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| An artist's depiction of the ICEYE SAR microsatellite received by Ukraine |
Kiev - Finnish satellite maker ICEYE announced on Thursday (18/8/2022) that it has signed a contract with a Ukrainian charity to provide Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imaging capabilities to Kiev.
In a statement published on its website, ICEYE said the deal would give the government in Kiev access to the full capabilities of one of the search and rescue satellites already in orbit. The satellite is capable of capturing images on the earth's surface regardless of the time of day or weather conditions.
While the satellites will continue to be operated by ICEYE, the company will also provide Kiev with access to a constellation of SAR satellites for over a year, which will allow Kiev forces to receive high-resolution radar satellite imagery at “critical locations with a high frequency of return visits.”
The founder of the Sergey Prytula Charitable Foundation, Sergey Prytula, who signed a contract with the Finnish satellite maker, said, “The ICEYE product is the most advanced radar satellite imaging technology in the world today.”
While he did not provide details on how much the deal with ICEYE would cost, in a YouTube video announcing the signing of the contract, he noted that the deal had been paid for using money his charity raised for the purchase of the Bayraktar drone, which Turkey later gave to Ukraine.
According to Prytula, the charity raised more than $16 million. "This agreement is a significant step in response to the Ukrainian government's urgent request for critical Earth observation data and it will greatly benefit our armed forces," said Prytula.
ICEYE CEO Rafal Modrzewski said he also believed the contract would provide Kiev with "objective data and technological support." Operating the world's largest constellation of SAR satellites, ICEYE positions itself as a global leader in continuous monitoring via satellite imaging. Founded in 2014, the company has so far deployed around 21 satellites, including commercial and special customer missions, and claims to be the only organization in the world to offer its clients "rapid delivery of high-precision satellite and SAR data."