HawkEye 360 vs Planet Labs: Earth observation compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

HawkEye 360 ranks 14 on the Space 100 with a score of 82; Planet Labs ranks 17 with 82. HawkEye 360 is ahead on leverage. Planet Labs is ahead on firepower. Level on deployment, production, commercials, progress, technology and positioning. HawkEye 360 is based in Herndon, United States, Planet Labs in San Francisco, United States. HawkEye 360: Public. Planet Labs: Public, founded 2010. HawkEye 360 is named in 23 signals and Planet Labs in 32.

HawkEye 360 →

Herndon, Virginia, United States · Space · Satellites & spacecraft / Earth observation · Public · he360.com

HawkEye 360 operates a commercial RF geolocation satellite constellation and sells radio-frequency intelligence to customers including the National Reconnaissance Office.

Space 100 · rank 14 · score 82

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment8
Production8
Commercials8
Progress10
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower8
Leverage8

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

HawkEye 360 is a US RF-geolocation operator with a 30-satellite constellation (clusters of three since 2018; Block 4 angle-of-arrival payloads launching 2027), promoted from watchlist after it went public (ticker HAWK). FY25 revenue was $117.7M with $24.8M EBITDA (international outpacing US), and Lockheed Martin is an investor and integration partner, feeding RF intelligence into the AEGIS weapon system at Valiant Shield 2026; its December 2025 ISA acquisition generalizes emitter identification. The IPO proceeds, Q2 figures, and backlog are the open items.

Latest signals

  • HawkEye 360 successfully deployed six advanced RF detection and geolocation satellites.Satellite Evolution
  • SFL Missions delivered HawkEye 360 Cluster 15 and 16 spacecraft buses and subsystems.Satellite Evolution
  • Rocket Lab launched three HawkEye 360 satellites on an Electron rocket from New Zealand.Novosti Kosmonavtiki

23 signals name HawkEye 360.

Facts, with sources

  • Launches booked through 2028 for RF geolocation satellitesSpaceNews
  • [object Object]SpaceNews
  • Secured launches through 2028 via SpaceX rideshare missionsSpaceNews

16 facts on file.

Planet Labs →

San Francisco, California, United States · Space · Satellites & spacecraft / Earth observation · Public · founded 2010 · www.planet.com

Planet operates Earth-observation satellite constellations, including SkySat, Pelican and Flock imaging satellites, and sells the resulting imagery and data.

Space 100 · rank 17 · score 82

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment8
Production8
Commercials8
Progress10
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower9
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Planet Labs is a US Earth-observation operator (~200 satellites launched) whose Pelican (high-res) and Tanager (hyperspectral) constellations are ramping, with FY26 revenue of $307.7M (+26%), its first full year of adjusted-EBITDA profitability and free cash flow, and FY27 guidance raised to $425-441M. Its growth engine is defense and intelligence (up 50% YoY, including a nine-figure Swedish Armed Forces deal and NATO extensions) on a backlog up 79% to ~$900M, though declining commercial agriculture and ~41% APAC concentration are mix risks. It has Google and NVIDIA partnerships and claims 98% recurring ACV.

Latest signals

  • Planet Labs indefinitely withheld satellite imagery of Iran and the surrounding conflict zone.Via Satellite
  • Google sent a Tensor Processing Unit into orbit to test space-based AI compute.The AI Insider
  • Planet Labs opened a satellite factory in Berlin, Germany.Space24

32 signals name Planet Labs.

Facts, with sources

  • Integration of SkySat imagery into HEO’s non-Earth imaging network, expanding the network to more than 50 in-space sensorsPayload
  • HEO partnership expanding its non-Earth imaging network to more than 50 in-space sensorsPayload
  • HEO and Planet Labs partnered to expand HEO’s non-Earth imaging network to more than 50 in-space sensorsPayload

56 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

HawkEye 360 or Planet Labs: which is ahead in space?

HawkEye 360 ranks 14 on the Space 100 with a score of 82; Planet Labs ranks 17 with 82. HawkEye 360 is ahead on leverage. Planet Labs is ahead on firepower. Level on deployment, production, commercials, progress, technology and positioning. HawkEye 360 is based in Herndon, United States, Planet Labs in San Francisco, United States. HawkEye 360: Public. Planet Labs: Public, founded 2010. HawkEye 360 is named in 23 signals and Planet Labs in 32.

How do HawkEye 360 and Planet Labs compare?

HawkEye 360 ranks 14 on the Space 100 with a score of 82; Planet Labs ranks 17 with 82. HawkEye 360 is ahead on leverage. Planet Labs is ahead on firepower. Level on deployment, production, commercials, progress, technology and positioning. HawkEye 360 is based in Herndon, United States, Planet Labs in San Francisco, United States. HawkEye 360: Public. Planet Labs: Public, founded 2010. HawkEye 360 is named in 23 signals and Planet Labs in 32. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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