Four Russian Military Satellites Approached Finnish Company's Radar Satellite to Within 13 Kilometres

Four Russian military satellites altered their orbits and approached the radar satellite of Finnish company ICEYE to within 13 kilometres. The ICEYE satellite has been supplying Ukrainian armed forces with battlefield imagery since 2022. Russia designated such satellites as legitimate targets in 2022.

Over the past month, four Russian military satellites-Cosmos-2610, Cosmos-2611, Cosmos-2612, and Cosmos-2613-approached the Finnish satellite company ICEYE's radar satellite ICEYE-X36 to within 13 kilometres in space. Analytics firm Integrity ISR released a report on 22 May describing how Russian satellites deliberately altered their orbits to approach the ICEYE satellite.

ICEYE and Ukrainian Military Operations

ICEYE-X36 is a radar satellite that has been providing data to Ukrainian armed forces since 2022. The Finnish-based company ICEYE is one of the leading commercial space imaging service providers, whose systems are actively used to support Ukraine's defence. The satellite uses synthetic aperture radar technology, which enables ground imaging even in cloudy conditions and at night.

Russian Warnings from 2022

Against the backdrop of the incident, it is important to recall that Russian military officials already designated commercial satellites transmitting information to Ukraine as "legitimate targets" in 2022. The orbital manoeuvres of Russian satellites and their approach to ICEYE-X36 suggest that Moscow may be practising so-called space proximity manoeuvres, which are considered a potential covert attack or intimidation tactic.

Growing Threat to Space Infrastructure

According to experts, the threat to commercial space infrastructure is growing significantly. Satellites linked to the Ukraine war have become a sensitive issue for Russia, as they provide Ukrainian forces with a crucial advantage in target identification and attack coordination. The Integrity ISR report raises the question of whether such approaches pose a direct threat to satellite security and whether Western nations should consider more effective measures to protect their space assets.