Portugal procures Iceye SAR satellite, as company launches five more

An image of Portugal's Lajes airbase in the Azores, taken by an Iceye SAR satellite, and released in December 2025. (Iceye)

The Portuguese Air Force and Finnish synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company Iceye signed a contract on 2 December for Portugal's first fully owned SAR satellite.

Iceye said direct ownership of the satellite would provide the Portuguese Air Force full control over data acquisition and planning for missions including maritime security, such as safeguarding its economic exclusive zone (EEZ) and natural resources. While requiring specific processing and interpretation, SAR imagery provides all-weather day-and-night imaging, with Iceye saying its rapid revisit rates provide persistent monitoring capability.

Portugal also uses another Iceye SAR satellite, but does not own it. It was acquired on 12 June, when CTI Aeroespacial (a joint venture between the Portuguese Air Force, Earth observation satellite imagery specialist Geosat Satélites, and engineering and product development centre CEiiA) signed an agreement with Iceye for the procurement of a SAR satellite to be operated by the Portuguese Air Force.

Iceye launched five low Earth orbit (LEO) SAR satellites on 28 November. The satellites were aboard the Transporter-15 rideshare mission that took off on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

Iceye has now launched 62 satellites, a company spokesperson told Janes on 2 December, with 22 launches taking place in 2025. “We plan to significantly increase the size of our fleet with plans to launch 20+ new satellites annually in 2026 and beyond,” the spokesperson added.

The new satellites will join serve the company's commercial constellation and national missions including the Greek National Satellite Space Project Axis 1.2, the Polish Armed Forces' MikroSAR programme, and BAE Systems' Azalea constellation, Iceye said on 29 November.