Commercial satellites have helped Ukraine destroy Russian targets worth billions of dollars
The Ukrainian military has begun receiving intelligence data from commercial satellites operated by the American company Vantor directly on tablets and mobile devices, significantly reducing the time between target detection and strike execution.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new system allows satellite images to be transmitted to troops on the front lines approximately 15 minutes after they are received, bypassing lengthy processing and approval procedures.
The project was implemented jointly by the American companies Vantor and Persistent Systems, the Dutch company Bravo1Alpha, and the Ukrainian company Bureviy. The system uses artificial intelligence to analyze satellite imagery, compare new and archived photos, detect changes on the ground, and create 3D models for strike planning.
According to the publication, during Operation Starfall II, one of the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ units struck Russian targets worth billions of dollars over a period of two and a half weeks. Among the targets was an ammunition depot in the occupied territory, which was identified by analyzing changes in buildings and traces of military equipment in satellite images.
Analysts note that reducing the time from intelligence gathering to weapon deployment has become one of the key trends in modern warfare.
Currently, a constellation of ten Vantor satellites covers approximately 7 million square kilometers of territory daily and can image the same area 12 to 15 times a day. At the same time, the system’s effectiveness depends on weather conditions, and heavy cloud cover can significantly limit observation capabilities.
Source: The Wall Street Journal.
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