by Giuseppe Gagliano How the war in Ukraine changed the army, mercenaries and companies. The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
The war in Ukraine saw the explosion of a new type of mercenary. In addition to hiring flesh-and-blood fighters with private companies, armies now also have the opportunity to outsource their intelligence services using satellite imaging companies. THE ROLE OF CIVIL SATELLITES The surveillance of the movements of Russian troops by the Ukrainian army was largely made possible thanks to images from civilian satellites. At the moment, according to the director of Planet Labs, a company in the sector, about 200 satellites photograph the country every day from every angle. Beyond the Ukrainian forces, these images are acquired by the main media investigating the situation in the country (for example, satellite images captured by the Maxar company have made it possible to identify a mass grave in Ducha) and by humanitarian organizations that can then follow the evacuation corridors. ALSO THE UNITED STATES The use of these companies is not reserved only for armies that do not have enough means to have their eyes in the sky. The Wall Street Journal claims that the US government is itself a regular customer. Launching a spy satellite costs billions and can take years. This is precisely why commercial satellites are an important aspect of the US government's ability to get the right information at the right time. WAR IS A BUSINESS The war represents a great business opportunity for private satellite imaging companies. For example, it took less than a week after the February 24 Russian invasion for BlackSky Technology to decide to change the planned orbit of two satellites fired on April 2 so that they could position themselves over Ukraine, the CEO said. company to the Wall Street Journal.
Ukraine Maxar, Planet, BlackSky. All business of satellite imaging companies (including with governments and armies) society