The Czech Republic is moving forward with the creation of a joint satellite reconnaissance constellation with Ukraine designed to provide high-resolution optical surveillance capabilities in support of Ukraine’s defense needs.
According to Militarnyi outlet, the project stems from an October 2022 agreement between the Czech and Ukrainian governments to establish a joint defense cluster.
As part of that cooperation, Prague and Kyiv initiated a joint space monitoring effort focused on building an independent satellite-based intelligence network.
At the core of this constellation is the TROLL satellite, developed by the Brno-based space company TRL Space.
The system, which successfully entered orbit in January 2025, is capable of capturing images of Earth’s surface with a resolution of less than five meters per pixel, providing valuable data for battlefield assessment and infrastructure monitoring.
The second key component of the constellation will be the Drak satellite, currently under development by companies within the Brno Space Cluster, with TRL Space serving as the primary integrator.
The Drak satellite is being designed specifically for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in cooperation with Ukrainian technical specialists. It will offer enhanced image resolution—under one meter per pixel—providing greater detail for operational intelligence.
The formation of this joint constellation comes amid recent concerns over the consistency of Western intelligence support for Ukraine. Earlier this year, U.S. authorities temporarily curtailed access to some government and commercial satellite imagery services, including data from companies such as Maxar. That access has since been fully restored, but the episode underscored Ukraine’s reliance on external sources of intelligence.
By partnering with Czech industry on dedicated reconnaissance capabilities, Ukraine aims to reduce that dependence and increase its own operational autonomy in space-based intelligence gathering.
