Case Study: A Ministry Buys a Sovereign SAR Capability
How might a mid-sized defence ministry decide between buying images, reserving capacity and owning satellites, and what would each cost?
Chapter summary
Setcoin works through a hypothetical case.
Key takeaways
- 1
A mid-sized European defence ministry wants persistent, all-weather monitoring of its borders, coasts and a region of interest abroad, with tasking it controls in a crisis.
- 2
It considers three options over ten years: buying SAR imagery on demand from commercial operators, reserving dedicated capacity on a commercial fleet, or buying a small constellation of its own built and supported by a commercial supplier with local partners.
- 3
On illustrative numbers, buying on demand is cheapest in quiet years but offers no control in a crisis; reserved capacity costs more but guarantees access; owning six to ten satellites costs the most up front but gives full control and builds national industry.
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