ICEYE, a Finland-based synthetic aperture radar satellite manufacturer and operator, has announced that it will work with the Spanish government to help boost Spain’s defense intelligence and national security. The company made the announcement during the inauguration of a new research and development facility in Valencia on Wednesday.
Rafal Modrzewski, ICEYE co-founder and CEO, said the company continues to invest in SAR technology that has already been proven vital to sectors such as defense and intelligence, maritime monitoring, and disaster response. “We are also advancing our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform and related systems for our customers in the defense sector,” he added.
Highly Skilled Talent
The new Valencia facility is ICEYE’s second-largest R&D center. It will support innovation in pipelining, development and production of SAR-based tools and future multi-sensor technologies for Earth observation.
According to Gonzalo Garcia-Munoz, ICEYE Spain CEO and global SVP of operations, the “highly skilled talent pool” in Valencia prompted the decision to locate the R&D center in the city. The New Space ecosystem, innovation and technology infrastructure in the autonomous community are also “highly promising,” he said. “We anticipate expanding our Valencia team to over 100 employees within the next three years,” he added.
The company said that besides creating highly skilled jobs locally, the R&D facility will also infuse advanced technological expertise through engagement with local academic institutions, including the Universitat Politècnica de València.
ICEYE Activities in Europe, US
In Europe, the Situation Centre in NATO’s Belgium headquarters is one of ICEYE’s European customers under a geospatial monitoring contract awarded in March. Several alliance members and partners also use ICEYE’s SAR data and satellites to support national security and defense.
In the United States, it operates a spacecraft production facility in Irvine, California. Opened in April 2021, the factory hosts a research and development laboratory and a Mission Operations Center for monitoring and operating the company’s U.S.-licensed satellites.
The company also has a five-year collaborative research agreement with the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to develop technology for international security, navigation safety, climate security and natural resource protection.
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