Amid Starlink crisis, Finnish tech giants announce plans to help Ukraine build its own sovereign satellite system

Finnish technology companies ICEYE and Nokia signed a letter of intent with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on October 22, formalizing a partnership to develop Ukraine’s own satellite communications system.

President Volodymyr Zelensky first announced the deal earlier today during Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s visit to Kyiv, calling the satellite deal “important for our defense and for Ukraine’s resilience.”

The deal with kyiv comes weeks after Nokia and ICEYE announced plans to collaborate to build “low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications systems for governments.” These systems will support national defense, emergency response services and border security, among other applications.

Ukraine currently relies on another LEO broadband satellite communications system: Starlink, a service managed by the American company SpaceX. Starlink has proven essential for battlefield communications, medium-range drone strikes, and air defense.

But the system also proved vulnerable, as Ukraine learned after a week of persistent disruptions to its Starlink services. While US President Donald Trump claimed that speed and full functionality had been restored to Ukraine’s Starlink, a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that restrictions remained in effect.

The jointly developed systems that ICEYE and NOKIA want to create, however, would give countries ownership of their satellites, ground segment and terminals, the companies said. Ukrainian forces on the front lines would therefore not lose access to mission-critical systems due to the changing whims of foreign governments.

“Ukraine needs secure, sovereign and efficient satellite communications systems that it controls,” ICEYE CEO Rafal Modrzewski said in a press release announcing the deal with Kyiv.

“We have a proven track record of rapidly carrying out sovereign missions to help strengthen this capability. ICEYE has proudly supported Ukraine since 2022, and we remain committed to continuing this support today. »

Nokia Defense President Mikko Hautala echoed the sentiment, saying the project would give Ukraine “control of the connectivity it depends on.”

ICEYE describes itself as “Europe’s leader in sovereign intelligence from space” and telecommunications giant Nokia as “a global leader in connectivity infrastructure”.