Bundeswehr Gains Direct Access to Rheinmetall-ICEYE SAR Satellites

Germany’s Bundeswehr has gained direct access to dedicated synthetic aperture radar reconnaissance satellites operated by Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions, marking a major operational milestone in the country’s €1.7 billion SPOCK 1 military space program.

Rheinmetall announced on October 6 that the German Armed Forces can now independently task several SAR satellites reserved for the program, giving military users direct access to space-based imagery for reconnaissance and surveillance missions. 

The capability is being used primarily to support Germany’s permanently deployed brigade in Lithuania and to monitor NATO’s eastern flank.

SPOCK 1, short for SAR Space System for Persistent Operational Tracking, Stage 1, is the first stage of Germany’s planned national radar reconnaissance capability. Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions operates the satellites and is continuing to expand the constellation. 

Importantly, the satellites remain operated by the Rheinmetall-ICEYE joint venture rather than being transferred to Bundeswehr ownership. The military receives dedicated access and can independently commission imagery from the constellation.

Satellite production starts in Germany

Rheinmetall also confirmed that production of SAR satellites has now started at the joint venture’s facility in Neuss, near Düsseldorf.

The site combines satellite production, integration, testing and quality assurance, establishing a domestic industrial base for radar reconnaissance satellites in Germany.

Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions aims to manufacture and certify several dozen satellites per year at the facility. The company did not give a more precise annual production figure in its October 6 announcement. 

The production milestone is significant because the original program schedule, announced when the SPOCK 1 contract was awarded in December 2025, called for manufacturing of the first joint-venture satellites to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Production has therefore moved from planning into industrial implementation. 

Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said the Bundeswehr had moved from contract signing to direct access to a dedicated SAR reconnaissance capability in less than a year.

ICEYE CEO and co-founder Rafal Modrzewski said the satellites build on experience from ICEYE’s existing global SAR constellation and that the partners now intend to maintain the pace as the German system expands. 

€1.7 billion reconnaissance program

Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, or BAAINBw, awarded Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions the SPOCK 1 contract in December 2025.

The contract has a gross value of approximately €1.7 billion and runs from the end of 2025 through the end of 2030, with an option for an extension.

Under the agreement, the Bundeswehr is to receive a high volume of SAR imagery each day from a dedicated constellation operated by Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions. The wider service package includes satellite operations, ground-station management and AI-supported initial analysis of collected imagery. 

Unlike conventional optical reconnaissance satellites, SAR systems use radar rather than visible light to image the Earth’s surface. This allows them to collect imagery during both day and night and through cloud cover, rain, smoke and other conditions that can restrict optical sensors.

Rheinmetall previously said the satellites operate at altitudes of approximately 500 to 600 kilometers and can provide imagery with resolution of up to 16 centimeters, depending on the operating mode. 

The system is particularly relevant to Germany’s military presence in Lithuania. Berlin is establishing a permanently deployed combat brigade there as part of NATO’s effort to strengthen deterrence on its eastern flank.

The October milestone means the Bundeswehr no longer has only a future procurement commitment for SPOCK 1. It now has direct tasking access to dedicated SAR assets, while Germany has simultaneously begun building the industrial capacity required to expand the constellation domestically.