By Koichi Kuranuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

Major Japanese heavy machinery manufacturer IHI Corp. will strengthen its satellite constellation business, which involves the deployment of a large number of small satellites into low Earth orbit to conduct observations of the Earth and provide a variety of imagery data, company officials said.

The company has recently begun operations of its first two synthetic aperture radar $(SAR)$ satellites. It plans to operate up to 24 of the satellites.

IHI procures the SAR satellites from Finnish company ICEYE, with which it signed a contract in October 2025. The Finnish company possesses advanced technical capabilities and a proven track record in the manufacture of SAR satellites.

SAR satellites can provide high-precision data and generate high-resolution images of the Earth's surface regardless of weather conditions or time of day. As a result, they have a wide range of applications, including climate change analysis and vessel tracking.

IHI envisages its satellite constellation business will have dual-use applications. Amid heightened geopolitical tensions, the importance of information gathering through such means as continuous maritime surveillance is increasing. IHI has begun concrete discussions with government and private-sector entities both in Japan and abroad.

The company also plans to collaborate with Japan's allied and like-minded nations on data collection and utilization. By mutually sharing image data from satellites operated by companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, IHI aims to reduce costs and maximize the effective use of data.

IHI has already successfully launched a hyperspectral satellite, the production of which it entrusted to a Lithuanian space-related company. Hyperspectral satellites can analyze characteristics of forests such as tree species, growth conditions and early signs of disease over a wide area with high precision.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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June 02, 2026 08:11 ET (12:11 GMT)

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