"What we want to do is harness the fact that aircraft fly over
some of the same routes that ships take. If they can put a receiver
in an aircraft, then they can (receive) a signal that goes up from
the ship in all directions.. and then we would know where the ships
are."
Source: Jeffrey High, the Coast Guard's director
of Maritime Domain Awareness, on his idea to have commercial
trans-oceanic flights keep an eye on ships as far as 2,000 from the
US coastline in an effort to block terrorists. High says America's
ports and waterways are especially vulnerable to terrorism and any
extra eyes on potential targets would be much appreciated. Aircraft
involved in the program might be fit with receivers that would pick
up the ships' equivalent of a transponder signal. Data