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SOCOM Tests SkyFi App to Bring Commercial Satellite Imagery to ATAK Devices

The trial signals a shift to on‑device access to imagery with AI analysis for troops operating at the edge.

Overview

  • U.S. Special Operations Command awarded SkyFi a contract to assess a plugin that pipes unclassified satellite images and analytics into ATAK, a military mapping app used on Android phones and tablets.
  • SkyFi says the software can pull archived imagery, request new collections, and, when cloud links are available, task satellites for near real‑time shots.
  • The platform aggregates data from about 150 commercial providers across optical, radar, and hyperspectral sensors and trims it to small, location‑specific files to cope with tight bandwidth in the field.
  • The current effort is a Phase I assessment that the company says could lead to deeper integration, new delivery methods, and further evaluation of processing and visualization.
  • SkyFi is also pitching the same mobile tool to civilian ATAK users in law enforcement, firefighting, and forestry, a community the company says includes more than 500,000 users.