(T)his paper presents the concept of a software-defined radio with a flexible RF front end. The design and architecture of this system, as well as possible application examples will be explained. One specific scenario is the operation in maritime frequency bands. A well-known service is the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which has been captured by the DLR mission AISat, and will be chosen as a maritime application example. The results of an embedded solution for AIS on the SDR platform are presented in this paper. Since there is an increasing request for more performance on maritime radio bands, services like AIS will be enhanced by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). The new VHF Data Exchange Service (VDES) shall implement a dedicated satellite link. This paper describes that the SDR with a flexible RF front end can be used as a technology demonstration platform for this upcoming data exchange service.