Maxar Technologies
Updated, 10 a.m. ET, March 1, 2022: On Tuesday, Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister of digital transformation, confirmed that his country is seeking co-operation from commercial satellite operators. The aim is to obtain data, especially from synthetic aperture radar, on the movement of Russian vehicles so that Ukrainian forces can react.
“We really need the opportunity to observe the movement of Russian troops, especially at night, when our technology is actually blind!” “Satellite SAR data are important for understanding the movement of Russian troops and vehicles at night, given that clouds cover about 80 percent of Ukraine during the day,” Fedorov wrote in a letter. posted on Twitter.
@eos_da and @maxpolyakov called on global companies and remote monitoring organizations to provide real-time SAR data to support Ukraine’s armed forces with active intelligence. pic.twitter.com/DzfNze3K3r
– Mikhail Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 1, 2022
Ukrainian entrepreneur Max Polyakov made the initial request Monday night with an urgent request saying, “We need the data now.” His company EOS Data Analytics offers fast analysis and processing of data for use by the Ukrainian Defense Service. The company has created a web page here with more information.
Original post: Ukrainian entrepreneur Max Polyakov was emotional – and sometimes angry – during a 20-minute conversation with reporters Monday night as he spoke about the Russian military’s attack on his homeland.
“In an hour there will be another attack on Kyiv,” Polyakov said, pointing out his watch. “We need the data now.”
The data he mentioned were real-time observations made by trade satellites flying over Ukraine. Polyakov is urging the operators of these satellites, mostly Western companies that sell data to governments and private customers, to share their data freely with one of his companies, EOS Data Analytics.
Polyakov said the EOS would quickly process this data on passage through Ukraine and provide some basic analysis before sending the information to the Ukrainian Defense Service and the Ministry of Digital Transformation. The EOS has the ability to quickly distinguish 18 different types of Russian military vehicles, he said.
“We need to have that intelligence right now,” he said. “Every night we are bombed and at night we are blind. We need this information, please. “
Polyakov noted that in recent days, commercial companies have been releasing high-resolution satellite images in public space to showcase their capabilities. While this is impressive, he acknowledged, such publications have been more useful for public relations purposes than for providing useful information to the Ukrainian military. The data is often two or three days old, Polyakov said. “We don’t need to know where the Russian tanks were two days ago,” he said.
He also pointed to the need for a special type of intelligence that has become increasingly popular in recent years: data from synthetic aperture radar or SAR, satellites. Unlike passive optical satellites, which collect data in the visible, near-infrared and short-wave infrared parts of the spectrum, these satellites emit their own energy. They then record the energy reflected back from the Earth’s surface.
The main advantage of SAR satellites is that they can collect data day and night and through the cloud cover. Polyakov said SAR satellite data is important for understanding the movement of Russian troops and vehicles at night, noting that clouds cover about 80 percent of Ukraine during the day.
Noosphere / Magnification
Polyakov turned to Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies, Airbus, SI Imaging Services, SpaceView, BlackSky, Iceye, Capella and other companies that can provide the necessary data.
During a conversation with reporters, Polyakov admitted that he was making an “aggressive” request. The 44-year-old entrepreneur has an unequal relationship with US regulators and was recently – and unfairly for some observers – forced to sell his stake in US-based startup Firefly. However, the passion he clearly has for preserving his homeland is hard to deny.
It is not clear immediately how the trading companies will react. This was the first major war in which commercially available satellite images played a significant role in providing open source information on troop movements, military deployments in neighboring countries, refugee flows, and more.
Previously, such data were their own and were largely collected by a handful of nations. The role of such powerful, widely available technology has not yet been defined in the field of warfare, and it is unclear whether private companies are willing to freely transfer raw data to another trading company with the intention of helping one side in the conflict.
But we have yet to find out.