Post-Operation Sindoor, India Ramps Up Military Surveillance With Global Satellite Partnerships: Report

In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor this May, India is recalibrating its surveillance strategy by engaging with top international providers of high-resolution satellite imagery.

The move follows credible reports from a few weeks ago suggesting that China had extended real-time satellite support to Pakistan during the operation, enabling it to monitor Indian military movements on the ground.

Senior Army officials revealed that during Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) level talks, Pakistan pointed to “specific vectors” of Indian troop mobilisation, that officials believe, were likely gathered using Chinese satellite surveillance capabilities.

According to a Indian Express report, that development has prompted the Indian government to open dialogues with multiple commercial earth-observation satellite companies to bridge surveillance gaps during future conflicts.

“We are in talks with commercial satellite imagery providers. We have to deepen our surveillance measures,” a senior defence official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

The effort is geared toward extending India’s surveillance envelope and acquiring the capacity for near real-time imagery, especially during rapid military escalations.

One of the potential partners in this effort is Maxar Technologies, a global leader in high-resolution earth imaging.

Maxar’s satellites are capable of producing images at 30 centimetre resolution, detailed enough to discern critical military assets like gun placements, vehicles, and forward operating infrastructure.

Though India possesses home-grown surveillance assets such as Cartosat and RISAT, experts admit these systems have some limitations.

Cartosat-3, for instance, was built for 30 cm resolution imagery but consistently delivers around 50 cm resolution in practice.

More crucially, its single-satellite operation restricts the frequency with which it can revisit and image the same location, an essential feature in high-stakes, fast-moving battlefield scenarios.

China, in contrast, is believed to have provided Pakistan with access to real-time satellite intelligence, potentially giving them a tactical edge during Operation Sindoor.

This asymmetry has reinforced the urgency for India to enhance its space-based surveillance ecosystem.

To this end, the Indian government has already fast-tracked its ambitious SBS-III (Space-Based Surveillance) programme, which aims to deploy 52 satellites for defence monitoring.

Cleared by the Union Cabinet last October with a budget of $3.2 billion, the programme will see the first 21 satellites launched by ISRO, while private players will handle the remaining 31.

These new-generation satellites are being designed with all-weather capabilities, high-frequency revisit times, and enhanced imaging capacity.

“They will start launching the satellites from next year onwards and the deployment of all satellites will be completed by 2029,” a government official confirmed.

The Defence Space Agency will be responsible for managing and operating the new satellite architecture, ensuring tighter integration between space assets and ground-level military operations.

Also Read: Bombay High Court Acquits All 12 Accused In 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts Case, Citing Flawed Probe And Lack Of Evidence