In Navy experiment, commercial satellites serve as key weapons against drug traffickers

In an experiment last fall near Virginia’s coast, a team of engineers used commercial hardware, software and satellite data to show the U.S. Navy how it could quickly turn information from satellites into useful intelligence.

The Office of Naval Research sponsored the experiment to identify readily available technologies that could help U.S. Southern Command to detect and identify illegal drug-trafficking boats that turn off their lights at night and do not emit radio signals.

Royce Geospatial Consultants, a geospatial data analytics company, pitched the Navy the idea of using floating acoustic sensors to tip and cue imaging satellites.