India is urgently ramping up its space-based defence capabilities in direct response to China’s rapid militarisation of space and the strategic lessons drawn from Operation Sindoor in May 2025.

The government has cleared a ₹26,968-crore initiative—Space-Based Surveillance Phase-3 (SBS-3)—to deploy 52 dedicated defence satellites by 2029, aiming to establish a robust, sovereign space shield capable of countering China’s expanding orbital arsenal and enhancing real-time military intelligence.

The SBS-3 program, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in October 2023, will see 21 satellites built and launched by ISRO and 31 by private Indian firms, including Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, Ananth Technologies, and Centum Electronics.

This marks a significant shift toward public-private collaboration in India’s defence sector. The Defence Space Agency, under the Integrated Defence Staff, is leading the project, with the first satellite scheduled for launch by April next year. Officials indicate that efforts are underway to compress timelines and accelerate deployment into both low Earth and geostationary orbits.

The urgency for this overhaul became apparent during Operation Sindoor, a brief but intense conflict with Pakistan, where Indian forces relied heavily on older CARTOSAT satellites and foreign commercial imagery.

The delays in data acquisition and processing exposed a critical vulnerability: without a dedicated, real-time surveillance constellation, India’s military remained tactically exposed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Line of Control (LoC), and the Indian Ocean Region.

Meanwhile, China’s space militarisation has accelerated dramatically. From just 36 satellites in 2010, China now operates over 1,000 satellites, including more than 360 dedicated to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

Beijing’s capabilities include a formidable network of ISR satellites, Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missiles, electronic warfare (EW) systems, and directed energy weapons (DEWs). The recent establishment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Aerospace Force and demonstrations of orbital “dogfighting” manoeuvres highlight China’s intent to dominate the space domain and threaten adversary satellites.

India’s SBS-3 constellation will feature onboard artificial intelligence (AI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and Thermal Imaging (TI) capabilities. The integration of AI will enable autonomous data processing, anomaly detection, and inter-satellite coordination, drastically reducing response times and enabling persistent, all-weather, day-night surveillance.

The constellation is designed to provide shorter revisit times and high-resolution coverage over China, Pakistan, and the Indian Ocean, supporting the Army, Navy, and Air Force with actionable intelligence.

The strategic imperative is clear: space is now the ultimate high ground, and the ability to observe, orient, decide, and act (OODA loop) faster than adversaries is mission-critical.

As Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit noted, “We must secure it now—or risk being left blind.” The SBS-3 program is not just a technological leap but an existential necessity, aiming to deter and counter China’s evolving space-based threats, including kinetic and non-kinetic attacks.

India’s defence budget has been scaled up to support this expansion, with expectations of further increases following Operation Sindoor. The SBS-3 initiative, alongside the development of high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS) and a comprehensive military space doctrine, underscores India’s resolve to build a credible, autonomous space shield in an era where orbital dominance is increasingly synonymous with national security.

Agencies