https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/04/russia-iran-spy-satellite/QuoteRussia to launch spy satellite for Iran but use it first over UkraineBy Joby Warrick and Ellen Nakashima August 4, 2022 at 1:34 p.m. EDTA new satellite that Russia is preparing to launch on Iran’s behalf next week will greatly enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East — but first, Moscow intends to use the spacecraft to assist its own war effort in Ukraine, according to Western security officials familiar with the matter.Russia’s Roscosmos space agency announced an Aug. 9 launch date for the satellite, dubbed “Khayyam” after a 12th-century Persian mathematician, in fulfillment of a deal negotiated with Iran over nearly four years. Russia agreed to build and launch the Kanopus-V system, which will include a high-resolution camera that would give Tehran unprecedented capabilities, including near-continuous monitoring of sensitive facilities in Israel and the Persian Gulf.But Iran may not be able to take control of the satellite right away. Russia, which has struggled to achieve its military objectives in its five-month-old assault on Ukraine, has told Tehran that it plans to use the satellite for several months, or longer, to enhance its surveillance of military targets in that conflict, the two officials said on the condition of anonymity, citing sensitivities surrounding intelligence collection.The Russian Embassy in Washington declined to comment....Not at all unlikely for two reasons:1) the Iranian satellite seems to use a new platform built by VNIIEM, possibly the same one intended for Russia's new Razbeg optical reconnaissance satellites. Since Razbeg itself has probably not flown yet, the Russians will first want to put the new platform through its paces, using the battlefield in Ukraine as a target of observation. 2) Russia currently has only two satellites for detailed optical reconnaissance, namely the aging Persona satellites launched in 2013 and 2015. These are unlikely to fully satisfy the needs for optical reconnaissance during the current war. It is not inconceivable that the use of the Iranian satellite for Russia's own purposes was discussed during Putin's recent visit to Iran. As a reminder, Putin vehemently denied the existence of a Russian-built spy satellite for Iran when asked about it in an interview with NBC in June last year. It will be interesting to see if any pictures of the satellite are released after launch. If Khayyam indeed uses the same platform as Razbeg, that is unlikely to happen. So far no pictures or footage of launch preparations have been released, nor has any live coverage of the launch been announced. It looks very much like this is being treated as a military launch.
Russia to launch spy satellite for Iran but use it first over UkraineBy Joby Warrick and Ellen Nakashima August 4, 2022 at 1:34 p.m. EDTA new satellite that Russia is preparing to launch on Iran’s behalf next week will greatly enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East — but first, Moscow intends to use the spacecraft to assist its own war effort in Ukraine, according to Western security officials familiar with the matter.Russia’s Roscosmos space agency announced an Aug. 9 launch date for the satellite, dubbed “Khayyam” after a 12th-century Persian mathematician, in fulfillment of a deal negotiated with Iran over nearly four years. Russia agreed to build and launch the Kanopus-V system, which will include a high-resolution camera that would give Tehran unprecedented capabilities, including near-continuous monitoring of sensitive facilities in Israel and the Persian Gulf.But Iran may not be able to take control of the satellite right away. Russia, which has struggled to achieve its military objectives in its five-month-old assault on Ukraine, has told Tehran that it plans to use the satellite for several months, or longer, to enhance its surveillance of military targets in that conflict, the two officials said on the condition of anonymity, citing sensitivities surrounding intelligence collection.The Russian Embassy in Washington declined to comment....
