Tactical Switching, AI: ICEYE CEO On Use Of Satellites In Future Battlefields

The geopolitical interests of India and Europe are "extremely aligned" and a collaboration between his Finland-based company and India's armed forces makes a lot of sense, ICEYE Co-Founder and CEO Rafal Modrzewski has said. 

Modrzewski co-founded ICEYE 12 years ago, and the company now operates 84 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which is the largest such constellation in the world. 

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Speaking to Vishnu Som at the NDTV Defence Summit 2026 on Sunday, Modrzewski said ICEYE was already a "provider" for the armed forces when India carried out Operation Sindoor, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, last year. Live updates here

"India and Europe are extremely aligned in their geopolitical interests and, as such, this is a collaboration that makes a lot of sense. We have been so happy to see the trade deal ultimately being signed between the (European) Commission and India. This supports the business relationship and the collaboration between the armed forces. When Operation Sindoor was taking place, we were already a provider," the CEO said.

Watch Rafal Modrzewski, Co-Founder & CEO, ICEYE (@iceye_global), in a fireside chat with NDTV's @VishnuNDTV on Space and Sovereignty pic.twitter.com/Vn3XJO9XYm

— NDTV (@ndtv) September 27, 2026

Satellite imagery, Modrzewski said, is going to be critical in the future interconnected battlefield because satellites can see way beyond the horizon and give a bird's-eye view of everything that is going on. 

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"We see this so-called famous tip and cue configuration where you have one satellite system that's a broader area scanner. Then you have a follow-on satellite system that exposes the details of the information that you are looking at and then perhaps a confirmation comes from a satellite that's flying in configuration. This is the future," he said. 

"I think next year you are going to see constellations of satellites which are not flying just independently, but there are constellations of clusters of satellites flying in formations and maintaining those formations in order to have an ability to tactically switch from one satellite to another. I think the moment you bring artificial intelligence into all of this, you are really going to see some amazing stuff," he added. 

Modrzewski said ICEYE is looking at setting up a hub in India and the idea is to bring the capability and transfer the technology.