Civ-Sat Experiment Ends at Lajes

A ground-based communication station based at Ramstein AB, Germany tracked ships moving through the Atlantic Ocean using satellite communication during its most recent experiment at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. Called Eagle Vision-1, the communication station uses information from civilian remote sensing satellites that measures energy reflected from the sea surface. The experiment proved the communication station could track ships in the Atlantic—from Europe to the US and vice versa. “Vessels larger than 25 meters in length can be detected on the resulting images and plotted on maritime charts,” said Michael Mignone, chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Assessments Division, “which can reveal a lot about ocean-going traffic patterns and … develop new safer and more efficient shipping routes.”