems now, AIS being one of the primary, is you’re able to eliminate a lot of noise from the system so that you can begin to try to surface those so-called dark objects out there, those entities that aren’t abiding by the rules, that aren’t transmitting where their locations are or that are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing,” said Peter Neffenger, a retired vice admiral who served as vice commandant of the Coast Guard.

The service branch uses maritime intelligence fusion centers as sources to provide an accurate report and satellite imagery is one of the main factors in information reporting.

“There’s certainly satellite imagery as a component of it. Signals intelligence is part of it,” said Neffenger. “The sensor data coming off of aircraft, they’re overflying. CBP, for example, has overflight aircraft that are in the maritime domain.”

Interested in learning more about several U.S. efforts to ensure homeland security? Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Homeland Security Summit, which will feature Rear Adm. Christopher Bartz, assistant commandant for command, control, communications, computers and information technology at the Coast Guard, as one of the speakers. Register here to participate in the Nov. 15 event.