Sources : https://unseenlabs.space/ 

Given geopolitics in 2025, one of the most pressing challenges in the maritime industry is the inability to monitor vessels that deliberately go “dark” by turning off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders. These vessels often engage in illegal activities such as smuggling, unauthorized fishing, or violating sanctions while avoiding traditional surveillance systems that rely heavily on AIS signals or optical imagery. This lack of visibility creates significant security, environmental, and economic risks for governments, maritime agencies, and commercial operators, who are left with blind spots in critical areas of the world’s oceans.

To address this persistent visibility gap, a new generation of space-based monitoring technologies has emerged. At the forefront is UNSEENLABS, a French space tech company that leverages a unique approach to maritime domain awareness using a constellation of nanosatellites to detect and geolocate radio-frequency (RF) emissions from vessels, even when AIS is switched off. By capturing the unique RF “fingerprint” of each vessel, UNSEENLABS enables real-time tracking of maritime activity with unmatched precision and global coverage. The company is headquartered in Rennes, France, and serves both civilian and defence clients worldwide.

Founded in 2015 by two brothers in Brittany, UNSEENLABS emerged from the need to bring transparency to the global oceans. Recognizing that many ships operate “dark” by turning off AIS, the company developed a space-based RF detection approach. Their mission: deliver persistent, real-time tracking of clandestine maritime activity through emissions that reveal a vessel’s presence regardless of cooperation.

The company was founded by Clément Galic (CEO), a software engineer with expertise in critical air and space systems, and Jonathan Galic (CTO), a specialist in hardware and Earth observation satellite missions. They remain in leadership roles today.

The UNSEENLABS BRO constellation is a network of 6U–8U nanosatellites designed to passively detect and geolocate radio-frequency (RF) emissions from vessels anywhere in the world, even when ships have switched off their AIS transponders to avoid detection. Each BRO satellite operates independently, capable of single-satellite geolocation with kilometer level accuracy, ensuring global, day-and-night, all-weather coverage. Orbiting in low Earth orbit at altitudes between 400–650 km, the constellation currently consists of 17 satellites, with a target of around 25 by the end of 2025 reducing revisit times to under one hour in most maritime regions. The satellites capture not only the location but also the unique electromagnetic “fingerprint” of each emitter, allowing for reliable vessel identification over time. Data is delivered securely from French-based infrastructure in near real time, in formats such as GeoJSON, KML, or shapefiles, and subscriptions can be customized by area of interest, frequency of updates, and delivery method. This capability supports a wide range of applications, from maritime security and illegal fishing prevention to environmental monitoring, insurance analytics, and defence operations, offering clients a sovereign, precise, and scalable maritime domain awareness solution.

UNSEENLABS has secured backing from a mix of French and international venture funds and strategic investors:

• Supernova Invest, ISALT (Strategic Transition Fund)
• UNEXO Capital
• Historical investors: 360 Capital, Omnes, Breizh Up (Ui Investissement), Bpifrance, and S2G Ventures (US-based, healthy planet focus).

These investors are primarily French and European, with S2G being U.S. based.

In February 2024, UNSEENLABS raised €85 million in a Series C round (≈ US $92 million), bringing total funding since inception to approximately €120 million (≈ US $128 million) as of early 2025.

Case Study

UNSEENLABS has demonstrated exceptional capabilities in tracking invisible vessels and uncovering illegal maritime activities through its RF satellite technology. In a notable case, the company successfully tracked the Chinese vessel Y-Peng 3, suspected of sabotaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, by detecting abnormal RF emission patterns and behavioral anomalies, an ability that traditional AIS-based monitoring systems cannot offer. In another instance, the satellite constellation identified a fleet of 250 vessels engaged in illegal fishing within an Indian Ocean economic zone, despite many of them having turned off their AIS transponders to avoid detection. These examples highlight UNSEENLABS’ unique capacity to expose large-scale illicit maritime operations, even when vessels attempt to operate in the shadows. As a result, the company has attracted a diverse range of clients, including the French Navy, government agencies in Canada and Japan, as well as insurers, maritime authorities, and offshore energy operators around the world.

Final  Thoughts

UNSEENLABS has emerged as a pioneering space-based RF intelligence provider, filling a critical visibility gap in maritime surveillance. With a growing constellation, robust European investor support, and verified real-world tracking successes, the company is scaling rapidly toward multi domain applications including land, air, and space monitoring beginning in 2026. Their sovereign controlled infrastructure and novel single satellite geolocation capability mark UNSEENLABS as a distinctive leader in global maritime domain awareness.

References

Unseenlabs. (2024). Our Product – RF Data for Maritime Surveillance. https://unseenlabs.space/our-product 

Unseenlabs. (2024, Agustus 16). Launch of BRO-14 & BRO-15 Satellites. https://unseenlabs.space/2024/08/16/launch-bro-14-bro-15-satellites-to-boost-maritime-surveillance-from-space 

eoPortal. (2023). Unseenlabs Mission Description. https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/unseenlabs 

NewSpace Index. (2025). Unseenlabs Constellation Overview. https://www.newspace.im/constellations/unseenlabs 

Future Spaceflight. (2025). BRO Satellites Launch Data. https://www.futurespaceflight.com/satellites/bro-unseenlabs.html 

Space Skyrocket. (2024). BRO-1 Technical Sheet. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/bro-1.htm 

Maritime Informed. (2025, Juni). BRO-18 Launch and Maritime Security Application. https://www.maritimeinformed.com/news/unseenlabs-bro-18-satellite-maritime-security

Contributor : Dyah Ayuning Tyas
Reviewer : Imam Buchari, David Ratner