Germany’s armed forces have signed a €1.7 billion contract with Rheinmetall for access to satellite-based reconnaissance data with regular radar images supplied through a partnership with Finnish satellite operator ICEYE.
German defence company Rheinmetall and Finnish satellite maker ICEYE have established a joint venture to manufacture synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, Rheinmetall said on Friday. Rheinmetall holds a 60 percent stake in the project, while ICEYE holds 40 percent of shares.
ICEYE has introduced Tactical Access, a satellite tasking service that provides guaranteed SAR imaging capacity and rapid delivery for defense and intelligence customers. The subscription-based model allows users to directly control ICEYE’s imaging fleet, with options for local ground stations or secure cloud-based image access.
The Italian defense major will be represented at DefExpo by its group companies AgustaWestland, Alenia Aermacchi, DRS Tactical Systems, Inc. (a division of DRS Technologies), SELEX Galileo, Oto Melara and WASS – in DEFEXPO 2012, exhibiting products, platforms and technological solutions in the field of helicopters, aeronautic, radar systems, naval and land armaments and underwater systems.
Northrop Grumman Corporation plans to show-off its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems ‘including airborne early warning and control systems for maritime reconnaissance, fire control radars and unmanned aerial vehicles’, at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore, next week.
Saab has offered its radar, CARABAS, to the Defense Research and Development Organization’s Electronics and Radar Development Establishment for evaluation. The radar can penetrate densely-forested areas and detect mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) buried underground.
