China is bringing its "Space Silk Road" to the Middle East.
The Chinese private space company Star Vision is building a network of 20 artificial intelligence-based satellites worth over $200 million for Oman, capable of identifying ships and infrastructure and locating floods in real time, the South China Morning Post reports.
As part of the Space Silk Road project, each satellite will be roughly the size of a washing machine and will process images on the satellite itself, transmitting only useful information to Earth instead of sending full image files.
The agreement goes beyond the supply of satellites, as Beijing will help Oman establish a center for the assembly and testing of satellites, train 1,000 local experts and grant scholarships to 30 Omani students to study in China.
The two countries will also establish a joint laboratory for artificial intelligence in space, and Oman will eventually own and operate the satellites, including control of the data they collect.
The project is based on a previous Omani satellite developed with Star Vision. Additional spacecraft are planned, with the array of satellites being deployed in stages and upgraded over time.