New investment sets conditions for satellite operator HawkEye 360 to expand its RF location coverage

HawkEye 360 announced on 8 November that it had closed USD145 million in new funding. Two of the largest investors are Insight Partners and the UK-based Seraphim Space. Additional funding came from the investment arm of the UAE's Tawazun Holding, bringing the total funds raised to USD302 million.

HawkEye 360 operates three clusters of three satellites each. Extant plans were to increase these to 10 clusters in 2022–23. The additional funding enables that figure to increase to 20 clusters. The existing satellites are in polar orbits.

The incidence between coverage of any specific area of interest is three hours. With 10 clusters, it would be reduced to 35 minutes, and with 20 clusters, it would be under 10 minutes, Hawkeye 360 CEO John Serafini told Janes. Additional funding means HawkEye 360 can expand to 20 clusters.

HawkEye 360's customers are government and defence agencies and include the National Reconnaissance Office in the US. Serafini told Janes some customers wanted raw data while others wanted processed intelligence.

The satellite systems enable the geolocation of radio frequency (RF) emitters in the 140 MHz to 18 GHz range. In principle, any emitter in that range with an output above 1 W is detectable. The company is looking at the practicality of lower frequencies.