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The Royal Navy looks set to release details of a new space-based surveillance and reconnaissance capability dubbed Project Moonraker.

The programme for the fifth Maritime Reconnaissance and Surveillance Technology Conference, set to take place Rome, Italy, in February next year, says that Commander Graeme Smith, Information Warfare Commander at The Royal Navy's Maritime Warfare Centre, will discuss the project.

The Royal Navy says its Maritime Warfare Centre is "an alliance of Servicemen, scientists, and analysts, whose sole driving purpose is to create battle-winning tactics"

The unit is made up of some 120 people, split roughly equally between civilian and military, "although at any given time a hefty chunk of these people will be out at sea, on board ships, running trials and experiments; and most importantly asking questions", says the Navy's website.

This year's The Maritime Reconnaissance and Surveillance Technology has an increased focus on space based maritime reconnaissance.

Project Moonraker appears to be named after a James Bond Film featuring a secret space station and spaces shuttles named Moonrakers.

The Maritime Reconnaissance and Surveillance Technology programme says: "Commander Graeme Smith, Maritime Warfare Centre Information Warfare Commander, Royal Navy, will present on 'RN Maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) tactical development of commercial space based multi-spectral data for improved situational awareness and counter surveillance tactics'.

The programme also lists in bulletpoints that Cdr Smith's presentation will include:

Royal Navy's Project MOONRAKER

Using military and civilian satellite data to identify and track targets

Using signatures to seek out threats or ships attempting to be ‘dark targets’

Future Maritime Warfare developments in space-based ISR

The conference is being chaired by Retired Royal Navy Vice Admiral Duncan Laurence Potts, Former Director General Joint Force Development, Joint Forces Command.

Other key note speakers include NATO Commodore Tom Guy, The Executive Director of the EU's European Maritime Safety Agency, Mrs Maja Markovcic Kostelac, and Brigadier General Carlos De Salas, Head of Space Programmes for the Spanish Ministry of Defence.

The First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Tony Radakin, has said technology and innovation are one of his five main priorities.

LATEST ROYAL NAVY AND ROYAL MARINE NEWS HERE

The Royal Navy says it Autonomy and Lethality Accelerator NaxyX aims to "rapidly develop, test and trial cutting-edge equipment, with the aim of getting new technology off the drawing board and into the hands of our people on operations at a pace that has not been possible before".

The MoD has been approached for more details about Project Moonraker.