Airbus Defence and Space and BAE Systems have launched a strategic alliance to produce, market and sell innovative geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) products and solutions using state-of-the-art data collected exclusively by TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X radar satellites.

Under the terms of the partnership, Airbus Defence and Space and BAE Systems will jointly develop a new line of global SAR (synthetic aperture radar) products that are unrivalled in terms of accuracy, resolution and quality. The two companies will exclusively market these products to US government, commercial, and select international customers.

"BAE Systems's unique expertise will leverage the SAR data we are collecting into refined sets of geospatial intelligence products, that meet stringent US government standards," said Evert Dudok, Head of Communications, Intelligence and Security at Airbus Defence and Space.

The precision and richness of Airbus Defence and Space's radar data products, combined with the rigour of BAE Systems's GEOINT exploitation and analysis expertise, will drive the development of advanced geospatial products that will benefit both the public and private sectors.

The resulting GEOINT products will enhance mission planning for defence customers, support flight systems, improve emergency response, and help the world's energy sector strategically plan new power grids, plot pipelines and manage resources.

"The Airbus Defence and Space radar satellite missions are collecting data of unprecedented quality and accuracy on a global scale," said DeEtte Gray, president of BAE Systems's Intelligence and Security sector.

"The products we are teaming to develop represent a major leap forward in SAR-based products and services that enhance various sophisticated applications."

TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X are very high-resolution X-Band SAR systems that collect data for precision change detection applications, maritime monitoring, digital elevation modelling, ground control point extractions and topographical mapping in cloud persistent regions.

The two satellites also acquired the data used to produce Airbus Defence and Space's state-of-the art WorldDEM, which is a highly accurate, homogenous global digital elevation product.