Finland Sets Up Military Space Center

Finland’s Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen has approved a space operations center at Air Force headquarters in Tikkakoski, near Jyväskylä in central Finland. Operations are scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027, according to the Defence Ministry’s October 30 announcement, reported by Finnish news outlet Verkkouutiset.

The center will direct Finland’s military space activities and develop the capabilities needed to operate in space. Its responsibilities will include planning and operating military space systems, monitoring developments in the space environment, and coordinating cooperation with NATO and partner countries.

Around 20 military and civilian specialists will initially transfer to the center from elsewhere in the Finnish Defence Forces. Staffing is expected to increase as its activities expand, Finnish defence publication Reserviläinen reports, citing the armed forces.

The military links the initiative to lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine. Colonel Jari Kumpuniemi, of Finnish Air Force headquarters, said the war had demonstrated how space technology supports troops fighting on land, at sea and in the air. In remarks carried by Reserviläinen, he described space as an increasingly important operating environment for both the military and civilian society.

A concrete change will follow in April 2027, when the Finnish Defence Forces are due to assume responsibility for operating three radar satellites acquired from Finnish company ICEYE. The satellites were launched during 2025 and 2026, according to the armed forces’ statement reported by Reserviläinen.

That acquisition began with a letter of intent in June 2025. Häkkänen authorized the purchase on September 5, 2025, and the contract was signed three days later in Tampere. The Finnish Defence Ministry put the overall procurement value at approximately €158 million excluding value-added tax, including options to extend the satellites’ service life and expand the system.

The purchase covers the satellites, technical systems and associated equipment needed to build an independent Finnish surveillance capability. The ministry said cooperation with a domestic supplier would allow the armed forces to introduce the capability quickly and develop it further over time.

The satellites use synthetic aperture radar, a technology that produces images of the Earth’s surface in darkness and through cloud cover. This allows observations during conditions that restrict conventional optical imaging. ICEYE says the system will provide Finland with imagery in all weather and lighting conditions.

The information also has a civilian role. Finland’s Defence Ministry said data collected by the satellites could support other public authorities, extending the investment’s use beyond military intelligence and surveillance.

The ministry places the new center among the first practical measures under Finland’s forthcoming defence space strategy. According to its announcement, reported by Verkkouutiset, work on that strategy is nearing completion. It will guide the long-term development of military space capabilities, alongside Finland’s wider national space strategy covering the period to 2030.