‘Dark vessels’ at sea to be detected by UK satellite

Once operational, Horizon Technologies’ Amber-2 Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) satellite will detect vessels involved in illegal immigration, illegal fishing activities, drug smuggling, ship-to-ship transfers of goods and sanction evasion. 

The development of the satellite by the Reading headquartered company is supported by a £1.2m investment from the UK Space Agency. The wider Amber Programme has been designed to meet the MDA requirements of the Royal Navy via the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) in Portsmouth.  

The follow-on satellite Amber-3 is also progressing, with Horizon Technologies currently accepting industry-wide proposals from potential spacecraft/bus suppliers for the build, and a targeted launch date of late 2025. 

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Amber satellites work by detecting radio frequency (RF) signals enabling the identification of satphones and navigation radars, so when vessels engaged in illegal activities turn off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) they can still be tracked.  

A single tower-mounted variant called AmberPersistent can collect RF signals (L/S/X band emitters) up to three million sq/km with real-time 24/7 coverage, which the UK Space Agency said is essential for tracking vessels carrying out illicit activities.