Daily Star's biggest headlines straight to your inbox!Ships that switch off their locator beacons in order to smuggle drugs and other illegal cargo will soon be tracked anywhere in the world by a new British military satellite system.Scientists at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in Wiltshire are preparing to launch a network of mini-spacecraft that will be able to spot the wakes they leave behind in all weathers.The automatic identification system (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that uses transceivers on ships to broadcast their position in real time 24 hours a day.
Since 2000 the system has been mandatory on merchant ships with 300 or more gross tonnage, and all passenger craft.For obvious reasons, warships will.
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