Shoal Bay Receiving Station
| Shoal Bay Receiving Station | |
|---|---|
| 19 km (12 mi) from Darwin CBD in Australia | |
  Shoal Bay Receiving Station | |
| Coordinates | 12°21′32″S 130°58′56″E / 12.3588°S 130.9822°E |
| Area | 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi)[1] |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Australian Signals Directorate |
| Open to the public | No |
Shoal Bay Receiving Station is a signals intelligence-gathering facility in the Northern Territory of Australia located on the shores of Shoal Bay about 19 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of the Darwin CBD.[1] The site is managed by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)[citation needed].
History
[edit]One of the major purposes of the station has been to intercept and monitor Indonesian satellite communications and gather intelligence on the activities of the Indonesian military. The station was a major source of intelligence on the role played by the Indonesian military and associated militia groups in the violence in East Timor following the 1999 Referendum of Independence.[2] The site may also have intercepted conversations regarding the planned murder of Australian journalists in East Timor by the Indonesian military, in 1975, prior to the killings taking place.[3]
The site is suspected to be a part of the global SIGINT network ECHELON, operated under the UKUSA Agreement. It is also a major contributor to the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance program codenamed XKeyscore.[4]
Facilities
[edit]As of 2005, the Shoal Bay Receiving Station operated 17 antennas.[5]
While the ASD manages the site, it is staffed by a combination of Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and civilian personnel. As of 2007 it had a staff of 73 personnel, which was lower than the staffing of 85 personnel in 2005 and 120 to 150 personnel during the East Timor crisis in 1999.[5]
Bureau of Meteorology
[edit]The Bureau of Meteorology installed three weather satellite receiving antenna systems at Shoal Bay in October 2016 through a subcontractor, Av-Comm. According to Av-Comm, these accessed China's Feng Yun-2 series of geostationary satellites, Feng Yun 2E and Feng Yun 2G as well as Japan Meteorological Agency's HimawariCast service broadcast from a Himawari 8 Satellite.[6]
See also
[edit]- Pine Gap, near Alice Springs
- Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station, at Geraldton
- HMAS Harman, outside Canberra
- Waihopai Station
- BoM's Crib Point Satellite Earth Station at HMAS Cerberus Naval Base
References
[edit]- ^ a b "SHOAL BAY RECEIVING STATION, NORTHERN TERRITORY" (PDF). Australian Government, Department of Defence. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "Cuban American National Foundation - CANF". www.canf.org. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Balibo Killings 1975 and Intelligence Handling – A Report of an Inquiry by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security". Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Annual Report 2001–2002. Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008.
- ^ Philip Dorling. "Snowden reveals Australia's links to US spy web". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Shoal Bay Receiving Station". Nautilus Institute Australia. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- ^ "Bureau of Meteorology's Darwin Weather Data Earth Station | Av-Comm". Av-Comm. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
