One-Week Blackout Sparked Global Arms Race: 55 Nations Now Building Military Spy Satellites
A 2025 suspension of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine, including satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies, prompted 55 nations to accelerate military spy satellite development. Novaspace forecasts 2,306 ISR satellites to be launched between 2026-2035, a fivefold increase. Commercial firms like ICEYE enabled smaller nations to access advanced satellite imagery, reducing reliance on superpowers. Defense space budgets are growing rapidly, with defense spending surpassing civil spending in 2025
