Finnish technology and telecom giant Nokia has now stepped into the space-based intelligence domain, as it announced a partnership with ICEYE, the European leader in sovereign intelligence from space, with the goal of developing 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.
“Built on trusted European technology, the jointly developed satellite communications systems will give nations ownership and control of the satellites, ground segment, and terminals. The first communications satellites are expected to be launched in 2028,” the duo announced.
“When terrestrial networks are disrupted or compromised, defense forces, first responders, and civil authorities risk losing access to the information and command systems they depend on. Governments therefore need resilient communications infrastructure that remains available under the most demanding conditions and that they can fully own and control,” Nokia said.
The jointly developed sovereign systems will deliver targeted, high-throughput, low-latency connectivity over priority mission areas.
Designed to complement military and commercial networks rather than replace them, the LEO satellite-powered communications systems will add reach, resilience, and capacity, helping governments and defense organisations in Europe maintain critical connections wherever operations take place.
“The partnership brings together ICEYE’s track record of delivering sovereign satellite missions with Nokia’s extensive experience in secure networking technologies and growing defense portfolio. Together, the companies will integrate satellites, ground infrastructure, and ruggedized end-user terminals to extend ICEYE’s sovereign intelligence from the space business model to satellite communications,” ICEYE noted.
“Together with Nokia, we are building on our proven space intelligence expertise and delivering sovereign, high-performance satellite communications. Nations must be able to fully own and control their communications without dependency on a foreign commercial operator’s terms of service. We delivered Poland its radar satellite system in under a year. Partnering with Nokia lets us move at a similar speed for satellite communications, on the timelines nations need,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE.
Talking about ICEYE, the Finnish company owns the world’s largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation.
The space-based sovereign intelligence firm has established a reputation for delivering customers intelligence of unparalleled quality, latency, and revisit times, regardless of weather conditions or time of day.
“To governments who choose to operate their constellation, we provide this proven capability as a sovereign system,” ICEYE stated further.
ICEYE-built constellations serve customers in defense and intelligence, environmental monitoring, insurance, and emergency management. We enable fast decisions that contribute to a safer future,” it added further.
“Sovereign operations depend on the ability to sense, decide, and act in real time. Physical AI makes that possible, but only with secure, resilient connectivity across land, sea, air, and space. By bringing together Nokia’s trusted networks with ICEYE’s proven sovereign space capabilities, we will deliver a satellite communications capability—complementing existing terrestrial networks and giving nations the situational awareness, connectivity, and control they need to operate with confidence in contested environments across all domains,” remarked Justin Hotard, President and CEO of Nokia.