INTERVIEW
Smallsats for Resilience, Connectivity and Insight The smallsat segment will develop as a robust, affordable and pervasive architecture that can easily scale to address a wide range of human needs, says Alex Fox, Executive Vice President, HawkEye 360. By Meenal Dhande Can you tell us a bit about HawkEye 360 in terms of the sectors it serves and the expansion plans? HawkEye 360 is a leading commercial provider of Space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics. We use satellites flying in formation to detect, characterize and geolocate a broad range of RF signals. We primarily serve the defense, intelligence and homeland security sectors, and are working to expand into commercial shipping, insurance and communications markets. This expansion goes hand-in-hand with the growth of our satellite constellation and capabilities. We recently commissioned our first next-generation satellite cluster called ‘Cluster 2’, which has vastly superior collection capacity, RF frequency coverage and geolocation accuracy.
The smallsat segment offers flexible services through advanced data analysis and downlinks. How does HawkEye 360 provide the fastest services to its customers?
There are three key areas of focus — innovation, integration and capacity. We have the ability to quickly integrate proven, leading-edge technologies to meet customers’ needs. For defense and intelligence clients, timely, shareable, accurate tactical Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) is essential to their day-to-day activities. The threat environment is continually evolving and they need the ability to deliver new capability in 36 | www.gwprime.geospatialworld.net | March-April 2021
months, not years. HawkEye 360 has, and continues to show how we can rapidly innovate and deliver new capabilities affordably and reliably. We are integrating our products and services into existing client workflows. Many clients have tools and it is important for them to have a common trusted platform for their integrated intelligence needs. They need to operate the way they are trained; then need to focus on the mission and not the application. Through the recent launch of Cluster 2 and through more next-generation satellite launches planned over the coming months, we are expanding our capacity to meet a wide range of requirements across the RF spectrum. This includes near persistent coverage over any area of the world, timely delivery of our data and analytics, and growing our signal library and product offerings based on the ongoing needs of our clients.
