In the past month, the Russian military satellite Kosmos 2612 approached the ICEYE-X36 radar satellite, coming within a few hundred meters. The operation lasted nearly a full day and involved five satellites over a five-month period. US officials described the maneuver as consistent with an on-orbit weapons operation.
The mission likely served as close-target reconnaissance to characterize the ICEYE satellite's antenna. By gathering precise data on the hardware, Russia aims to develop jammers or spoofers capable of degrading or falsifying imagery collected by the ICEYE constellation, which includes over 70 near-identical units.
Russia intends to deploy these countermeasures within the next 12 months to disrupt intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in Ukraine. The technology could also be applied to counter other Western synthetic aperture radar constellations in future conflicts involving Iran, North Korea, and China.
