BENGALURU: The Indian armed forces deployed a mix of domestic strategic space assets and foreign commercial satellites during Operation Sindoor, multiple sources confirmed to The Times of India.
“All of our strategic space assets were utilized in different capacities for Operation Sindoor,” a senior Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) official said. “Our teams have worked round the clock, and we are proud that Isro could support missions vital to national security.”
In addition to India’s 9–11 dedicated military satellites, Isro also coordinated access to high-frequency imagery from a global commercial satellite operator. “While our own satellites, including those from the Cartosat series, were instrumental in mission planning, imagery from Maxar was also procured,” another senior official said.
Maxar Technologies, a U.S.-based satellite imagery provider, supplies high-resolution images to several governments and organizations worldwide. While it remains unclear if Pakistan accessed Maxar’s services during the recent conflict, the country benefits from China’s expansive military space infrastructure.
“Indian satellites provide targeted imagery typically every 14 days, but commercial providers offer daily revisit capabilities. Both sources were leveraged effectively,” the official added.
The Cartosat series—central to India’s space-based military intelligence—has played a key role in reconnaissance and surveillance. Since the launch of the first Cartosat satellite in 2005, the system has undergone continual upgrades. The Cartosat-2C, for example, offers 0.65-meter resolution imagery and supports both image and video capture, proving invaluable during operations such as the 2016 Surgical Strike.
Complementing Cartosat, the Risat satellites delivered radar-based imagery, crucial for tracking movements through cloud cover and darkness, while Gsat satellites supported secure communications. India’s indigenous navigation system, NavIC, integrated with global GPS services, also played a critical role in precision operations.
“In total, a diverse set of Indian space assets contributed significantly to Operation Sindoor. We are actively working to expand this support for future missions,” the official noted.
Space Infrastructure Expansion
Lt Gen (Retd) A.K. Bhatt, Director-General of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), emphasized the importance of satellite capabilities: “There would have been extensive use of space assets for imagery, satcom, and PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing). Space technology is now a cornerstone of modern warfare.”
Isro Chairman V. Narayanan, while not commenting directly on Operation Sindoor, revealed that 10 satellites are currently active in support of the armed forces. He also announced the upcoming launch of EOS-09 (Risat-1B) on May 18.
“EOS-09 is equipped with an advanced C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), enabling high-resolution imaging regardless of weather or lighting conditions,” Narayanan said. “This significantly boosts India’s surveillance capabilities.”
SAR systems such as those on Risat-1B can penetrate cloud cover and function in darkness, offering operational advantages over optical satellites.
Looking ahead, Narayanan stated that India plans to launch 100–150 satellites over the next five years, including 52 under the Space-Based Surveillance-3 (SBS-3) programme. Notably, 31 of these satellites will be developed by private companies, reflecting India’s growing push toward public-private collaboration in space defense.
