US Naval Information Warfare Center to help enhance India's maritime security capabilities
The US Navy is strengthening maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region through a US$125 million initiative designed to enhance India's maritime domain awareness.
Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific is playing a central role in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain awareness (IPMDA) program, which forms part of the United States' Indo-Pacific strategy.
The IPMDA initiative aims to improve maritime awareness and regional coordination by providing partner nations with unclassified maritime situational awareness tools and data.
A core component of the case is SeaVision, a US Navy-managed platform that aggregates AIS and other vessel tracking data to enable secure, real-time maritime monitoring, according to Robert Lendvay, NIWC Pacific Foreign Military Sales Case Manager supporting the US Navy's International C4I Integration Program Office.
The initiative also integrates commercial satellite-based radio frequency detection capabilities from geospatial analytics company HawkEye 360, enabling partner nations to detect and monitor vessels operating without transponders.
NIWC said these tools create a multi-layered operational picture that significantly enhances India’s ability to monitor its maritime domain and contribute to regional security objectives.
The program's inception began with a meeting at NIWC Pacific in San Diego, where Lendvay, alongside the NIWC Pacific SeaVision technical assistance field team, hosted a high-level delegation from the Indian Navy and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
NIWC said this engagement was instrumental in defining the initial operational and technical requirements that laid the groundwork for what it said is the largest IPMDA-related case to date.
Over the course of two years, Lendvay led detailed coordination efforts across the US Department of State, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Navy International Programs Office, and other interagency partners to ensure the program met US releasability standards and foreign disclosure policies.
"These collaborative efforts ultimately resulted in the successful completion of the congressional notification process," said Lendvay. "This authorises the US Government to offer new and improved capabilities to India in support of IPMDA.
"This approval not only affirms the strategic trust placed in India as a key Indo-Pacific partner but also reflects the growing defense ties between members of the Quad alliance: the United States, Japan, Australia, and India."
