U.S. officials warn Russian satellite maneuver may have rehearsed attack on ICEYE

In mid-October 2026 Russia's military satellite Cosmos 2612 closed from hundreds of kilometers behind ICEYE's X36 to within about a kilometer, with some analysts placing it a few hundred meters or less. Cosmos 2612 is one of six military satellites Russia launched in April. In May it positioned four of them near X36, and ICEYE moved the satellite's orbit, CEO Rafal Modrzewski said. Cosmos 2612 later withdrew about 400 kilometers. Two sibling satellites are drifting toward ICEYE's X37; COMSPOC said they are becoming increasingly well positioned to approach it. Both X36 and X37 are U.S.-registered. Slingshot Aerospace categorizes Cosmos 2612 as a servicing/inspection satellite. X36 is Finnish-operated and provides radar imagery to Western governments and militaries including Ukraine. Thomas DiNanno said on X it was "intentionally maneuvering dangerously close to a commercial satellite" in conduct "consistent with on-orbit weapons operations." Greg Gillinger said the encounter "looks like an attack rehearsal" and "This is the most aggressive posture I've seen Russia take in terms of threatening satellites from another nation," yet cautioned that such maneuvers alone are not evidence of preparing an attack and purpose cannot be determined from public data. Ann Stevens said X36 "has been and will continue to be a productive satellite." Andrew Turner said the approach "really elevates the potential of an attack." Russia's Defense Ministry did not comment.