Sunhillo is a leading provider of mission-critical surveillance data distribution and conversion products for government, military and national defense organizations.
This Q&A explores how Sunhillo’s advanced surveillance and data distribution technologies are supporting U.S. military operations, with insights into real-world deployments, cybersecurity innovations, and the company’s commitment to mission-critical reliability across air traffic control and defense applications.
Could you provide examples of how Sunhillo’s products are deployed in military operations?
Margate II ADS-B Receiver.
Sunhillo products are deployed across every branch of the U.S. Military, providing vital capabilities to acquire, convert, distribute, fuse, and display radar and ADS-B sensor data. These technologies support a wide range of mission-critical operations, including aircraft tracking near military firing ranges, where the Sunhillo Margate II ADS-B Receiver enhances situational awareness during live-fire exercises by tracking all equipped aircraft.
The Surveillance Monitoring System (SMS) is currently in use across U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) Ranges, delivering a comprehensive real-time display of 10 surveillance feeds and ADS-B targets. SMS plays a key role in supporting daily range activities and major training events such as the Northern Edge Exercise.
Surveillance Monitoring System from Sunhillo.
Additionally, U.S. Military Air Traffic Control (ATC) leverages Sunhillo’s advanced radar data systems, similar to those used by the FAA, to aggregate disparate surveillance sources, perform essential protocol conversions, and filter and distribute data for seamless integration and display. Beyond ATC Sunhillo products are utilized in the US Military’s Missile Defense programs protecting the US and our allies.
How does Sunhillo ensure the reliability and accuracy of its mission-critical surveillance data solutions in high-pressure scenarios?
Sunhillo Corporation is fully certified in ISO 9001:2015 for quality management and ISO 27001:2022 for information security. We are also actively pursuing CMMC compliance, reflecting our commitment to robust cybersecurity practices and safeguarding sensitive data.
What distinguishes Sunhillo is our 34-year legacy of delivering mission-critical surveillance solutions to the FAA and U.S. Military. Our products are not only fully deployed and field-proven, but also recognized for their long-term reliability and maintainability, with support lifecycles exceeding 10 years.
Can you elaborate on the role of Sunhillo’s solutions in enhancing situational awareness for air traffic control and defense operations?
Sunhillo’s expertise is in acquiring disparate surveillance sources with Sunhillo’s SureLine® software as the backbone for all our surveillance products. SureLine can ingest nearly any standard surveillance format and convert it into a format compatible with end-user systems for surveillance display or system integration.
Sunhillo’s Single Sensor Tracker converts radar plots to tracks and when combined with the Multi-Track Fuser, it can eliminate duplicate targets when sensors overlap. This is critical to declutter the screen when utilizing multiple ADS-B and Radar sensors.
Additionally, Sunhillo’s ground-based ADS-B Receiver is widely deployed across the U.S. military to monitor all ADS-B-equipped aircraft. In light of recent high-profile incidents, this capability has proven increasingly vital, highlighting the role of ADS-B in enhancing safety and potentially preventing catastrophic outcomes.
What advancements or innovations has Sunhillo introduced to cater specifically to military customers’ surveillance and data management needs?
Sunhillo recently deployed a DC-powered variant of the Margate II ADS-B Receiver to the U.S. Marine Corps enabling installation on mobile off-road platforms. This enhancement provides a rapid-deployment ADS-B solution, ideal for dynamic military environments during both live operations and training exercises.
In addition to that Sunhillo is now offering a conformal coated version of our RICI products (Radar acquisition, conversion, distribution) specifically for harsh environments for certain military applications. Conformal coating protects the circuit board and components inside the RICI from harmful environmental conditions such as moisture, thermal shock, static, vibration, and contamination. This is key to deploying operations overseas or operating in severe conditions.
What measures does Sunhillo take to ensure the security of its surveillance data solutions, especially against emerging cyber threats?
SureSentry from Sunhillo.
Sunhillo is fully certified in ISO 27001 and is actively pursuing CMMC certification to ensure alignment with the latest cybersecurity requirements and best practices for safeguarding sensitive information. Our common operating software, SureLine, has security features built to align with NIST 800-53 requirements. Sunhillo’s Brigantine SGP and SureSentry Data Diode have been independently tested to be FIPS 140-3 compliant.
What Sunhillo products have been developed against the emerging cyber threats?
Sunhillo SureSentry Data Diode is designed to protect the integrity of a secure network by strictly enforcing a one-way-only flow of data from a secure network to an unsecure or public network. SureSentry accomplishes this by implementing a 100% hardware-enforced security protocol that cannot be disabled or bypassed.
SureSentry enables secure data sharing between networks of differing security postures, a critical capability for military operations where sensitive data must be transmitted to less secure environments. The SureSentry is integrated with a FIPS 140-3 validated module, further reinforcing its alignment with federal cybersecurity standards.
Thank you for your time, it’s always great to talk to Sunhillo and we look forward to providing more coverage on your mission-critical surveillance data solutions.
