Fada and ST Engineering sign agreement for SAR satellite. Photo: Edge Group

Emirati defense and tech company Edge Group has selected ST Engineering to build a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite for the UAE’s national SAR constellation program, Sirb.

Edge Group subsidiary FADA, which is focused on space, selected ST Engineering to build a SAR satellite with sub-meter resolution and a high-speed downlink. ST Engineering will also design and deliver the infrastructure required for its operation. Edge Group is the prime contractor on the program. 

The Sirb program is named after the Arabic term for a flock of birds. According to the UAE Space Agency, Sirb seeks to launch a constellation of advanced radar satellites for environmental and land usage monitoring for scientific, civil, and commercial applications. The program is focused on in-country development and creating a consortium of UAE-based companies and entities to develop and execute the mission and grow the national space sector. 

“FADA’s selection of ST Engineering for this strategic project underscores our proven leadership in space technology and our ability to design and produce commercial Earth observation satellites. We are committed to delivering end-to-end solutions that meet the UAE’s strategic needs and contribute to its vision of building a resilient, self-sustaining space ecosystem,” commented Low Jin Phang, president of ST Engineering’s Digital Systems business. 

ST Engineering previously built two polarimetric SAR satellite called TeLEOS-1 and -2, developed with Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency.