Finnish satellite maker ICEYE announces plans to scale up production to meet defence needs
Finnish satellite maker and operator ICEYE has announced plans to establish a new satellite manufacturing facility in Germany in cooperation with German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall.
The factory, to be based in Neuss, near Dusseldorf in western Germany, is expected to begin production in 2026 and focus on manufacturing Earth observation satellites to address Europe’s need for independent space intelligence.
ICEYE, which operates a fleet of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, has played a crucial role in supplying intelligence to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. In August 2022, a few months after the war had erupted, the embattled nation even purchased exclusive access to one of ICEYE’s satellite as the SAR technology’s ability to see through clouds and in darkness proved priceless in the defence effort.
ICEYE is the only Europe-based Earth observation provider that operates on a scale competitive with American players such as Maxar or Planet. Still, Europe’s space intelligence infrastructure isn’t sufficient to replace American assets if those become unavailable to Ukraine.
“ICEYE aims to be the primary provider of critical infrastructure for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) to allied nations,” Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE, said in a statement. “This joint venture further strengthens our focus on developing space-based technology for the needs of global defence markets and securing sovereign defence capabilities for Europe.”
The new Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions factory will be 60 percent owned by Rheinmetall with the remaining 40 percent under ICEYE’s control. ICEYE said the facility will first focus on production of SAR satellites but is expected to branch into other technologies as well.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 8 May with further details of the joint venture to be announced in due course.
“With the establishment of the new joint venture, we are making further inroads into the space domain," Armin Papperger, Rheinmetall’s CEO, said in the statement. "We are thus not only responding to the increased demand for space-based reconnaissance capabilities among armed and security forces worldwide but also contributing to the preservation and expansion of Germany as a centre of technology.”
The two companies have been cooperating since 2024 to help simplify access to ICEYE’s data for European and Ukrainian defence forces.
Despite ICEYE’s strong position in the global SAR market, Europe overall significantly lacks in Earth observation capabilities. Some analysts estimate that European government-owned and commercial Earth observation space assets combined make up only about one tenth of the capacity owned by the U.S. government and commercial providers.
The implications of this satellite infrastructure deficiency became clear in March when the Trump administration temporarily paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine including the nation’s access to satellite imagery procured by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Ukraine also depends on SpaceX’s Starlink constellation to connect its troops and drones. A fully-fledge European alternative for Starlink is also currently unavailable.
