ICEYE, one of the global leaders in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operations, recently announced the commercial availability of its fourth-generation “Gen4” satellites. The latest generation delivers the world’s highest-fidelity commercial SAR imagery of up to 16 cm resolution, extends the high-resolution field of regard to 400 km, and enables more images per orbital pass for faster coverage of priority areas of interest (AOIs).
With this significant increase in coverage and optimized design, Gen4 is built for large-scale deployment and operations in large constellations. Its higher imaging throughput increases the per-pass image count, making sub-15-minute revisit performance more accessible. For defense and intelligence teams, this means faster, more reliable situational awareness and greater confidence in mission-critical decisions.
Each Gen4 satellite can capture up to 500 images per day, with up to half concentrated within a 2,000-km-wide region per orbit. Imaging and downlink can occur simultaneously at up to 700 Mbps, enabling tasking, acquisition, and delivery within the same pass for near real-time monitoring.
A larger and more powerful antenna delivers a stronger signal and sharper detail. This advancement is a key feature of the new Gen4 satellite, which expands high-resolution imaging coverage by 250% – from 150 km to 400 km. This allows a single satellite to monitor a vast area of interest, such as an entire naval task force or a major land border crossing in a single pass while accelerating revisits over time-sensitive targets.
The result is improved image quality, providing sharper insights and higher confidence. This enhanced imagery further improves the Detect & Classify product, which bundles ICEYE imagery with SATIM’s AI-based imagery derivatives, to automatically detect and classify vessels, aircraft, and vehicles with better than 90% accuracy.
For national customers and governments, Gen4 can be purchased as a fully sovereign capability that is not subject to ITAR control. ICEYE delivers the Gen4 satellite as part of a complete, secure system that can be launched, deployed, and operated within 12 months, including ground segment, comprehensive training and continuous software updates.
The first wave of Gen4 satellites were launched as part of the SpaceX TR13 mission in March this year, demonstrating ICEYE’s position as a critical partner for governments, and defense and intelligence customers, worldwide.
ICEYE currently operates the world’s largest constellation of SAR satellites and has succeeded in packing powerful sensors into cost-efficient platforms with rapid revisit times. Because its satellites are software-driven, ICEYE can continuously evolve their capabilities from the ground without building new hardware.
Rafal Modrzewski, co-founder and CEO of ICEYE, said: “After years of dedicated research and innovation, we are proud to announce that our next-generation satellite, Gen4, is now commercially available. This marks a significant step forward in delivering more images, sharper, faster, and more flexible to our customers worldwide.”
“Gen4 is not only a technological leap; it’s a clear example of how ICEYE continues to push the boundaries of the SAR satellite industry. It’s a game-changer for how governments, as well as defense and intelligence users, can see, understand, and respond to events around the globe,” he concluded.
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