Rheinmetall and ICEYE to establish joint SAR satellite production
SAR satellite image of the Rheinmetall headquarters building. (ICEYE)
German defence firm Rheinmetall and Finnish synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery company ICEYE announced their intent to establish satellite production through a joint venture, according to an ICEYE 8 May press release.
As part of the deal, ICEYE is set to manufacture SAR satellites at Rheinmetall's Neuss facility in western Germany, with production scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
SAR satellites generate high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions or time of day. Current ICEYE satellites allow for the monitoring of large areas and can zoom in while maintaining high resolution, according to the company, with a spokesperson telling Janes on 12 May that it “exclusively launches satellites that deliver 25 cm resolution”. Released in October 2024, it is called Dwell Precise and produces output in colour sub-aperture Images (CSI) and SAR video.
ICEYE's SAR satellites are designed for change detection and include its dwell, spot, strip, and scan modes, according to the spokesperson.
To date, ICEYE has launched 48 satellites since 2018, with plans to launch more than 20 annually from 2025 onwards, the spokesperson said.
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