A revolution in Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance is here. What was once need to know is now available as a service ⬇️

This week news broke of a Chinese naval task group. Within days, a New Zealand start up – Starboard Maritime Intelligence was beaming commercial Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) product confirming a flotilla was in the Western Pacific and identifying the make up of the surface combatants. From close hold to communicated to the public in days.

Increasingly Governments are turning to the private sector to augment and expand the reach of ISR or do it in a more cost effective and efficient way.  Now public private partnerships in military and intelligence operations are nothing new – from privateers (pirates) to modern day mercenaries, private sector has always played a direct role in War. But what is an interesting feature of this latest iteration is the proliferation of dual-use ISR as a service.

Beaten Zone Venture Partners‘ portfolio company HEO provides on demand non Earth imaging – Space ISR as a service – that allows Governments and private sector to track non earth assets and entities.  Starboard Maritime Intelligence is doing similar things in the maritime domain. There are numerous start ups and disruptors seeking to service the ISR needs of nation states, all levels of government, the private sector and the public.

We’ll add an excellent example of what’s possible in the comments. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) latest Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative report leverages satellite imagery via Vantor to support analysis of the expanding capability of China’s man made islands in the South China Sea.

A middle power like Australia needs to harness this dual use public private partnership model to our advantage. It isn’t just the military and intelligence agencies that can leverage intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance – agribusiness, emergency response and disaster recovery, insurance, shipping and logistics. That’s before we get to the personal customer use.

Of course to be future ready these services will need to scalable, adaptable and easily repaired or replaced. Boutique and fragile won’t cut it – the small, the smart and the many. It won’t just be sovereign state assets that are targeted in heightened competition and conflict after all.

Food for thought!

📷 of Fiery Cross in the South China Sea – Vantor’s commercial ISR as a service utilised for Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analysis.