2024.07.10. The Fair Economy — ICEYE, a company that operates Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR satellites for Earth observation, announced on the 10th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence to strengthen cooperation in the field of remote sensing of Earth for Ukraine's national security and defense.
According to ICEYE, this MOU builds on ICEYE's unwavering support for the Ukrainian government since 2022.
ICEYE is a Finnish company that Ukraine helped secure through crowdfunding, and is known to use its microsatellites to track the positions of Russian forces as well as their munitions, tanks and vessels.
The memorandum stipulates that ICEYE will allow captured imagery related to Ukrainian territory to be used to ensure Ukraine's security and defense in the event of a military attack, and will continue to guarantee that such imagery is not shared with hostile states or entities under any circumstances.
The memorandum also includes cooperation between ICEYE and Ukraine's Ministry of Defence to strengthen Ukraine's space defense capabilities and provide SAR expertise to support defense activities. The MOU focuses on advancing remote sensing technology, improving data use for security, and supporting Ukraine's integration into the global space economy.
In August 2022, ICEYE signed a contract with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation and announced that it would provide SAR satellite imagery to the Ukrainian government. Under that contract, ICEYE designated one of its SAR satellites for use by the Ukrainian government in the relevant region. ICEYE has also provided access to its SAR satellite constellation so that Ukraine's military can receive radar satellite imagery of critical locations with high revisit frequency.
Commenting on the signing of the MOU, Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, said, "Through cooperation with ICEYE and the signing of this memorandum, our intelligence work will be further strengthened. We are grateful for ICEYE's commitment to the Ukrainian people and shared values."
Oleksandra Ustinova, chair of the Ukrainian parliament's arms committee, said, "I call on all satellite operators to follow ICEYE's example of not selling imagery to Russia. I thank ICEYE, which has industry-leading technology, for helping to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks. I hope that through future new space defense projects, Ukraine can build space capabilities based on a high degree of technological sovereignty."
Rafal Modrzewski, co-founder and CEO of ICEYE, added, "ICEYE is working closely with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence to help Ukraine build its space defense capabilities. I call on industry colleagues to join this approach against unjust aggression and stand with Ukraine."
ICEYE, which owns and operates the world's largest SAR satellite constellation, provides reliable, proven Earth observation data and solutions. At any given moment, most of the Earth is covered by clouds or darkness. Unlike conventional Earth observation satellites, ICEYE's small radar imaging satellites can form high-resolution images of the ground day and night, and even through cloud cover. This allows the company to collect imagery and data from anywhere on Earth multiple times a day with the reliability needed for critical decision-making.
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