US SAR satellite imagery firms say draft ITAR changes still too restrictive

WASHINGTON — As the State Department awaits industry comment on proposed space export rules, they’re likely going to get a bit of an earful from at least two major American synthetic aperture radar (SAR) firms — who each told Breaking Defense the new regulations would not go nearly far enough to even the playing field with foreign competitors.

“[W]e won’t be able to sell the premium technology, which means we’ll be out-competed by [Finnish firm] ICEYE and other competitors in the global market,” said Jason Mallare, vice president and general manager at Umbra Space’s Mission Solutions group.

Likewise Frank Backes, CEO of Capella Space, said the proposed regulations, while an improvement, would still mean that some very high-quality American imaging systems designed to be lofted into space on satellites would fall under restrictions in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, even if competing systems from foreign firms are readily available on the commercial market abroad.

Besides ICEYE, he said, these include companies “from Italy, from France, from Germany, [and] from China.”

Both California-based companies, along with ICEYE’s US arm, are among a handful of commercial firms that have been providing SAR-satellite data to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) under study contracts since 2022. Senior Intelligence Community officials publicly have credited that commercial SAR imagery as critical in helping the US government support Ukraine in its long-running war with Russia. Further, ICEYE said it is now is providing Kyiv directly with SAR imagery.

SAR satellites are particularly of interest to Ukraine because of their ability to “see” through clouds, rain and fog — weather conditions prevalent in the region.

The proposed State Department changes are part of a broad package of space-related export reforms — which also includes changes to the Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR) — put together under the auspices of the National Space Council chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Specifically, the Oct. 23 State Department proposal would change the threshold on export of SAR-satellite systems based on the radio frequency bandwidth used, which directly affects the resolution quality of the allowable images. At the moment, ITAR prohibits the sale of SAR payloads using a spectrum width of greater than 300 megahertz (MHz); the new proposal would increase that to 500 MHz.

It’s a change that Umbra and Capella officials were quick to say is going in the right direction toward allowing US firms to stay competitive on the global marketplace, but nonetheless sets a threshold that is still far below what nearly all current SAR systems use.

“The reality is that the industry international standard right now for what’s currently being deployed is 1,200 MHz,” Backes said.

“Our systems are currently 1,200 MHz systems. For SAR systems bandwidth is resolution. Resolution is quality. Quality is, in many regards, the value of the data,” Mallare said.

At 1,200 MHz, a SAR satellite sensor provides an imagery resolution roughly equivalent to a picture taken by a space-based electro-optical camera with a resolution between 0.25 and 0.30 meters, the officials said.

Somewhat confusingly, they added, the Commerce Department licensing regulations prohibit the export of SAR data and products that result from the use of a SAR system with a 1,200 MHz bandwidth. The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is US government entity that provides licenses for operators of all remote sensing satellites, and sets the rules on imagery resolution.

“So the irony of that scenario is, under NOAA, I am licensed to do higher-resolution SAR, I just can’t sell it as a system. So, I could sell the data, but I can’t sell the system,” Backes said.

“It’s frustrating that you have one part of the US government — in our licensing entity at NOAA — who is basically assessed this [1,200 MHz/0.25 meters] is the state of foreign technology and foreign availability. … And then you have a separate entity of the United States government that’s saying this [500 MHz/0.50 meters] is the standard … of relevant military equipment that’s available,” said Todd Master, Umbra’s chief operating officer.

Backes said that Capella experts are now putting together a comparative analysis that will map more precisely the equivalency between “the electro-optical recommendation and the SAR recommendation” in the State Department proposed rules.

Interestingly, the State Department proposal would also shift the current ITAR threshold for export of electro-optical imagery from 0.30 meters to 0.20 meters, another relaxation of the rules.

Officials from both companies said they are working on formal responses to the State Department proposal, which sets a date of Nov. 22 for comments. They also acknowledge that the proposal clearly states that the department is seeking feedback on the current state of the art and market availability of SAR systems — noting US government officials have made clear that the 500 MHz limit is essentially a placeholder, and encouraged them to provide technical data to underpin their arguments for a change.

Further, Backes said that Capella intends to try to “coordinate” some “industry-broad response as well.”