Over the past two years, Ukraine has used a crowdfunded satellite from California-based ICEYE to destroy over 1,500 high-value Russian targets, causing billions of dollars in damages. This satellite, equipped with advanced radar technology, has provided nearly 4,200 images, enabling precise strikes on Russian airfields, defense positions, and fuel depots. The constant surveillance, even through clouds and at night, has been a game-changer for Ukraine, revealing enemy movements and thwarting their plans. This innovative use of satellite technology has given Ukraine a significant edge in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
More than 1,500 Russian targets worth billions of dollars have been destroyed in the last two years thanks to imagery from a crowd-funded satellite, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) stated on Wednesday.
According to the intelligence service, 38% of approximately 4,200 photos obtained by the California-based ICEYE company’s satellite for Ukrainian usage in August 2022 were used to hit Russian targets. The satellite captured photographs of both Ukraine and Russia.
“The entire array of data obtained thanks to ICEYE was used for direct preparation of fire damage to the enemy,” GUR reports. “This is billions of dollars in losses for Russia, and the price of its aggression will grow!” While The War Zone could not independently verify the report, a former US official revealed to us last year that Ukraine was using the ICEYE satellite on the battlefield.
The satellite, as well as more than two dozen others, have allowed Ukraine’s military to view and hit a wide range of targets that they would not have been able to see otherwise.
“During the period of use of the ‘people’s satellite’ and access to the ICEYE satellite constellation, our specialists took a total of 4,173 pictures of enemy objects,” according to GUR. This includes 370 airfields, 238 air defense and radio technical intelligence posts, 153 oil depots and fuel warehouses, 147 missile, aircraft, and ammunition stores, and 17 naval sites.
According to the spy service, the ICEYE satellite acquired points of Russian permanent deployment, as well as training grounds, military communities, and mobilization deployment centers.
The image below shows Russian troops and vehicles at a training site in Luhansk Oblast, captured by the satellite.
The image below depicts a modern Russian Nebo-M radar system, as well as electronic and signals intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.
The satellite also captured photographs over Russia’s Rostov Oblast. There are some camouflaged Russian trucks there.
ICEYE agreed to “transfer the full capabilities of one of its [Synthetic Aperture Radar] SAR satellites already in orbit for the Government of Ukraine’s use over the region,” according to a press statement issued at the time. “The SAR satellite will be operated by ICEYE. In addition, ICEYE will provide access to its constellation of SAR satellites, allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive radar satellite imagery on critical locations with a high revisit frequency.”
Unlike optical satellites, which rely on natural light conditions, SAR systems can acquire images even in the presence of cloud cover, smoke, or dust, as well as at night. Metal items, particularly, show out in the vision produced by the active radar sensor, which can thwart camouflage efforts.
The corporation claims to hold “the world’s largest synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation” and employs over 700 individuals across the United States, Finland, Poland, and Spain.
Aside from the intelligence provided by the United States and its NATO partners, Ukraine’s capacity to observe adversary actions from above is restricted to the tactical use of drones and a broader but still limited sweep of commercial satellite photography. So, having constant and independent access to eyes in space is a huge advantage for the war-torn country.
Earth’s orbital reconnaissance “allows receiving data both on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and in other places on the planet where the military forces and means of terrorist Russia are located,” according to GUR.
“This allows tracking the dynamics of Russia’s personnel movements, revealing its military intentions with the aim of disrupting them,” GUR wrote. The observatory “allows you to monitor the objects of the aggressor’s military-industrial complex and its logistics network, which includes the illegal bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea.”
The Kerch Bridge has already been targeted twice and is still a target of Ukraine.
‘It’s not a question of will we strike or won’t we strike,” Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone last September. “We’re doing that regularly so we will finish it. It’s just an issue of time.”
The SAR satellite captured a view of that bridge, as shown below.
“The huge advantage of the ICEYE space vehicle is its ability to clearly see a cluster of even carefully camouflaged enemy mechanized units with its equipment,” GUR added. “What do you think happens to them later?”
The Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation and blogger Ihor Lachenkov launched a fundraiser for the satellite in June 2022.
“One satellite fully operates for the needs of our defense, and nearly two dozen more are involved when necessary,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov at the time.
On September 29, 2022, Ukraine announced its use of the satellite and how it assisted them.
“Combat teams of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been receiving a stream of data from ICEYE satellites for some time now,” Reznikov said. “The shots are directly deciphered and processed by the military intelligence specialists of the Ministry of Defense who have undergone relevant training.”
Reznikov could not provide many details, but he did say that “in the first two days of the satellite operation, more than 60 units of combat equipment were discovered that the enemy was attempting to conceal in the forest lanes and other obstacles.” It was discovered because the ICEYE satellites collect data using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). This strategy would be difficult, if not impossible, to detect using optical satellites.
Those locations were “promptly transferred to inflict a fiery effect” in Kherson and Donetsk oblasts, he said. “In fact, only in these two days, the enemy has lost armor equipment for more than the entire satellite project costs.”
Given Ukraine’s claims of success with the ICEYE satellite and related constellation, Russia is most likely keeping a careful eye on them, though any counter-moves have yet to be announced. Russia has a developing arsenal of anti-satellite weapons, including some unusual on-orbit devices. As we reported last month, Russia has already launched a clandestine space testbed as part of its development of a nuclear-armed on-orbit anti-satellite weapon, demonstrating Moscow’s commitment to expanding counter-space weapons.
While having control over one SAR satellite and access to others falls far short of Russia’s space capabilities, this arrangement has undoubtedly aided Ukraine by providing another layer of organic surveillance to the numerous drones that patrol the much lower skies over the battlefield.
On June 23, 2024, Russia claimed to have intercepted five U.S.-supplied missiles aimed at Sevastopol, with one falling and causing civilian casualties. However, GreatGameIndia analysts suggest these missiles targeted critical military sites rather than the beach where debris caused deaths and injuries. The incident has sparked a debate over the role of international military cooperation, implicating U.S. drones and Italian bases in the strikes. This highlights the escalating complexity of modern warfare and the significant implications for global military alliances, as advanced defense systems are now a critical component in this high-stakes conflict.