Planet signs deal with NATO to supply satellite imagery

WASHINGTON — Earth imaging company Planet announced Aug. 19 it has inked a deal with NATO to supply satellite imagery. The contract, signed with NATO’s Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), is set to provide the alliance with high-resolution data from Planet’s SkySat fleet as part of the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) program.

Planet said it could not disclose the contract’s financial details.

The APSS program, launched in 2023, is a NATO initiative designed to create a “virtual constellation” by pooling together national and commercial satellite networks. With 17 member nations committing over $1 billion over the next five years, this program is being touted as the largest multinational investment in space-based capabilities in NATO’s history. The goal is to enhance the alliance’s ability to keep tabs on what’s happening on the ground and at sea.

This push for advanced surveillance capabilities has been spurred by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The war underscored the importance of real-time intelligence, with commercial satellite imagery playing a key role in Ukraine’s defense strategy, from tracking troop movements to coordinating responses on the battlefield.

“Planet’s tasking capabilities will empower NATO decision makers by providing imagery for use with detailed tracking and analysis of foreign military capabilities and activities, monitoring of military infrastructure, detecting movements, assessing threats effectively, filling missing intelligence gaps, and helping provide an unclassified common operating picture between allies,” the company said in a statement.

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Planet operates a fleet of over 200 satellites that orbit the poles every 90 minutes, capturing the entire Earth’s landmass every day. This includes approximately 150 Doves, which are small, medium-resolution satellites, and around 20 SkySats, which provide high-resolution imagery.

Laryssa Patten, an official from NCIA, highlighted the strategic importance of space to NATO, calling it crucial for everything from force navigation and missile launch detection to maintaining situational awareness and ensuring effective command and control.

For Planet, this NATO deal is the latest in a series of moves to strengthen its position in the defense and government sectors. The company’s SkySat fleet, which offers high-resolution images and the ability to revisit locations multiple times a day, was initially developed to meet military and intelligence demands.

Since launching its defense-focused subsidiary, Planet Federal, in 2018, the company has been steadily expanding its government footprint. The company secured a $146 million contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 2022 as part of the NRO’s Electro-Optical Commercial Layer initiative, which taps commercial satellites for national security applications.