European Defence Agency’s MARSUR III Project to Enable Classified Data Exchange

The maritime surveillance information exchange system (MARSUR) crafted by European Defence Agency (EDA) and European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) has entered its third phase while entails the exchange of classified information.

In the third stage of development, known as MARSUR III, the project is upgrading its technology and capabilities. That will soon include the exchange of classified information. A bilateral agreement between EDA and SatCen was signed on Thursday to provide the operational basis for the exchange of relevant data between SatCen and the MARSUR community through a secure network.

“This bilateral agreement is a unique mechanism introduced under the MARSUR III project to involve SatCen in EDA ad hoc activities under the control and funding of the contributing Member States,” said EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý.

SatCen has aligned its efforts with EDA to define requirements and support maritime situational awareness with satellite data and analysis. SatCen joined the initiative in 2017 and in May 2021 signed the MARSUR III project arrangement for 2021-2026 and the way ahead.

MARSUR III will now benefit from SatCen’s expertise, particularly in terms of governance, as it takes a role as permanent chair of the Technical Advisory Board, in training of operators and technicians, exchanging information and products, and connecting to CISE with its bridging node.

SatCen will in turn connect its resources to the information held by European navies. SatCen will also welcome two MARSUR maritime surveillance experts, funded by the MARSUR community.