Kyiv eyes purchase of planned ICEYE, Nokia ‘sovereign’ communication sats

Ukrainian soldiers prepare FPV drones as military mobility of Ukrainian soldiers continue in the direction of Kreminna, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine (Anadolu via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON ― Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a letter of intent with Finnish firms ICEYE and Nokia to explore development of “sovereign” communications satellites as Kyiv seeks greater control over critical comms infrastructure.

“Modern warfare has proven that reliable communications are a matter of national security. We must all rely on capabilities that we can control. The Letter of Intent between the Ministry of Defense, ICEYE, and Nokia is an important step in this direction,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement provided to Breaking Defense today.

“I thank Finland and the Prime Minister of Finland for their consistent support. We value partners who not only help Ukraine, but also work with us to build Europe’s long-term security,” he added.

The agreement was announced Thursday during Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s visit to Kyiv. It comes amid uncertainty over Ukraine’s ability to use SpaceX’s Starshield military satellites for drone operations following a US move last week to throttle back the network’s speed — resulting in an ongoing political blame game over responsibility between President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

Zelenskyy told ABC News today that, despite assurances from Trump that the slowdown had been reversed, Ukraine’s access speeds remained limited.

ICEYE and Nokia announced their partnership Oct. 1 to “develop secure, sovereign and high-performance broadband low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications systems for governments, supporting missions from defense and border security to emergency services and disaster response,” according to a joint press release.

The companies said government customers would have “ownership and control of the satellites, ground segment and terminals,” with the first satellite planned for liftoff in 2028.

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Kyiv’s letter of intent marks the first expression of interest in the joint effort, although it falls short of an actual order.

“The LOI with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine is an expression of intent and does not imply an ordering of any system for Ukraine,” an ICEYE spokesperson told Breaking Defense.

Under the partnership, ICEYE will provide the satellite platform underpinning the joint effort, with the spokesperson explaining that the firm has developed a “flexible platform now being used in satellite communications.”

Nokia will contribute “secure networking technologies” onboard the spacecraft, according to the joint press release.

“Together, the companies will integrate satellites, ground infrastructure and ruggedized end-user terminals to extend ICEYE’s sovereign intelligence from space business model to satellite communications,” the joint press release said.

Based in Helsinki, Nokia provides telecommunications infrastructure, networking capabilities and technologies related to the “internet-of-things.”

ICEYE, headquartered in Espoo, primarily operates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites and has been expanding both its sales and satellite production capabilities across Europe. The new partnership with Nokia is the company’s first move into SATCOM capabilities.

ICEYE has also been a vocal supporter of Ukraine during its years-long war with Russia. The company recently faced a security concern in orbit when a highly maneuverable Russian Cosmos bird closely approached one of the company’s spacecraft, raising concerns about potentially dangerous on-orbit maneuvers.

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乌克兰士兵正在准备FPV无人机，乌克兰军队的军事机动继续向乌克兰卢甘斯克州克列明纳方向推进。（Anadolu via Getty Images）

华盛顿——乌克兰国防部已与芬兰公司 ICEYE 和诺基亚签署意向书，探讨开发“自主”通信卫星，因为基辅正在寻求对关键通信基础设施的更大控制权。

“现代战争已经证明，可靠的通信关乎国家安全。我们都必须依靠我们能够掌控的能力。国防部、ICEYE和诺基亚签署的意向书是朝着这个方向迈出的重要一步，”乌克兰总统泽连斯基今天在提供给Breaking Defense的一份声明中表示。

“我感谢芬兰和芬兰总理一直以来的支持。我们珍视那些不仅帮助乌克兰，而且与我们共同构建欧洲长期安全的伙伴，”他补充道。

该协议于周四芬兰总理佩特里·奥尔波访问基辅期间宣布。此前，美国上周限制了SpaceX公司的“星盾”军用卫星网络的速度，导致乌克兰能否继续使用该卫星进行无人机作战存在不确定性，并引发了美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和SpaceX创始人埃隆·马斯克之间持续不断的政治责任推诿。

泽连斯基今天告诉美国广播公司新闻网，尽管特朗普保证网速放缓的情况已经得到扭转，但乌克兰的网络接入速度仍然受到限制。

ICEYE 和诺基亚于 10 月 1 日宣布建立合作伙伴关系，旨在“为各国政府开发安全、自主、高性能的宽带低地球轨道 (LEO) 卫星通信系统，以支持从国防和边境安全到应急服务和灾害响应等任务”，一份联合新闻稿中如此写道。

这些公司表示，政府客户将拥有“卫星、地面部分和终端的所有权和控制权”，第一颗卫星计划于 2028 年发射升空。

动力源自链轮：正是传动装置赋予履带车辆控制能力。

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基辅的意向书标志着双方首次表达了合作意向，尽管它还不是正式订单。

“与乌克兰国防部签署的意向书只是表达了意向，并不意味着向乌克兰订购任何系统，”ICEYE 的一位发言人告诉 Breaking Defense。

根据合作协议，ICEYE 将提供卫星平台来支持这项联合行动。发言人解释说，该公司已经开发出一个“灵活的平台，目前正用于卫星通信”。

根据联合新闻稿，诺基亚将为该航天器提供“安全网络技术”。

联合新闻稿称：“两家公司将共同整合卫星、地面基础设施和加固型终端用户设备，将 ICEYE 的太空主权情报商业模式扩展到卫星通信领域。”

诺基亚总部位于赫尔辛基，提供电信基础设施、网络功能以及与“物联网”相关的技术。

总部位于埃斯波的ICEYE公司主要运营合成孔径雷达（SAR）成像卫星，并一直在欧洲拓展其销售和卫星生产能力。与诺基亚的此次合作标志着该公司首次进军卫星通信领域。

在乌克兰与俄罗斯长达数年的战争中，ICEYE 一直公开支持乌克兰。该公司近期面临轨道安全隐患：一架机动性极强的俄罗斯“宇宙”号探测器近距离接近了 ICEYE 的一艘航天器，引发了人们对潜在危险的在轨机动的担忧。

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