Planet Labs Secures Major U.S. Navy Contract for Advanced Maritime Monitoring

Planet Labs PBC, a provider of daily Earth data and insights, has announced a major contract award from the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific for vessel detection and monitoring. The contract, awarded to Planet Labs’ fully owned subsidiary, Planet Labs Federal Inc., is valued in the seven-figure range.

The NIWC Pacific, based in San Diego, is a key U.S. Navy research facility specializing in highly-advanced information warfare technology.

The collaboration will see the incorporation of Planet’s daily, global PlanetScope data and high-resolution SkySat data into the Department of Transportation’s SeaVision platform, a critical tool for maritime situational awareness. The project also involves technology fusion with SynMax, a Planet Labs partner, which will provide vessel detection using their analytics technology over Planet data.

Planet’s PlanetScope constellation will provide global coverage for the SeaVision platform, allowing for extensive and timely ocean monitoring. The NIWC Pacific will also have access to Planet’s high-resolution SkySat data. SynMax’s Theia technology, adapted for the project, will use AI to detect maritime events crucial for identifying illegal activities such as unreported fishing, illicit ship-to-ship transfers, and vessel spoofing.

The integration of unclassified data into the SeaVision platform will improve maritime domain awareness and allow for validation of alternative datasets. This data can be shared with SeaVision users, promoting a shared understanding of key Pacific areas.

“NIWC Pacific continually pushes the bounds of innovating and advancing unmatched and disruptive technology in support of their operations,” said Jon Powers, Planet Federal’s General Manager. “Planet possesses a unique broad area imagery collection of land and ocean areas in the Indo-Pacific, so it’s exciting for us to contribute that unique capability to provide maritime insights in support of the SeaVision mission.”

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