HawkEye 360, the world's leading commercial provider of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, announced it has been awarded a three-year, $15.5 million Experimental Purpose Agreement (EPA) contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate. Through the agreement, HawkEye 360 will provide radio frequency analytics research, development, and experiments to help the government demonstrate, test and evaluate its hybrid space ISR architecture.
HawkEye 360 operates a growing constellation of satellites which detects, characterizes and precisely geolocates radio frequency signals from a broad range of emitters used for communication, navigation and security. By processing and analyzing this RF data, the company delivers high-impact actionable insights across a broad range of sectors, including environmental protection and national security.
"This agreement is a tremendous opportunity for HawkEye 360 to showcase the whole spectrum of capability we offer the government as it develops its space architectures," said CEO John Serafini. "We deliver value not only through the efficient tasking, collection and delivery of our RF data, which has never before been commercially available, but also through embedded operational support and enhanced analytics capabilities, deriving applicable insights for diverse end users. Ultimately, we hope to shape a pathway for further integration of valuable commercial capabilities into the government's space architecture."
HawkEye 360 has previously supported numerous Air Force Research Laboratory exercises but had never done so through a direct contract vehicle. As part of the new agreement, HawkEye 360 will support a variety of operational use cases by providing embedded personnel support, data collection, tools for data ingestion, analytics and more. The agreement scope includes participating military exercises, such as the Rim of the Pacific Exercises, to introduce new capabilities to the warfighter and identify ways to improve and integrate into operational workflows.
The EPA contract vehicle is available for use by all Combatant Commands as they look to test and demonstrate innovative commercial RF data and analytics to include Direct Downlink to government ground stations.
"We appreciate the opportunity to partner with one of the most prestigious military research organizations in the world," said Alex Fox, Executive Vice President for Global Growth. "Our team is excited to be part of an AFRL program focused on developing and transitioning space capabilities for more effective and affordable warfighter missions. We share AFRL's vision for a hybrid government and commercial ISR architecture to address growing global threats and to provide the warfighter with high-impact insights needed to support their mission."
Charlene Jacka, AFRL Technical Program Manager, said that the Department of Defense constantly seeks to identify, evaluate and recommend commercial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities for integration into United States Air Force and United States Space Force workflows. They are pleased to have the opportunity to explore at greater scale and depth, using real-world scenarios, how a leading radio frequency data and analytics provider such as HawkEye 360 can supplement and strengthen their hybrid satellite ISR architecture, and to develop new tactics, techniques and procedures to enable further utility assessments.
