SOURCE: AFI
In a strategic move to bolster national security, the Indian Ministry of Defence is finalizing a multi-year contract to establish a constellation of satellites designed to monitor foreign satellites potentially surveilling India, according to three sources familiar with the development.
This ambitious project, valued at ?150 crore per year, will be managed by a team of technical experts, likely outsourced to a private space startup, and is set to deploy India’s own network of spy satellites by the end of 2026. The initiative builds on the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project, aiming to enhance India’s space situational awareness (SSA) and preempt threats in an increasingly contested orbital domain.
The satellite constellation project, part of the Space-Based Surveillance-3 (SBS-3) scheme, represents a significant step in India’s efforts to safeguard its space assets and counter foreign surveillance. The network will consist of interconnected satellites that communicate with each other to relay real-time data to ground stations, enabling the tracking of foreign satellites that may pose surveillance or strategic risks. “This is one part of India’s efforts to use its space prowess to bolster national security,” one source told Livemint. “The project will help preemptively detect space surveillance efforts against India and ramp up the capabilities that ISRO’s NETRA initiative can already achieve.”
ISRO’s NETRA, launched in 2019 with an estimated budget of ?400 crore, has been instrumental in monitoring space debris and satellite positions to protect India’s 50+ operational satellites, including communication, remote sensing, and navigation assets. NETRA’s infrastructure, including radars in Sriharikota and the upcoming Chandrapur site in Assam, and optical telescopes in Leh, Ponmudi, and Mount Abu, can track objects as small as 10 cm in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) up to 3,400 km. The new SBS-3 constellation, however, is dedicated to tracking surveillance efforts by foreign satellites, complementing NETRA’s debris-focused capabilities and enhancing India’s ability to detect hostile or suspicious orbital activities.
A notable aspect of the project is its reliance on India’s burgeoning private space sector. The contract is expected to be awarded to Bengaluru-based startup Digantara, backed by Peak XV, which specializes in space situational awareness and debris tracking. “This is one of the biggest private space contracts that the Indian government has offered to a private space startup in India,” a source noted, highlighting the growing confidence in domestic space firms. The project’s control team, likely based in Bengaluru, may collaborate with ISRO to synchronize services, ensuring seamless integration with NETRA’s existing infrastructure.
The involvement of private players like Digantara reflects India’s shift toward leveraging commercial expertise for national security objectives. This aligns with comments from Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe, who emphasized the government’s role as a key customer for space services, fostering private sector growth. The contract’s ?150 crore annual value underscores the scale of this initiative, which is expected to create jobs, boost innovation, and position India’s private space industry on the global stage.
The urgency of the SBS-3 project was amplified by the May 2025 Indo-Pak conflict, Operation Sindoor, which highlighted the critical role of space-based assets in modern warfare. The conflict saw Indian forces neutralize Pakistani Saab 2000 AWACS and air defenses, underscoring the importance of real-time surveillance and counter-surveillance capabilities. With China operating advanced satellites like the Gaofen series and Pakistan potentially integrating Chinese technology into its platforms, India faces growing threats from space-based surveillance, particularly along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Line of Control (LoC). The SBS-3 constellation aims to preempt such threats by tracking foreign satellites’ movements and detecting potential espionage or hostile maneuvers.
The project builds on India’s existing space surveillance capabilities, including the DRDO’s Sindhu Netra satellite, launched in 2021 to monitor the Indian Ocean Region, and the RISAT series for all-weather surveillance. The SBS-3 initiative, with 52 satellites planned under a $3-billion budget, involves private firms like Ananth Technologies, Centum Electronics, and Alpha Design Technologies, alongside ISRO, with a compressed timeline targeting deployment by end-2026. This accelerated effort, driven by Operation Sindoor’s lessons, aims to create a layered satellite network across various orbits for comprehensive geo-intelligence.
While the SBS-3 project marks a leap forward, challenges remain. Developing and deploying a constellation of spy satellites by 2026 requires significant technological and logistical coordination. The integration of private startups with ISRO’s infrastructure demands robust data-sharing protocols and cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information. Chaitanya Giri, a space fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, cautioned that the project’s effectiveness will only be clear once operational, given India’s existing reliance on NETRA and limited ground-based surveillance systems.
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