Interoperability has been the emphasis of various industries, sectors, and technologies. However, the path to fusion is not easy by any measure. Efforts to combine various technologies have either completely failed or have not come to fruition as expected.
For long, the defense sector has also called for greater interoperability with sectors within and around. A panel discussion at the 2023 Indo-Pacific Geo Intelligence was held to discuss and catalyze the same through the amalgamation of various private and public entities.
Moderating the panel, Lt. Gen. Vinod G. Khandare, PVSM, AVSM, SM (Retd), Principal Adviser, Department of Defence discussed the theme of the session and reiterated the importance of GeoInt, he said, “GeoInt is putting all types of intelligence onto a platform that all the users are comfortable with. The newage, unrestricted, kinetic and non-kinetic wars that we are in amidst of imply that it’s not only about physical security that we are looking at. Instead the threats are multifaceted and in many domains. So while we need intelligence for our physical security, we also need intel data and AI collaboration for better digital security.”
He further stated that there is a difference between intelligence and information. “When we say real-time intelligence, there is a requirement of real-time information first.” Many people do not need intelligence whereas information might be a far-reaching option.
Randall Billy, Director for International Government BD, Esri USA, while shedding light on the definition of Digital Twin technology said, “Digital Twin is a concept of digital representation of the physical world. We have been making digital maps for a long time but those are not digital twin.”
He then added, “What makes something a digital twin is bringing real-time data into a static map collection. Furthermore, it began as a construction tool and now has been expanded for further operational capabilities.”
James McAden, Senior Director – Asia-Pacific Sales, HawkEye 360, talked about the innovation in the maritime domain and the need to track illegal ships. He shared the updates in the Radio Frequency (RF) in the Maritime Environment and charted out eight major points of RF technology to give a full picture of the current maritime situation.
James then shed light on the next phase of vessel tracking – Unique Signal Recognition (USR). “Through this technology detection, geolocation, and identification of dark vessels have been made easy. This is due to the Machine Learning techniques and unclassified, commercial RF Data. Furthermore, through the help of big data set, multiple expert processing techniques, and robust validation.”
He then reiterated that USR technologies open up a wide range of related analytics to assist end users in the maritime environment.
“HawkEye 360 is providing RF Data and dark ship detection to support the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative. This program is in its pilot phase, and has been endorsed in open press by the QUAD. These member states are supporting the provision of our RF data to regional partner nations for enhanced MDA.”
While talking about the current scenario of India, Lt Gen Sanjay Sethi, DGIS, India Army said, “There’s a changed ecosystem in the country, government and defense. There is an increased focus on tech fusion. On the infrastructure side as well, things have changed vastly.”
“Everything possible in projected was integrated into a bundle. Combing the architecture, infra, technologies, and target into one single platform proved to be challenging. Now, we have developed platform so that we can decouple certain layers for more clarity. This also reduces our procurement problems and reduces the overall acquisition cost,” he supplemented.
The stage was then given to the CEO, Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS), Malaysia, Major General Dato’ Hj Ya’cob Bin Hj Samiran talked in depth about the Covid implications in his country and the role of various Malaysian Department and GIS played in curbing it.
“In Malaysia, geospatial data has been the responsibility of the department of survey and imaging which is also tasked to serve the geospatial requirement for the Malaysian armed forces. Within this department, there is defence geospatial division to serve between various stakeholders.”
He further said, “During Covid 19, this division played an important role. The data collected by them was processed and analyzed was able to give more accurate information for the Malaysian National Security Council and armed forces. This helped with Covid hotspots, mainting hospitals, selected quarantine area, and various checkpoints.”
Andy Stephenson, Senior Vice President, International Business Development & Worldwide Sales, BlackSky, spoke about Space-based Tactical Information, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) & GeoINT.
Focusing on Enhanced Situational Awareness, he said, “Space-based commercial tactical ISR provides real-time and near real-time data, including high-resolution imagery, geospatial intelligence and feed into a pattern of life understanding.”
“This enables ministries of defence and warfighters to have an increased understanding of the battlefield, including terrain features, enemy positions, and potential threats. It enhances situational awareness and helps in making informed decisions,” Andy added.
