ICEYE establishes Netherlands entity, deepening long-term commitment with the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force

Amsterdam, Netherlands – 25 August, 2026 – ICEYE, the European leader in sovereign intelligence from space, today announced the formal establishment of ICEYE’s Netherlands entity, based out of Amsterdam, which launches a technology hub within the Netherlands Defence Technological Industrial Base (NLDTIB), and the appointment of Joost Elstak as CEO of ICEYE Netherlands.

ICEYE already delivers SAR (synthetic aperture radar) intelligence to the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force through a growing multi-satellite constellation. This has been combined with expanding and innovative solutions in the ground segment and data analytics systems.

ICEYE Netherlands will build on this operational relationship, and its technology hub will support on-the-ground engineering capacity, NLDTIB co-development, defence stakeholder engagement, and space readiness training. It marks ICEYE’s ambition to move from being a European provider of systems to a national partner in technology and capability, embedded in the Netherlands Defence Technological Industrial Base.

The move aligns with Dutch ambitions in the space domain, including the recent establishment of Space Command, which unifies space activities across the armed forces, and the direction set out in the Defense White Paper 2026, which identifies space as a critical domain for national security. 

As CEO, Elstak brings over two decades of experience in smallsat program development, beginning his journey as a Systems Engineer for pivotal missions at ISISPACE and SSTL, transitioning into diverse commercial roles at Airbus Netherlands. He joined ICEYE in 2023 and also currently serves as Global SVP for Sales of ICEYE’s Mission customer business.

“The Netherlands has been an early adopter of ICEYE's sovereign capabilities and has demonstrated real ambition in growing its national ISR capabilities to become world leading. We're already proud to have been a part of that journey so far, and appointing Joost to lead ICEYE Netherlands is an important next step in deepening that commitment. With his dedicated local leadership, we are exceptionally well positioned to grow alongside the country's ambitions and contribute directly to the Dutch defence innovation and industrial base," said Rafał Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE.

“Space is now interwoven with almost all of our operations, and that requires sovereign capabilities from trusted partners. ICEYE gave us the flexibility to build sovereign capacity quickly, without first having to set up a full development line ourselves. A local presence anchors the partnership in our own Dutch industry and, in doing so, strengthens broader European resilience,” said Lieutenant Colonel Petra Wijnja, Lead Space Warfare & Expertise, CLRS | Space Command, Ministry of Defence.

“ICEYE Netherlands builds on an established foundation. A local entity lets us develop the next generation of capabilities closer to our Dutch customers and partners, inside the national industrial base, rather than from abroad. Our focus now is local R&D presence, a growing team, and deeper industry partnerships," said Joost Elstak, CEO, ICEYE Netherlands.