Tag: GeoIntelligence

NGA awards HawkEye 360 contract for RF mapping

Up to five-year contract follows a successful pilot program that demonstrated the value of commercial RF geospatial intelligence

HawkEye 360 has been awarded a contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to help the agency discover, characterize and map activities that emit energy in the radio frequency (RF) bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.

HawkEye 360 specializes in RF data and analytics from space-based satellites.

HawkEye 360 will provide NGA the means to develop global datasets, enabling users to discover and monitor a broad range of RF activity across large geographic areas.

The $10 million one-year contract includes an option for four more years. It will support users throughout the NGA enterprise, including the combatant commands and other mission partners.

HawkEye 360’s data will support a variety of analytics missions for NGA, including military activity and the trafficking of military, nefarious, non-state and transnational criminal (or illicit) activity. The company’s growing constellation of satellites will provide insight into developing events in a timely manner, and the company will work collaboratively with NGA on an ongoing basis to effectively meet the agency’s mission needs.

“We’re pleased to be moving from the pilot into an NGA long-term operational contract, which showcases the value of unclassified, shareable commercial RF insights,” said HawkEye 360 CEO John Serafini.

“This program is an excellent example of agile acquisition rapidly delivering high-impact GEOINT to the warfighter,” said Alex Fox, the company’s executive vice president for business development, sales and marketing.

NGA leveraged a National Reconnaissance Office commercial integration study contract with HawkEye 360 in September 2020 to execute a test and evaluation contract with the company.

NGA then issued a competitive RFP in March 2021 and awarded the contract in July 2021. “We are excited to continue working with NGA to address current mission requirements and expand the RF GEOINT tradecraft to address an even larger set of mission requirements, much like NGA has done with their pioneering use of commercial imagery,” Fox said.

HawkEye 360 operates a constellation of nine RF-monitoring satellites. Twenty-one additional satellites are fully funded and scheduled for launch in 2021 and 2022. Once complete, this baseline constellation of 30 satellites will provide collection revisits as frequently as every 20 minutes.

Following the establishment of the baseline constellation, HawkEye 360 plans to launch a second-generation constellation of 30 additional satellites by 2025 to satisfy projected capacity and operational requirements.

The company’s RF data and analytics produce actionable insights for national, tactical and homeland security operations, maritime domain awareness, environmental protection and a growing number of new defense and commercial applications.

October 27, 2021
U.S. Army recognizes GeoDecisions for modernizing convoy mapping module

Automated Movement and Identification Solutions (AMIS), a division of the U.S. Department of the Army, has bestowed a Certificate of Appreciation to GeoDecisions, Gannett Fleming’s geospatial technology division.

The certificate recognizes GeoDecisions for its outstanding technical expertise and dedication in the modernization of the Transportation Coordinators’ – Automated Information for Movements System II (TC-AIMS II) Convoy Planning Highway Regulation (CPHR-M) module.

TC-AIMS II CPHR-M is an advanced software solution used to plan the Army’s convoy movement around the globe. GeoDecisions integrated the Transportation Geospatial Information System (TGIS) map and routing tool through the TGIS application programming interface to embed the map within the TC-AIMS system.

The TGIS integration with TC-AIMS provides enhanced, real-time mapping functions, faster processing speeds, and a more user-friendly experience.

The recognition also honors the GeoDecisions team for its technical knowledge, attention to detail, and ability to recognize, understand and address issues quickly to allow CPHR-M to stay on schedule.

The team’s efforts resulted in more than a dozen changes to the baseline to provide better performance and additional capabilities that were not identified at the start of the project.

“It’s almost unheard of to receive an award like this from a government program, so we feel especially humbled by this honor,” said Brendan Wesdock, MCP, GISP, president of GeoDecisions. “We’ve built an exceptional team of geospatial professionals who continuously push the boundaries of geospatial technology to deliver the most effective and valuable solutions to our clients.”

AMIS is the primary source of providing automated movement and identification solutions across the DOD and around the globe. AMIS is the essential supplier for Transportation Coordinators’ – Automated Information for Movements System II (TC-AIMS II) with approximately 5,000 active users.

The GeoDecisions team (from left): Jay Ross, senior software test specialist; Jeff Carter, TGIS lead system administrator with sub-consultant Aegis Strategies, LLC; Steve Kraabel, senior client manager; Debra Houser, director of Application Development; Bret Huber, lead and software developer; (not pictured) Andrew Miller, developer. (Photo: GeoDecisions)

October 10, 2018
Esri to monitor illegal activities in Argentine waterways

Argentina’s coast guard Prefectura Naval and Aeroterra S.A. have partnered to implement Esri’s ArcGIS platform for a real-time tracking system.

The new system, called Guardacostas Pro, uses a combination of satellite imaging and signal processing to monitor vessels for illegal activities such as drug smuggling and fish poaching in the coastal waters of Argentina’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

As Argentina’s coast guard, Prefectura Naval deploys patrol vessels, helicopters and airplane spotters to protect its economic interests and to guard against the decline of its fishery.

This year, the Guardacostas Pro system allowed Prefectura Naval to track a Spanish vessel that entered the EEZ and attempted to return to international waters. The coast guard was able to catch the ship, which had poached roughly $380,000 worth of fish; escort it back to port; impound it; and fine the crew.

The captain had little ground to refute the charges because the coast guard had the data to prove the illegal activity.

“As of five years ago, we had very little information about the use of our seas,” said Ernesto Miguel Klocker, Prefectura Naval director of informatics and communications. “Now we have a good picture, which gives us electronic control of the sea, allowing us to send our air and naval units directly to the places where ships operate.”

Until recently, its primary enforcement tool was constant patrolling and investigation of all ships. Now Guardacostas Pro monitors signals that every vessel transmits to avoid collision and to provide data on vessel type, speed, and location. It combines this with satellite imaging and Esri’s spatial analytics capabilities to give coast guard personnel real-time alerts when a vessel is entering their waters.

“Prefectura Naval is setting a truly cutting-edge example of a forward-thinking organization,” said Dean Angelides, Esri head of international alliances and partners. “The best way to effectively enforce laws over such a large scale as the EEZ is to know exactly where things are happening and when, and Argentina is now leading the way in data-driven public safety.”

After being successfully proven at sea, the Guardacostas Pro system has been moved ashore and is now a multiagency tool to aid Argentina’s Ministry of Security’s homeland security mission. The Ministry of Security will use the system to track and locate its operative units through mobile phones, radio equipment, vehicles with location sensors, and search and rescue aircraft.

October 5, 2018
Data Capture for GeoIntelligence

Sponsored by: Navcom
Broadcast Date: Thursday, May 8, 2014
Moderator: Art Kalinski, Editor, GeoIntelligence Insider Newsletter
Speakers: John Ciampa, CEO, Alta; Ted Ralston, Executive Program Manager, Soft Power Solutions; Paul Smith, General Manager, Cyclomedia; Dr. Peter VanAmburgh, Business Development, IIF Data
Summary: A steep-curve learning session on the current explosion of capture systems, made possible with cheap, small GPS and inertial measurement units. New oblique capture systems, improvements in 3D model capture, very accurate ground capture (see the Februrary GeoIntelligence newsletter column on Cyclomedia), high-resolution drifting balloons (AltaDrifter.com), cheap silent aerostats, unmanned autonomous air vehicles (UAVs), disposable UAVs, a new manned parafoil all-terrain vehicle (ATV) — yes, flying ATVs! — and more. Look into the future of data capture, because it’s coming at you fast, right now!
View Ted Ralston’s launch demo video from the webinar
View Dr. Peter VanAmburgh’s “Stalker” video from the webinar

July 15, 2016
Latest developments from what3words at Esri FedGIS

Clare Jones of what3words describes the latest developments in the new global addressing system. She was interviewed by GeoIntelligence Insider columnist Art Kalinski for geospatial-solutions.com at the Esri Federal GIS Conference, held Feb. 24-25 in Washington, D.C.

April 8, 2016
Pictometry highlights new developments at FedGIS 2016

Ira Marcus of Pictometry describes the company’s new developments. He was interviewed by GeoIntelligence Insider columnist Art Kalinski at the Esri Federal GIS Conference, held Feb. 24-25 in Washington, D.C.

March 29, 2016
Is GEOINT Too Exclusive?

Dr. Todd Bacastow, PSU, talked with me about geointelligence in the broader business community. See the full interview below.

Time for a Revolution — or Evolution

In July at GEOINT 2015 I was talking with long-time colleague Dr. Todd Bacastow. Many of you may know him as the retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and Penn State professor heavily involved in the Geospatial Intelligence Certificate program and the lead for the GEOINT Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) series focused on GEOINT. He proposed a topic for my column that struck a nerve with me since I and others had danced around the potentially heretical issue — is it time to open and expand the GEOINT community to a larger audience?

As retired military officers, Todd and I share a common overarching loyalty and desire to do what we can to make life better and more survivable for our colleagues on active duty. GEOINT has certainly helped by providing detailed and timely actionable intelligence for those at the tip of the spear. However, can we do even better? Most assuredly yes!

The most advanced tip of the spear is our Special Operations community. Manycivilians picture Special Operations members as knuckle-dragging Rambos shooting up the countryside, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, they are without doubt the most intelligent, observant and capable people on our DOD team. They’ve learned over decades of experience that they can complete their missions and accomplish far more by winning the hearts and minds of individuals they deal with. Doing that requires hours, days and weeks of due diligence reviewing intelligence and any crumb of information that will make a difference.

Gone are the days of just looking at aerial photography. Now we have countless sources and types of imagery, analytics, tracking, social media, signals and human intelligence. Putting that complex slurry of information together into solid actionable intelligence is everyone’s goal, and the business community is no exception.

Looking around the GEOINT Expo, I saw countless three-letter agency reps, military and homeland security personnel. There were an equal number of defense contractors and related business personnel, but everything was focused on military/security applications. Other than Pitney Bowes showing MapInfo, primarily a business-focused GIS, there were few exhibitors showing technology not aimed at the traditional GEOINT community.

Our military and other first responders have tasks and responsibilities that are serious, complex and becoming more challenging. Limiting the talent pool and body of knowledge to only the narrow GEOINT community is not something we can afford to do. The creative talent found in the broader business community is too valuable to neglect.

Watch the video interview I shot at GEOINT 2015 with Bacastow and Dennis Bellafiore, Ph.D., both of Pennsylvania State University.

My chief concern is bringing the business community in with the understanding that this would be an open and sharing environment. My first real use of GIS after retiring from the Navy in 1993 were some business applications, mostly site studies and trade area analysis. In those early days, GIS grew rapidly within the business community. There were trade shows aimed at business applications of GIS, and even a publication called Business Geographics. Much to my surprise, Business Geographics and associated trade shows died out after only a few years. Some said that everyone learned all there was to learn! I don’t think so. A more likely reason was that the geospatial technology gave businesses a competitive edg.e so there was little incentive to expose trade secrets. Everyone wanted to learn about GIS, but few wanted to open their own kimono.

Would an all-inclusive GEOINT organization run into the same fate? Perhaps if we promote it as “we are all in the same boat” and this is your opportunity to help those at the “tip of the spear.” In this age of cyber warfare and corporate espionage, perhaps we might be able to make this happen by promoting mutual aid and security. I think USGIF and most geospatial industry partners would be interested and very supportive of the idea. But most important, can you imagine the explosion of ideas and the benefits to all geospatial users.

Todd, Dennis and I would really appreciate your opinion. Please leave comments below.

August 6, 2015
Art Kalinski Reports from GEOINT 2015

Editor’s Note:This week, Geointelligence Insider’s Art Kalinski reports from GEOINT 2015, being held in Washington, D.C., June 22-25.

GEOINT 2015 is not your daddy’s geospatial conference. If there is a common theme to this convention, it’s the problem of too much data and not enough analysts, so there are many exhibitors addressing the issue with automated systems that merge the “man and machine,” taking advantage of the best capabilities of each.

Introduction

NGA Director Robert Cardillo on the Agency’s Strategy

NGA Director Robert Cardillo discusses the agency’s new strategy at GEOINT 2015. Cardillo became the sixth director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in October 2014.

A Demonstration of Esri’s ArcGIS Full Motion Video Add-In

Geointelligence Insider’s Art Kalinski talks with Craig Cleveland, Esri solution engineer, about the ability to geo-register full motion video inside an ArcMap.

Thad Allen Discusses eLoran at GEOINT 2015

In this interview Admiral Thad Allen, former commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, discusses PNT alternatives to GPS for navigation, including eLoran and the activation June 19 of a signal on an eLoran tower in preparation for a timing signal trial.

Allan is an executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, and a leader in the firm’s Departments of Justice and Homeland Security business in the civil market. In 2010, President Obama selected him to serve as the National Incident Commander for the unified response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Geoweb 3D Demonstration at GEOINT 2015

Vincent Autieri, vice president and CEO of Geoweb 3D, explains the company’s 3D mapping engine.

CACI Predictive Tool Using Social Media Discussed at GEOINT 2015

Andrew Doyle, engineering senior manager of CACI, describes the EMBERS system, which uses social media to predict socially significant events such as protests or disease outbreaks.

June 23, 2015
Lockheed, Esri Cloud Deployment Enables Government GIS Sharing

Lockheed Martin and Esri have deployed commercial software to the Amazon Web Services Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) environment for the first time with an intelligence community customer, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The move enables government agencies to better share geospatial intelligence.

The deployment of the portal for Esri’s ArcGIS geographic information system (GIS) provides a single environment for analysts to securely organize and share data throughout the intelligence community and Department of Defense. It’s also the foundational step in consolidating multiple geospatial intelligence portals into the single NGA-provided portal, resulting in technology and license cost savings.

This is NGA’s second pioneering step in the cloud, after the agency moved its Map of the World application to the C2S environment late last year.

“Deploying Esri’s Portal for ArcGIS to a commercial cloud environment securely organizes existing data and facilitates collaboration across intelligence agencies,” said Jason O’Connor, vice president of Analysis and Mission Solutions for Lockheed Martin. “This cloud implementation also further shapes the government’s processes for architecting and implementing enterprise class services within a cloud environment.”

ArcGIS connects users to maps and geographic information. Users can create and view maps, compile geographic data, analyze mapped information and share geographic information in a range of applications.

“Working with Lockheed Martin and the NGA on this strategic implementation for national security is particularly meaningful,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri president. “It recognizes the importance of consolidating geospatial intelligence information into a single portal to facilitate rapid situational awareness and response by our intelligence community.”

Lockheed Martin and Esri have partnered for eight years on the Geospatial-Intelligence Visualization Services (GVS) program, which helped NGA and the Intelligence Community achieve this cloud migration milestone. The Total Application Services for Enterprise Requirements (TASER) GVS contract vehicle, which was originally awarded in 2012, conveys geospatial visualization context and analytic capabilities to warfighters, intelligence officers and policy-makers through classified and unclassified computer networks.

February 17, 2015
Trend- and Media-Forum at InterGeo Features Innovation, China

The Trend- and Media-Forum at InterGeo 2014, held October 7-9 in Berlin, showcases international trends and visionary presentations. Highlights include the daily JobSHAKER career event and the first cooperation with Chinese media platform 3sNews.

The InterGeo Trend- and Media-Forum works with renowned companies and publishing houses to explore interdisciplinary questions and initiate dialogue and debate. With a range of presentations, workshops, award ceremonies and panels, the forum is a catalyst for innovation and drives trends. The presentations focus on topics such as business processes involving geointelligence, UAVs, mobile solutions, cloud environments, 3D applications and e-government strategies.

JobSHAKER. In 2014, the topics of careers and young professionals will once again be at the heart of the InterGeo Trend- and Media-Forum. The well-established JobSHAKER career event brings together InterGeo employers and jobseekers. Attractive employers such as Leica Geosystems, Trimble Germany, Riegl Laser Measurement Systems, ALLSAT and the German armed forces use the Trend- and Media-Forum to showcase job opportunities and career profiles in their particular field. Conversations and discussions are very much encouraged at this event. JobSHAKER will take place daily from 12:30 to 2 p.m. as part of the Trend- and Media-Forum at InterGeo.

Dialogue with China. In a highlight of this year’s Trend- and Media-Forum, China will be entering into dialogue with the rest of the world. Gold media partner 3sNews, one of the largest media platforms for geoinformation in China, will be present. Sarah Long from 3sNews describes the significance of this cooperation with InterGeo: “We are looking forward to innovative, highly developed products and inspiring presentations, and plan to establish partnerships for the future. As the world’s largest and most influential exhibition for the geoinformation industry, InterGeo is an absolute must for us. It’s an opportunity for us to find out all the latest news and communicate it to China — our news about InterGeo will be broadcast throughout the world.”

GSS at InterGeo. GPS World/GSS staff will be reporting from InterGeo October 7-9. The massive trade show, held this year in Berlin, is considered the world’s leading conference trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. With more than 16,000 visitors from 80 countries, it is one of the key platforms for industry dialogue. Staff members attending include GPS World Editor and Publisher Alan Cameron, Survey/GIS Editor Eric Gakstatter, and Digital Editor Joelle Harms. All three are accepting meeting invitations for companies interested in discussing their products and services. Contact [email protected].

October 3, 2014