Satellite radar sensing provider ICEYE on Thursday said it has contracted with a Ukrainian charity to use one of its satellites to provide radar imagery in support of the country’s military in its war against Russia.
The contract is with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, which helps Ukrainian forces based on the needs of unit commanders. The foundation was founded by Serhiy Prytula, a Ukrainian actor and author who turned to fundraising for his country’s armed forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
ICEYE, which is based in Finland, has 21 satellites in orbit that provide synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging to government and commercial customers. SAR satellites provide imagery of the Earth at day and night and through cloud cover.
The value of the contract was not disclosed, although a company spokesman said it runs for more than a year. ICEYE said that it will give full capabilities of one satellite, that will be operated by the company, to the Ukrainian government for use over the region. ICEYE will also provide access to its satellite constellation so that the Ukrainian military receives radar imagery with a high revisit rate.
“ICEYE owns the most developed radar satellite imaging technology in the world as of today,” Prytula said in a statement. “This agreement is a significant step in responding to the government of Ukraine’s urgent request for critical earth observation data and it will greatly benefit our armed forces.”
ICEYE said the agreement with the charity builds on existing efforts to provide data and support to Ukraine.
The U.S. intelligence community, which has contracts with commercial satellite imagery providers, has been providing imagery from these companies to Ukraine throughout the war. Before Russian’s unprovoked war, the U.S. government worked with commercial satellite companies to publicly highlight Russia’s intentions to invade Ukraine and make it difficult for Russia create any false pretexts to justify its invasion.