The Finnish satellite company ICEYE is establishing local subsidiaries in India, the Netherlands and South Korea. The operations will support customers in defence and intelligence, and deepen cooperation with the countries' space and defence sectors.
"ICEYE India represents genuine engineering and manufacturing capability on the ground. We look forward to building this together with the Government of India and local partners," says Rafał Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE.
According to ICEYE's press release on India, the operation in New Delhi will primarily help Indian defence and intelligence customers gain access to the company's solutions. The subsidiary will also form the basis for planned manufacturing in the country, involving local suppliers, locally sourced components and Indian engineering expertise.
In a separate press release, ICEYE states that a company headquartered in Amsterdam has been formed. A technology hub will be established there within the Netherlands' defence technological and industrial base.
ICEYE has previously supplied intelligence data from SAR satellites, which use synthetic aperture radar, to the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force. The technology hub will, among other things, support local engineering activities, joint development and training in space readiness.
On 26 August, the establishment of ICEYE Korea was also announced, which, according to the company, had been formed in June.
ICEYE has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul National University. The parties will explore opportunities for joint research and education in areas including SAR-based Earth observation, small satellites, AI-based image analysis and autonomous satellite operations. They are also considering setting up a joint collaboration centre.