Rheinmetall and ICEYE to form joint venture to produce satellites and other space solutions

Rheinmetall and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite specialist ICEYE are to further intensify their co-operation by establishing a joint venture for satellite production. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect on 8 May 2025.

Rheinmetall is to be the majority shareholder in the new joint venture, named Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions, with 60% of the shares, while ICEYE will hold the remaining 40%. The foundation of the joint venture is still subject to definitive agreements and official approvals.

As part of a Rheinmetall Space Cluster in Germany, Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions will manufacture satellites, starting with SAR satellites and subsequently other space solutions. Production is to take place at the Rheinmetall site at Neuss, near Düsseldorf, among other locations, and is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

SAR satellites offer advantages over conventional satellites in that they can generate high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions or time of day. These are very detailed and make even the smallest objects on the Earth’s surface identifiable. This can bring decisive advantages for armed forces in terms of surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance and deployment.

“With the establishment of the new joint venture, we are making further inroads into the space domain,” Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, was quoted as saying in a joint press release. “We are thus not only responding to the increased demand for space-based reconnaissance capabilities among armed and security forces worldwide, but also contributing to the preservation and expansion of Germany as a centre of technology. Our highly qualified colleagues at the Neuss site are being given a promising new perspective for the future. We are delighted to expand our co-operation with our proven partner ICEYE.”

“ICEYE aims to be the primary provider of critical infrastructure for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) to allied nations,” added Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE. “We are excited to deepen our strategic collaboration with Rheinmetall by establishing a joint venture. This joint venture further strengthens our focus on developing space-based technology for the needs of global defence markets and securing sovereign defense capabilities for Europe.”

Rheinmetall initially announced its co-operation with ICEYE in June 2024: a relationship that intensified in September 2024 as Rheinmetall secured exclusive rights to market ICEYE’s SAR satellites to military and government end users in both the German and Hungarian markets.

The first major milestone in this intensified co-operation between Rheinmetall and ICEYE was reached in November 2024 when, to meet Ukraine’s urgent need for SAR imaging satellite reconnaissance capabilities, Rheinmetall and Ukraine signed a contract with the support of the German government. That agreement extended the SAR data and other support that Ukraine received from ICEYE to counter invading Russian forces.