Raytheon shows new port security system

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon last week demonstrated the Project Athena Maritime Domain Awareness System, a surveillance and reconnaissance system developed to keep the nation’s ports safe. The system was developed at the company’s Naval Integration Center facility in Portsmouth for less than $10 million. The system integrates various sensors and data sources, giving it the capability to monitor ports and shorelines on an international basis. Scott Spence, director of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems’ Maritime Domain Awareness Programs, said that Project Athena has the capability to detect irregular behavior from a ship. Once that ship has been singled out, the program can go through the ownership history of the vessel, determine what type of engine it uses and look at its extended traffic history. This information helps the system user determine whether or not the vessel is a threat.

The project received an initial contract of $6 million from the Department of Defense. Last month Raytheon was awarded a $1.1 million contract modification from the DoD Counter-Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office. To demonstrate the project’s capability, Athena will complete “Spiral 3” development in upcoming months. The development includes the integration of other sensors and information sources, according to a Raytheon news release, and will refine the program’s anomaly detection.

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