Agnikul, Finland’s ICEYE Partner for India’s SAR Satellite and Launch Capability

Chennai’s space startup, Agnikul Cosmos, and Finland’s ICEYE have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore building, launching, and operating Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation (EO) systems from India. 

The agreement seeks to combine ICEYE’s satellite expertise and manufacturing plans in India with Agnikul’s launch capabilities to create an end-to-end sovereign earth observation ecosystem.

The two companies said the collaboration would explore manufacturing SAR satellites in India and launch them on indigenous rockets without relying on foreign launch schedules. They also plan to develop a repeatable satellite-to-launch model that can support long-term deployment programmes and serve international markets.

This announcement comes just after ICEYE partnered with Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space for satellite manufacturing and EO systems.

“Previously, building and launching a satellite system privately in India mostly meant piecing together foreign technology and waiting on timelines that we as a nation did not control,” said Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder and CEO at Agnikul Cosmos. “This partnership aims to change that equation.” 

He further added in a statement that applications such as disaster response, sensitive area monitoring and security are national priorities, and India deserves sovereign capabilities to support them.

The partnership with Agnikul will combine the Indian startup’s responsive launch infrastructure with ICEYE’s SAR technology, which is already deployed across sovereign programmes in Europe. The companies said the model could support applications such as disaster response, security and monitoring of sensitive areas.

The collaboration extends beyond a single satellite mission and seeks to bring manufacturing, launch, and operational capabilities under a single framework.

Moin SPM, Co-founder and COO at Agnikul, said that the partnership extends beyond a single mission. “By combining manufacturing, launch and operational capabilities under one ecosystem, we can create a repeatable model that can support long-term deployment programmes for customers in India and around the world.”

ICEYE said India is becoming an important market as demand for sovereign intelligence capabilities grows worldwide.

“Partnerships built around speed, reliability and long-term execution are becoming increasingly important in these times, and this is what we seek to build with Agnikul," said Rafał Modrzewski, CEO at ICEYE.

For Agnikul, the agreement adds to its portfolio of international commercial partnerships across India, the Middle East and Australia. The company said the partnership aligns with its ambition to expand its role in the global space transportation market.

ICEYE said India could serve as a manufacturing hub for satellites intended for both domestic and international programmes. The company operates a SAR satellite constellation with more than 70 satellites and has delivered sovereign satellite constellations to seven European governments, including Poland, Sweden and Germany.