The Defence Space Research Agency (DSRA) is the scientific organisation responsible for developing space-warfare systems and technologies for the Defence Space Agency. The DSRA was approved by theGovernment of India in June 2019.[19] The DSRA is composed of scientists who undertake research and development in close coordination with theIntegrated Defence Staff.[20] Various types ofAnti-satellite weapon systems are currently under development.[21]
In 2023,Indian Air Force proposed to transition itself intoIndian Air and Space Force (IASF) with an enhanced focus on space-based capabilities, including plans to operate over 100 small and large military satellites within next 7 to 8 years by expanding the role of DSA to a full-fledgedSpace Command.[22]
In order to strengthen DSA and other related organizations by increasing manpower, ground-based infrastructure, and space-based assets to enhance India'sspace-centric warfare, space asset protection, and risk mitigation capabilities, theDepartment of Military Affairs presented a comprehensive transition plan to the key stakeholders, including theMoD,ISRO andDRDO, in December 2024. The Indian government had previously accepted DSA's SBS-III project, which calls for the launch of 52 military communication and surveillance satellites for the Indian military between 2025 and 2029, prior to the presentation of this transition plan.[23]
The origin of the Indian ASAT programme can be traced back to itsBMD program, which began in 1999 in response to threats posed by theBallistic missiles ofPakistan andChina.[24] In 2006 and 2007, India tested its first exo atmospheric interceptor and has developed many interceptors since then.[25][26] On 18 March 2008,DRDO ChiefV. K. Saraswat stated that India possessed technology required for an ASAT missile, reiterating it in February 2010.[27] India is known to have been developing anexo-atmospheric kill vehicle that can be integrated with the missile to engage satellites.[28] In April 2012, Saraswat again said that India possessed the critical technologies for an ASAT weapon from radars and interceptors developed forIndian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme.[29] India had begun work on its ASAT soon after the2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test.[27]
India'sAnti-satellite weapon (ASAT) program commenced in March 2019, months before the operationalisation of the Defence Space Agency, when India conducted an ASAT test aimed at demonstrating India's anti-satellite capability.[30] In 2019, India was working on directed energy ASAT weapons, co-orbital ASAT weapons, lasers and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) based ASAT weapons. The ability to protect space assets from hostile electronic and physical attacks was also being developed by India.[21]
India conducted its first simulatedspace warfare exercise on 25 and 26 July 2019, calledIndSpaceEx. The exercise was conducted under the supervision of theIntegrated Defence Staff. The exercise was aimed at obtaining an assessment of threats and the creation of a joint space warfare doctrine.[31][32]
The first edition of the exercise was conducted from 11 to 13 November 2024 by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff. The exercise simulated various scenarios ofwar-game the growing threats from and to Space Based Assets and Services.[33][34]
On 12 October 2024, India'sCabinet Committee on Security approved a proposal for the development, construction and launch of aconstellation of 52spy satellites as a part of the Space Based Surveillance Phase-III project intended to enhance the country's surveillance capabilities from space in both land and sea domains. The project, worth₹26,968crore (US$3.2 billion), will be supervised byNational Security Council Secretariat along with the Defence Space Agency under theIntegrated Defence Staff. The constellation will also enhance theSATCOM capabilities of long rangeUAVs of the Armed Forces like theMQ-9B Predator drones that are on order. The SBS system will provide round-the-clock monitoring, irrespective of weather, time of day or atmospheric conditions and may have secondary civilian applications as well. All the satellites is to be launched within 5 years atGeosynchronous Equatorial Orbit andLow Earth Orbit. The satellites will be equipped withartificial intelligence for inter-satellite communications.[37][38][39]
As part of the project, 21 satellites will be co-developed byISRO andFrance (under theLoi agreement for “defence space cooperation”) while the rest of 31 satellites are to be developed by threeprivate sector companies. The role of these satellites would besurveillance,reconnaissance,communication and other strategic purposes. The CCS has also, reportedly, approved two agencies to develop multiple types of defensive and offensive capabilities from space. Under the same project, few experiments would be conducted for an integratedLEO andMEO satellite-based communication system which is a requirement for the Air Force and the Navy. The first batch of satellites will be launched in 2027-28.[35][23]
FollowingOperation Sindoor, the project was expedited, according to reports dated 30 June 2025. The first batch of satellites is now anticipated to launch in April 2026, with the full fleet of satellites to be deployed by the end of 2029. While private companies have been instructed to increase the pace of satellite production, additional efforts are apparently being made "to launch the satellites faster" into space. The goal of SBS Phase-III is to cover far broader areas ofChina,Pakistan, and theIndian Ocean region with superior resolution and shorter "revisit times"—the period between two consecutive surveillance sweeps of the same area. India intends to shrink itsOODA loop as well.[40][41][42]
In order to scan and monitor hostile aircraft, drones, or missiles, as well as to cue weapon systems for interception, SBS Phase-III will be connected to air defense assets and radars underMission Sudarshan Chakra.[43]
Mission DefSpace is an initiative launched inOctober 2022 by theDefence Innovation Organisation (DIO) under theiDEX framework to promote indigenous development of dual-use technologies for India’s defence-space ecosystem with DSA.[44] The programme was announced atDefExpo 2022 and introduced 75 “Defence Space Challenges” covering areas such as satellite communication, Earth observation, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), AI-based analytics and space situational awareness (SSA).[45]
Through challenge-based funding and procurement-linked grants, Mission DefSpace enables start-ups, MSMEs, and research institutions to co-develop technologies that complement the operational needs of theDefence Space Agency and the Indian armed forces.[46] Companies signing iDEX agreements includeSisir Radar Pvt. Ltd. (developing L- and P-band SAR payloads and an unfurlable antenna),Space Kidz India (CubeSat deployers), andKepler Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. (CubeSat-class surveillance satellites), among others.[47][48]
Mission DefSpace represents a major step toward self-reliance under theAtmanirbhar Bharat initiative, fostering public–private collaboration in space-based intelligence, surveillance, communications, and situational awareness for India’s defence establishment.[49]
As of 2024, India operates 9 military satellites.[50] Of these, three strategic satellites including two communication satellites (GSAT-7 andGSAT-7A)[51][52] are for dedicated military use, while the rest are dual-purpose satellites with military and civilian applications.[35]
RISAT-2BR1: Launched on 11 December 2019 as a part ofRISAT series. It can distinguish between objects which are 35 cm apart.[55]
Cartosat-2 series
CARTOSAT-2B carries a panchromatic (PAN) camera capable of taking black-and-white pictures in the visible region of electromagnetic spectrum which has a resolution of 80 centimetres.[56] The highly agile CARTOSAT-2B can be steered up to 45 deg along as well as across the direction of its movement to facilitate imaging of any area more frequently and offers multiple spot scene imagery.[57][58]
Cartosat-2E: Launched on 23 June 2017, the Cartosat-2E satellite was designed to collect high-resolution (0.6 m×0.6 m), large scale imagery. The satellite provides an edge in warfare with clearer images. The satellite is also used for urban planning, infrastructure development and traffic management.[55]
GSAT-7 was launched in 2013 for the exclusive use of theIndian Navy to monitor theIndian Ocean Region (IOR) with the satellite's 2,000 nautical mile ‘footprint’ and real-time input capabilities to Indian warships, submarines and maritime aircraft.[60] To boost its network-centric operations, the IAF is also likely to get another satelliteGSAT-7C within a few years.[60]
HySIS, a dual use satellite, was also launched in November 2013, which is used by the navy.[65] HySIS carries two payloads, the first in theVisible Near Infrared (VNIR) spectral range of 0.4 to 0.95 micrometres with 60 contiguous spectral bands and the second in the Shortwave Infrared Range (SWIR) spectral range of 0.85 to 2.4micrometres with a 10nanometre bandwidth and 256 contiguous spectral bands. The satellite will have a spatial resolution of 30 meters and a swath of 30 km from its 630 kmsun-synchronous orbit.[66][61][67][68][69]
EMISAT series
EMISAT: Launched on 1 April 2019, is areconnaissance satellite[70] underDRDO's projectKautilya[71] which will provide space-based electronic intelligence orELINT, especially to improve the situational awareness of theIndian Armed Forces by providing information and location of enemy radars.[72]
Cartosat-3A (EOS-8): Planned to be launched onPSLV-XL. Will have a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres and a high quality resolution of 1 metre. To be launched in 2024.[73][36]
Cartosat-3B: Planned to be launched onPSLV-XL. Will have a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres and a high quality resolution of 1 metre. To be launched in 2025.[73][36][74]
GSAT-7 series
GSAT-7R: Shall planned to replaceGSAT-7 for the Indian Navy.[75] Launch is scheduled on 2 November 2025.[76]
GSAT-7B, planned to be first dedicated military satellite for the Indian Army. The approval was granted by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 21 March 2023. The multiband military satellite, featuring integrated communication fornetwork-centric operations, will be launched in 2–3 years.[77] Contract for a 5-tonne satellite signed withNewSpace India Limited (NSIL), worth₹2,963crore (US$350 million) on 29 March 2023. The satellite would providebeyond line of sight communication to troops and formations as well as weapon and airborne platforms.[78][51]
Technology Experiment Satellite or (TES) is an experimental satellite to demonstrate and validate, in orbit, technologies that could be used in the future satellites of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[80] The Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) has apanchromatic camera capable of producing images of 1 meter resolution for remote sensing.[81] The launch of TES made India the second country in the world after the United States that can commercially offer images with one meter resolution.[81] It is used for remote sensing of civilian areas, mapping industry and geographical information services.
RISAT-2, or Radar Imaging Satellite 2 has a primary sensor, thesynthetic aperture radar fromIsrael Aerospace Industries (IAI).[82] RISAT-2 is India's first satellite with asynthetic aperture radar. It has a day-night, all-weather monitoring capability and has a resolution of one metre.[83] Potential applications include tracking hostile ships at sea.[84] Though theIndian Space Research Organisation sought to underplay the satellite's defence capabilities in its website and in its announcements, a majority of the media preferred to classify it as a spy satellite.[85] ISRO claims that the satellite will enhance ISRO's capability for earth observation, especially during floods, cyclones, landslides and in disaster management in a more effective way.[86]
CARTOSAT-2 carries a state-of-the-art panchromatic (PAN) camera that take black and white pictures of the Earth in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The swath covered by these high resolution PAN cameras is 9.6 km and their spatial resolution is 80 centimetres.[87] The satellite can be steered up to 45 degrees along as well as across the track. CARTOSAT-2 is an advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery. The data from the satellite will be used for detailed mapping and other cartographic applications at cadastral level, urban and rural infrastructure development and management, as well as applications in Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS).[56] Cartosat was decommissioned and the perigee lowered by controlled burns between March and Sep 2020 as debris mitigation activities. This will result in the orbit naturally decaying and re-entry within 10 years.
GSAT-6A is a dedicated satellite for army as a replacement forGSAT-6 which lost communication after its launch.[60]
TheMinistry of Defense has been aiming for a three-layered constellation of multi-functional satellites since 2024. Satellites having the ability to uplink and downlink encrypted data are to be placed inlow (up to 2,000 km),medium (between 2,000 km and 35,780 km), andgeo-stationary (above 35,780 km) orbits. This program analyzes the lessons learned from theRusso-Ukrainian War of 2022 and allows the frequency bands to be licensed from private satellite agencies if necessary. The Defense Space Agency is in charge of the initiative.[89]
Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs
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