Payload
• Douglas Gorman
Hydrosat says Nyktōs will provide high-resolution mid-wave infrared imagery for day-and-night tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The company plans to build the capability in Europe and pair it with its Osiris wide-area thermal constellation, whose first two satellites are scheduled to launch in 2027.
Space Defense & Militarization
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SpaceX is building and operating Starlink and Starshield, two satellite networks with different roles and users. This explainer examines how the military-focused Starshield network differs from Starlink and who uses each, clarifying the company’s parallel commercial and defense-facing satellite activities.
Hydrosat says Nyktōs will provide high-resolution mid-wave infrared imagery for day-and-night tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The company plans to build the capability in Europe and pair it with its Osiris wide-area thermal constellation, whose first two satellites are scheduled to launch in 2027.
A new UK policy is changing the terms for foreign companies seeking business in the country’s military space market. The available report does not specify the policy’s requirements or which bidders and programs are affected, but signals a shift in the conditions governing access to defense-related space opportunities.
Alphabet’s Google is discussing a new data-security effort with the US Defense Department to support Golden Dome, a proposed missile-defense program valued at $185 billion. The talks could bring a major technology company into the program’s security architecture, though the available reports provide no details on scope, contract value or timing.
The US Air Force has tested new autonomous mission systems on its XQ-67A demonstrator, while China says its GJ-21 unmanned combat aircraft completed takeoff and landing tests aboard the Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan. Separately, TEKEVER won a USSOCOM order for AI-enabled ISR drones, and Saab and GA-ASI tested an unmanned airborne early warning capability on the MQ-9B.
MDA Space will build AURORA broadband digital phased-array antennas and controllers for the first 66 satellites in Europe’s IRIS² secure-connectivity constellation. The agreement with Thales Alenia Space is valued at more than €100 million, with the satellites scheduled to launch in 2029.
High activity
Chinese state media says the GJ-21 stealth attack drone has completed its first takeoff and landing aboard the amphibious assault ship Sichuan, calling it a breakthrough in the ship program. The reported milestone follows more than a year of signs that China was preparing to demonstrate ship-based operations for the aircraft.
A sudden restriction on Ukraine’s access to Starshield exposed a strategic vulnerability: critical battlefield connectivity depends on infrastructure whose access can be controlled by a private provider. The episode also raises questions about the consequences of using that control during an active conflict.
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