Net-centric integration of RPAS services in the maritime information sharing environment

Abstract

The current situation in the European maritime domain is characterized by thousands of activities taking place in the waters every day. Guaranteeing these activities in a safe manner and having an unambiguous picture of their impact on the environment and on security is associated with the challenge of having a common and shared maritime situational awareness and being able to respond and manage the right actions to the right places at the right time in a gathered and complementary way. Integration of aircraft based observation services in the maritime multi system integrated network of the EMSec (Echtzeitdienste für die Maritime Sicherheit – Security) project was done with two optionally piloted aircrafts of different performance and with different sensor payload, acting as remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). Today’s information sharing in a maritime environment is analyzed and the associated shortcomings in terms of maritime security are identified. The framework to overcome these shortcomings for enhancing the maritime domain awareness is described and the contributions of and benefits from the RPAS services integration are presented.