full speed ahead: closing in on the first year of fully
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Full speed ahead: Closing in on the first year of fully operationalCopernicus services for Security applications
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The complete set of Copernicus services for Security applications became fully operational in May of2017, marking a historic milestone for the Copernicus programme. Following the signature ofDelegation Agreements between the Entrusted Entities and the European Commission, industrialcontracts for the provision of services were granted.
These developments established the operational status of the complete set of Copernicus Servicesfor Security Applications, which have been up and running since then.
Copernicus, Europe’s ambitious Earth Observation and monitoring (EO) programme, has come along way since the earliest visions of an independent European capability for Global for Environmentand Security were sketched out by a group of Space agency and European Commissionrepresentatives in Baveno, Italy in 1998. Last May, the final piece in a long and complex puzzle wasset into place with the launch of the operational Copernicus Services in Support to EU ExternalAction. This development concludes the transformation of the Baveno vision into reality and the fulltransition of the Copernicus programme from research to operations.
Copernicus’ Services for Security applications fulfil the programme’s mandate to support EuropeanUnion policies relating to civil security, supporting challenges related to crisis prevention,
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preparedness and response, the reduction of cross-border crime and maritime security and safety.Providing a variety of geospatial intelligence products and services, the services fall into three mainareas of activity:
Border Surveillance: Supporting border authorities in managing the external land and seaborders of the EU.
Maritime Surveillance: Supports tasks such as monitoring of fisheries, combatting marinepollution, ensuring safety of navigation, and customs and law enforcement.
Support to the EU’s External Action: On-demand and rapidly-delivered geospatialinformation in support of EU missions and operations abroad, crisis management, andmonitoring of security issues outside the mainland European territory.
Security has always been central to the Copernicus programme. GMES, as it was once known,stands for “Global Monitoring for Environment and Security”, and the content of the ‘“S” in GMES’has been defined and refined over the years, in close dialogue with the service’s key users andstakeholders. Like all the other Copernicus Services, the services for Security applications started outas research projects funded by the European Commission’s Framework Programmes (FP6 and FP7)as well as the European Space Agency’ GMES Service Element (GSE).
A long series of such projects gradually build up the backbone of the current set of operationalservices, including LIMES (cross-cutting), G-MOSAIC, BRIDGES, G-SEXTANT and G-NEXT(Support to External Action) MARISS, DOLPHIN, SIMTISYS, NEREIDS (Maritime Surveillance),SAGRES and LOBOS (Border Surveillance).
Copernicus Services for Border Surveillance
In recent years, Europe was challenged by a historic migration, fuelled by ongoing conflicts in theMiddle East and Africa, and particularly by the Syrian Civil War which has displaced half of thepopulation of the country. Almost 1 million Syrian migrants applied for asylum in Europe between2012 and 2016, according to the European Asylum Support Office (see [1]). The number of refugeesand migrants who entered the EU in 2015 surpassed 1 million (see [2]); an estimated increase ofmore than double the combined total of the previous six years.
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The number of migrants who lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean reached over3,700 in 2016, and at the time of writing stands at 2,776 in 2017 (see [3]). European states are stillgrappling with the political, cultural and humanitarian challenges of managing this evolving crisis. Theneed for up-to-date knowledge and information about the situation on the European borders andbeyond has never been more pressing.
Copernicus Services for Border Surveillance aim to enhance the information available to Europeanborder management authorities through the use of space-based resources. Frontex - the EuropeanBorder and Coast Guard Agency – has the mandate to promote, coordinate and develop Europeanborder management, in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and theconcept of Integrated Border Management. The Agency has set up information exchange frameworkfor the EU’s external borders (EUROSUR), which provides near-to-real time data on the land andsea around the EU's external borders and the pre-frontier area. Copernicus Border SurveillanceServices are provided within the framework of EUROSUR.
The European Commission signed a Delegation Agreement with Frontex on 10 November 2015,formalising Frontex’s role as Entrusted Entity for the Copernicus Border Surveillance Services. Theservices include coastal monitoring, monitoring of international waters, reference mapping, maritimesurveillance of an area, vessel detection, vessel tracking and reporting, anomaly detection andenvironmental assessment. Also with the support of Copernicus, EMSA provides an importantcomponent to Frontex vessel detection, and vessel tracking and reporting services.
Priorities for the service include reducing the death toll of irregular migrants crossing the seas toreach Europe, maintaining awareness of migration routes and volumes and contributing towards theprevention of cross-border crime. While satellites cannot provide the full overview of the situation onthe entire Mediterranean Sea, satellite imagery can provide valuable support to the ongoing Searchand Rescue operations by helping to locate specific boats in distress or assist in curbing illegalactivities. A few recent examples serve to highlight the contribution of the service in this respect:
Copernicus vessel tracking service supported the largest seizure of illegal cargo inSpanish history.
On 25 June 2017, a vessel suspected of involvement in illegal activities that had been tracked by theCopernicus Security service for several months was spotted by a Frontex aircraft. The informationfrom the asset, together with the intelligence gathered using vessel tracking systems, was deliveredto the Spanish authorities. The Spanish Customs intercepted the vessel and seized 6 containers ofcigarettes, worth 12 million EUR in total. The operation, supported by the Copernicus service, wasthe largest of its kind in Spanish history (according to the El Mundo newspaper).
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Copernicus vessel detection service supports detection of migrant boats, saving lives.
Since its establishment, the Copernicus vessel detection service provides information on thepositions of migrants’ boats on the sea thanks to the state-of-the-art satellite radar technology.Hundreds of people have been rescued so far thanks to the intelligence provided also by theCopernicus service to the border and coast guard authorities. In October 2015, 370 people wererescued following the detection of 4 boats on the sea. Throughout the summer of 2017 tens of peoplewere rescued following successful vessel detection activities.
Under the Copernicus Border Surveillance Service, SatCen supports Frontex through the provision ofCoastal Monitoring and pre-frontier services under a Service Level Agreement setting up theinteragency cooperation. These services provide imagery analysis on specific external coastalborders, identified through risk analysis to support the operational assessment of illegal migration andcross-border crime-related activities.
According to the Executive Director of Frontex Fabrice Leggeri: “Copernicus helps us improve thesituational awareness at the EU’s external borders, provides support in the fight against of cross-border crime. It has also proven to be a valuable tool in supporting the ongoing search and rescueoperations at sea by spotting boats in distress and in combatting illegal activities, such as arms anddrug smuggling. We have also been able to save lives by helping to locate several boats withmigrants stranded at sea.”
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Executive Director of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri pictured after signing the Delegation Agreement with the
European Commission’s Lowri Evans, Director-General f or Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship andSMEs (GROW) in November 2015 (© European Union)
Copernicus Services for Maritime Surveillance
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), is designated as a decentralised agency of theEuropean Union to perform technical tasks relating to maritime safety and security on behalf of theEuropean Commission. EMSA, as part of its existing mandate, provides integrated maritime servicesto a wide range of national authorities across the EU, whose duties include maritime-related tasks, aswell as to a number of European bodies. The aims are to improve the overall awareness of themaritime domain and to support the authorities’ functions in areas such as search and rescue,surveillance activities, law enforcement, fisheries control and compliance with maritime regulations.
Through the signature of the Delegation Agreement on 3 December 2015, the European Commissionentrusted the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) with the implementation of the CopernicusMaritime Surveillance service. Under this agreement, EMSA uses satellite data combined with othersources of maritime information to effectively monitor maritime areas both within and outside the EU'sborders.
Copernicus Maritime Surveillance (CMS) provides support to a wide range of operational activities.The service started operations in 2016, and by 2017 had delivered almost 2000 satellite images to itsusers. Currently, CMS provides support to the following user communities:
Fisheries control: In the fight against Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, EarthObservation information brings added value in terms of the detection of vessels not complyingwith electronic reporting obligations. Copernicus Maritime Surveillance adds a criticalcomponent to integrated services for fisheries control by enabling the identification ofcorrelated (vessels that are detected by space-based radar, and are also reporting theirposition using standard vessel reporting systems) and non-correlated (vessels that are notreporting their position) vessels, and delivering this information in near-real-time (NRT) tofisheries control authorities. Traps and cages are also detectable by satellite providingadditional value in the fight against IUU.
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Maritime Safety: Earth Observation products can be analysed on a routine basis, enhancingthe maritime picture for traffic safety purposes and for information to navigation. EO cansupport search and rescue operations in remote areas where conventional assets are noteasily deployed (or take substantial time to reach the area of operations). In a scenario wherethe northern routes over the Arctic are used, the detection of icebergs can provide significantadded value in terms of the safety of navigation. Moreover, the location of missing vesselsand/or vessels in distress in remote areas determined using EO information. While radar canbe used to detect the vessel, very high resolution optical data can be used to identify it.
Maritime Security: Earth Observation can support maritime surveillance activities,particularly in areas where vessel reporting information is scarce. Systematic monitoring usingEO is used to determine patterns of life and better enable operations in the area of interest.
Law enforcement and customs: Earth Observation assets provide a unique source ofinformation regarding non-reporting vessels, which are usually the ones targeted by lawenforcement and customs authorities. A combination of high resolution radar for wide areamonitoring with very high resolution optical data for target identification brings significantcapabilities to Member States, particularly in areas where other assets cannot be used.
Marine pollution monitoring: Since 2007, EMSA has been operating CleanSeaNet, a pan-European EO based oil spill monitoring service. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satelliteimages can be used to detect oil spill discharges at sea and the results can be madeavailable in NRT to operational end users to support verification activities, increasing theefficiency of conventional oil spill detection assets (i.e. aircraft). Additionally, by correlating theoil spill detection results with vessel reporting sources the service can identify the possiblepolluter. In case of very large spills or spills with the continuous release (such as those fromOil commercial and Gas installations), Earth Observation assets can provide support toresponse and clean-up operations. Outputs of the service include rapid detection andmapping of the oil spill extent and potential source, as well as support information to pollutionresponse assets.
In the past 16 months of operations, there have been several success stories linked to CopernicusMaritime Surveillance:
May 2017: Spanish customs seized 2.5 tons of cocaine, supported by vessel detectioninformation from CMS
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June 2017: Support to MAOC-N Law enforcement operation with very high resolution opticalimages resulted in the seizure of 1 ton of heroin
July 2017: Support to the German Waterways police in the scope of the G20 summit
November 2017: Support to a search and rescue operation in La Reunion, with the detectionof a vessel drifting at sea, after a fire erupted on board.
January 2018: Successful combination of CMS satellite images and EMSA remotely pilotedaircraft platforms (RPAS) in support of Law enforcement activities of Member States.
The Copernicus Maritime Surveillance service could be expanded to support Member StateAdministrations in a wider range of activities and geographic coverage. This expansion could include:
Global Maritime Emergencies: CMS can support global maritime emergencies at sea. Thisrequires rapid reaction time as well as the ability to detect small targets and to monitor largeareas. The activities for consideration are support to remote area operations, support toRescue at Sea, and the detection of missing targets (vessel, life raft or person).
Arctic Maritime Surveillance: Ship traffic in Polar Regions has been increasing as cruiseships make journeys to both Arctic and Antarctic waters, fisheries activity has increased, andmerchant traffic has started making use of the Northeast Passage. Ship traffic, sea ice andpollution can be monitored using radar satellites or (weather and light permitting) opticalsatellite imagery.
Maritime Surveillance for external security and defence: In the context of the PermanentStructured Cooperation (PESCO), where 25 participating Member States agreed to furthercooperation in defence-related activities. Copernicus Maritime Surveillance could provide dual-use products for the civilian and military communities, serving as valuable tool for cooperationin this domain.
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Lowri Evans (Director General – DG-GROW) and Markku Mylly (Executive Director – EMSA) after thesignature of the Delegation Agreement on the 3 December 2015 (Credits: EMSA)
Copernicus Services in Support to EU External Action
In its role as a global actor promoting human rights, democracy and fundamental freedoms, theEuropean Union has a responsibility to assist third countries in situations of current or emergingcrises and prevent the destabilising effects of global and trans-regional threats. As such, the EUengages in numerous missions and operations overseas, in the context of its Common Security andDefence Policy (CSDP). The objectives of these missions include peace-keeping, conflict prevention,capacity building and training, combatting piracy and human trafficking, and supporting the rule oflaw.
Copernicus Services in Support to EU External Action (SEA) supply maps and intelligence reports tothe EU actors engaged “on the ground” in these activities, providing decision makers with geo-information on particularly remote, difficult-to-access areas. Services can be delivered within veryshort timescales, as is necessary in cases of responses to crises such as political or armed conflicts.
Operations teams on the ground are supplied with information such as the extent of conflict-relateddamages and the status of road networks and other key infrastructure such as airports and harbours.The service also includes components dedicated to planning safe evacuation routes, analysing
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temporary settlements, monitoring borders abroad and providing situational awareness of crises. Awide range of activities with a security dimension can be monitored (e.g. large-scale movements ofpersonnel and/or equipment, new construction, infrastructure development or decommissioning).
Analysis of changes in the population of an IDP Camp (Credits: Copernicus Services in Support to EUExternal Action)
More examples of SEA service products can be found in the Copernicus Services in Support to EUExternal Action Service Portfolio.
The benefits of Copernicus SEA information include the improved and targeted allocation ofresources and the mitigation of further damage and loss to human life. The services are mainlyoriented towards European users, but can also be activated, under specific conditions, by keyinternational organisations under cooperation agreements with the European Union.
The European Commission entrusted the European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen) with theSupport to EU External Action (SEA) component of the Copernicus Services for Security applications,through the signature of a Delegation Agreement on 6 October 2016. This signature was the last ofits kind amongst the Entrusted Entities of the Copernicus programme, and therefore marked the endof a long road towards fully operational services. The industrial framework contract for geospatialproduction in respect of the Copernicus Services in Support to EU External Action (SEA) was signedin May 2017. Since May 2017, the service has been activated 94 times by Authorised Users from the
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European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and Member States.
According to Brigadier General Pascal Legai, Director for the EU SatCen “The Copernicus Service inSupport to EU External Action provides valuable geospatial intelligence services to European actorsinvolved in CFSP/CSDP missions and operations as well as to the European External Action Serviceand the Member States, helping to make these activities more effective. The service strengthens thesituational awareness of European actors at decision making level and on the ground carrying out,crisis prevention and management as well as humanitarian tasks, enhancing the safety of the usersand facilitating a comprehensive approach to the management of regional crises.”
Signature of the Delegation Agreement between the European Commission and the European Union SatelliteCentre in October 2016 (© European Commission)
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[1] - http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/easo/annual-report-2016/en/#S2-8-1
[2] - Source: Frontex data on migratory routes.
[3] - 'IOM's Missing Migrants Project
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