Centre to Speed Up New $3 Bn Scheme for Spy Satellites

India is looking to give its satellite-based surveillance capabilities a rapid makeover, as the country navigates a tenuous ceasefire with neighbour Pakistan after the worst hostilities since the Kargil war of 1999.

- Shouvik Das

The Centre has tasked three private firms—Ananth Technologies, Centum Electronics, and Alpha Design Technologies—to compress their satellite development timeline from four years to 12–18 months, according to three people aware of the matter. The satellites are now targeted to be ready by end-2026 or earlier instead of end-2028, the three people said, requesting anonymity due to the matter's sensitivity.

One of the satellites—under advanced stages of development by Ananth Technologies—may even be ready this year itself, one of the people cited above said. It would be launched either aboard Isro's heavy rocket, Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3), or Elon Musk-backed SpaceX—depending on their respective mission schedules this year.

The soft orders to expedite the latest generation of surveillance satellites were issued from the ministry of defence (MoD) just before India commenced Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.