For the updated Ukraine agreement – providing 16cm resolution with a higher revisit frequency – the data access will support “tactical decision-making for national security”.
Ukraine
“This agreement strengthens assured access to our high-resolution SAR imagery, helping Ukraine make decisions faster and with greater confidence,” said John Cartwright, Senior VP of Data Product at ICEYE.
“ICEYE stands firmly with Ukraine in the face of these hostilities, and is deeply committed to strengthening Europe’s security more widely by ensuring our allies have the best decision-ready data when they need it most.”
Generation 4
Specifically, high-resolution imagery of up to 16cm will be supplied from its Generation 4 satellites, using large-footprint modes such as Scan Wide. These cover areas of 200km by 300km.
The company also highlights its electronic beam-steering technology for capturing dozens of high-resolution scenes in minutes of satellite imaging time.
Iceye’s first agreement with the war-torn state dates from 2022. An older image – at 25cm resolution – of the Crimea Bridge is above.
Sweden
The space company has also announced an agreement with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). Iceye will now deliver sovereign SAR systems for the Swedish Armed Forces, which also recently joined NATO. This means the Swedish military will own and operate the system.
It is described as a multi-million, multi-year agreement but precise figures have not been revealed.
It will, they say, strengthen Sweden’s national intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and resilience. This is by providing timely, actionable insights in all weather and lighting conditions.
Arctic
The company’s VP of Nordics and NATO, Seppo Aaltonen,said:
“ICEYE is proud to partner with the Swedish Armed Forces and deliver sovereign space-based ISR capabilities that work in all weather and lighting conditions of Northern Europe and Arctic,” .
“We especially welcome cooperation with Sweden and our closest Nordic NATO allies to enhance the security and resilience of the North-Eastern Flank of NATO.”
Under the contract, Sweden will also procure the associated ground and technical systems required for the space-based surveillance.
Constellation
In December last year, Iceye successfully deployed five more, Generation 4, satellites into orbit. This was following their launch on the SpaceX Transporter-15 rideshare mission.
It now has 62 satellites in orbit. The Helsinki company highlights this as the world’s largest SAR constellation.
What this means in practice, it said, is improvements in target detection and classification. This will support defense and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) missions globally. An advantage of synthetic aperture radar – compared to typical optical imagery – is that it enables day-night, all-weather imaging.
Images: Iceye – Crimea Bridge, Ukraine and Stockholm, Sweden
See also: Portuguese Air Force turns to Iceye for SAR satellite
