The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded HawkEye 360 a new contract to provide commercial radio frequency-based intelligence, moving the cooperation between the two parties from a multiyear evaluation program to operational support for U.S. intelligence and defense agencies. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
The office announced on August 17 that the contract was awarded under the Commercial Radio Frequency Capabilities Augmentation (CRFCA) program, which aims to expand the U.S. intelligence community’s and military’s use of commercial radio frequency data. The program is managed by the NRO’s Commercial Systems Office, with the data available for national security missions as well as civil and humanitarian missions.
What Do Radio Frequency Satellites Measure?
Unlike optical satellites, which collect images of Earth’s surface, radio frequency satellites listen to electronic emissions from sources such as radars, communications systems and maritime equipment. When multiple spacecraft collect the same measurements, they can be analyzed to identify the signal’s source and location.
HawkEye 360 operates more than 30 small satellites in low Earth orbit. These satellites typically fly in formations of three, working together to detect, characterize and geolocate radio emissions. This type of data gives relevant parties a different means from traditional satellite imagery for monitoring electronic activity associated with land and maritime targets.
From Evaluation to Operational Procurement
The contract represents the next phase of an effort the NRO began in 2022 to test the ability of commercial satellites to supplement government intelligence systems. The Commercial Radio Frequency Capabilities program began in September of that year with study contracts with six companies, then moved to capability evaluation through modeling and simulation before conducting in-orbit demonstrations.
The CRFCA mechanism was designed to allow the National Reconnaissance Office to increase or modify its purchases of this data as mission requirements change. This approach resembles the office’s efforts to integrate other forms of commercial remote sensing into its intelligence architecture, including electro-optical imagery and synthetic aperture radar imagery.
International Demand Raises the Importance of Commercial Data
The U.S. contract comes as HawkEye 360 expands its activity outside the United States. The company said during its earnings call on August 13 that international revenue reached $21 million in the second quarter, up 134% from $9 million in the same period of the previous year. International customers accounted for approximately 42% of total quarterly revenue, which amounted to $49.8 million, while management said international growth was organic rather than the result of acquisitions.
The company disclosed international awards worth more than $100 million, including work under an electronic warfare program in Europe and a multiyear contract supporting the Indian Navy and other customers in the Indian Ocean region. This reflects growing military demand for space-based radio frequency intelligence amid conflicts and security concerns in Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region.
What Is Changing in Practice?
The development is not limited to adding a new government customer; it indicates that commercial satellite data are moving from the proof-of-capability stage to becoming an element that can be relied upon for operational missions. HawkEye 360 is also seeking to reduce the time between data collection and delivery. Within two to three years, it is targeting revisits of areas approximately every 10 minutes, with a roughly similar latency, through the launch of additional satellites, the use of hosted payloads, or a combination of both options.