This is the third article in a series about Project Minerva and how it is transforming Coast Guard operations by helping us sense, make sense, and act on data.
On a brisk morning in Alaska, a cutter receives a real-time notification from shore: a foreign fishing vessel hasn’t transmitted its location via the Automatic Identification System (AIS) for over 48 hours while satellite imagery shows a similar looking vessel headed toward a prime fishing area in U.S. waters. Without waiting for multiple calls or manual data entry, advanced analytics alert the command center which transmits the vessel’s last known location directly into a nearby cutter’s Command and Control (C2) system, enabling an immediate response.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, a Sector Commander uses Sextant’s “Looking Glass” tool to overlay environmental, vessel, and intelligence data to assess hurricane risks to offshore platforms. Within minutes, he issues tasking orders to aircraft and small boats, based on a data-rich operational picture.
These aren’t hypothetical scenarios—they’re examples of how Project Minerva is helping the Coast Guard act decisively by fusing data into clear, operationally relevant insight.
In the first two articles of this series, we explored how Project Minerva is building the tools to “sense” maritime activity and “make sense” of it using advanced data systems. Now, we focus on the final step: How the Coast Guard can “act” on that information to shape operations with speed, precision, and mission impact.
From situational awareness to mission execution
Even with perfect data and analysis, operational commanders need to visualize many different pieces of information to understand what’s happening and determine whether action is needed. Plotting the location and activity of vessels, people, cargo, and infrastructure onto maps alongside the weather and conditions of the maritime environment generates a geospatial common operating picture (COP). But determining what to do isn’t just about the COP—it’s about context.
The COP provides a current picture of who, what, and where. But to act effectively, we also need the why. What’s the vessel’s history? What’s its ownership? Who’s on board? Does this vessel have a history of violations? Is its anomalous activity significant or benign? Project Minerva is creating systems that bring this all together—layering geospatial data with historical and intelligence data to produce a complete picture that informs operational decisions.
Visualization tech: merging data into decisions
Today’s data visualization platforms do more than display information – they help us discover insights. Sextant, developed by C5I Service Center’s Command and Control Product Line is a modern geospatial data platform integrating disparate datasets into a single, intuitive view. Sextant’s Looking Glass contains web applications that provide a COP, command status board, and the means to manage vessel arrivals and operations. Together, these tools allow operators to overlay intelligence, sensor feeds, vessel traffic, weather, and other data into a dynamic operational picture.
That picture is enriched by Minotaur, an advanced surveillance and sensor integration system. Minotaur collects and correlates vessel detections from Coast Guard aircraft, a handful of cutters, and National AIS feeds. It’s also being upgraded to ingest sensor data from many more cutters, shoreside cameras, and even commercial and government unmanned aircraft and surface vehicles.
Tasking tech: from decisions to action
Once a decision is made, speed matters. That’s why Minerva is streamlining how operational commanders task Coast Guard assets.
Imagine sending a Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS) generated search pattern or vessel intercept coordinates directly to a small boat’s autopilot or an aircraft’s avionics. Once reviewed by the coxswain or aircraft commander, it’s ready to be executed. No more radio relays, scribbled notes, or verbal directions. Just clear, digital instructions sent securely and quickly letting operators focus on executing the mission.
As assets patrol and search, their real-time position, search area coverage, and detections should transmit back automatically to shore-based systems. This live feedback loop keeps commanders fully informed in real time and results in more effective follow-on tasking.
Integration in action: Sextant + Minotaur
Project Minerva is actively working to integrate Sextant and Minotaur to give commanders the clearest, fastest picture possible. MIT Lincoln Laboratory is currently prototyping a connection between Minotaur-equipped aircraft and Sextant aboard Fast Response Cutters. Meanwhile, CG-C5I-A is making Minotaur more accessible within Sextant, and efforts are underway to enable Sextant to display DoD and DHS Minotaur data directly.
These initiatives will allow seamless situational awareness across services and agencies – delivering a shared, data-driven foundation for joint maritime operations.
Together, Sextant and Minotaur are becoming part of Coastal Sentinel, Force Design 2028’s next generation maritime surveillance, command and control, and communications system. Coastal Sentinel will execute many of the concepts from Project Minerva and redefine how the Coast Guard monitors, visualizes, and interprets the maritime domain, helping us transition from an asset-centric to a data-centric organization.
The path ahead
Project Minerva is aligning technology, data, and operations to deliver decision advantage at every level – from headquarters to the deckplate. Whether it’s spotting unusual maritime behavior, dispatching a boarding team, or coordinating hurricane response, Minerva’s evolving data ecosystem is enabling the Coast Guard to act faster, smarter, and more effectively.
To learn more about Project Minerva and how it supports the operational data domain, visit the Project Minerva SharePoint site or contact the team at ProjectMinerva@uscg.mil.
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