[3] In December 2018, HawkEye 360 launched the company's first set of small satellites, known as the Pathfinder cluster, into orbit as part of Spaceflight's SSO-A SmallSat Express ride-share aboard a SpaceX Falcon9.
The company's signal expansion into the UHF band enabled monitoring of push-to-talk radios, which could aid discovery of cross-border smuggling operations and poaching.
[20] In December 2023, HawkEye 360 acquired Maxar Intelligence's RF Solutions business unit (formerly Aurora Insight) for an undisclosed amount.
These satellites employ a unique water propulsion system that enables them to maintain a specific formation, crucial for accurately triangulating and charting signal locations.
Additionally, each satellite features an upgraded Software Defined Radio (SDR) for capturing higher quality data, leading to more precise geolocation.
Lastly, in high-traffic areas such as ports, it is difficult to distinguish vessels' signals due to the high density of RF activity.
[30] HawkEye 360 collects and analyzes RF frequencies used by ships for navigation to see vessels true locations and fill gaps in AIS information.
[34] Monitoring could also eventually enable telecommunications firms to more easily determine which bands are under-utilized in order to more efficiently deploy spectrum resources.
[3] Using the company's satellites, HawkEye 360 can locate RF signals emitted by activated emergency beacons, which will decrease the time and effort of search and rescue operations.
In instances of natural disasters, HawkEye 360 will be able to detect and assess the health of operational towers to ensure access to viable modes of communication for first responders and survivors.