An assessment of how military reliance on commercial space and digital infrastructure creates operational advantages, external dependencies and new command-and-control vulnerabilities. Using Ukraine as the principal operational case, it examines how access, service policy and technical control affect military C2, ISR and UAV operations—and the resilience of NATO forces.
Product ID: IW-DS-2026-009
Dossier date: 15 October 2026
Geographic area: Ukraine / NATO
Intelligence domain: Space / C4ISR / Military Communications
Author: Cyber & Space Security Team
Scope of the dossier
This dossier assesses military dependence on privately operated space, satellite communications and digital infrastructure, using the war in Ukraine as its principal operational case. It examines how commercial connectivity, imagery and data services support command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, targeting and UAV operations; where dependence can arise across the kill chain; and how service policy, technical configuration, regulation or disruption can affect operational continuity. It distinguishes commercial capability from sovereign control and evaluates the practical limits of alternatives, redundancy and mitigation for national and NATO forces.