India taps space startups to produce bodyguard satellite systems

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Space warfare is coming and satellites are largely defensless and vulnerable to attack, so now they have buddies to defend them.

Years after other countries started developing satellites that could dodge missiles India’s security agencies have asked private startups to develop so-called bodyguard satellites as the country accelerates efforts to protect space assets at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussions between government bodies and startups are in advanced stages and the private companies are aiming to launch their first test satellite in the first half of this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. These are meant to escort, protect and counter orbital threats to high-value spacecraft.

Additional launches are expected by the end of this year or early next year and the technology is likely to then be acquired by government agencies, which will develop more of the bodyguard satellites, they said.

India has become increasingly concerned about the national security threat posed by foreign spacecraft after a border conflict last year with neighbor Pakistan. During the hostilities, China provided Pakistan with satellite support, helping Islamabad adjust its radar and air defense systems more effectively, a research group under India’s defense ministry said in May.

The desire to enact safeguards was kickstarted by a near-miss 2024 incident in which a spacecraft from an unidentified neighbouring country came within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) of an Indian satellite performing tasks that could have military applications such as mapping and monitoring of on-ground objects.

The efforts took on fresh urgency for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration following last year’s military confrontation with Pakistan that put the two nations on the brink of an all-out war. Satellites were used extensively to identify and monitor targets during the four-day showdown, which also revealed some shortcomings that New Delhi is now plugging by bolstering its surveillance system.

“The probability of satellites being disrupted is definitely there,” said Anil Bhatt, a former chief of military operations, who is now the director general at the Indian Space Association. “Every nation that wants to be a serious player in the critical space domain will need to build kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities to protect its own assets.”

China is practicing “dogfighting” satellites as its space prowess continues to expand, CNN reported in March 2025 quoting a United States Space Force official.

Japan’s defense ministry has begun work on a prototype of a bodyguard satellites to guard against other nations’ so-called killer satellites, according to a media report last year. The European Defense Fund has also been considering this initiative since at least 2023.

Security concerns have been exacerbated by China’s growing significance as a space superpower and its technological prowess. The country has more than 1,100 active satellites compared with just over 100 for India, according to data from tracking site N2YO.com.

China, which continues to have a fragile relationship with India despite a recent thaw, has been experimenting with bodyguard satellites for quite sometime now and has likely developed capabilities to physically disrupt or connect with other satellites, the people said.

India has been discussing space cooperation, including real-time tracking and monitoring of satellites, with countries including France and the United Arab Emirates, one person said.

Indian startups are looking to develop two types of bodyguard satellites. One model has a robotic arm that can hook into and physically move spacecraft India views as undertaking hostile actions. The second type is designed to tackle smaller satellites that are attacking Indian space assets by enclosing them – forming a box around them – and then moving them away.

The satellite-protection project is part of a bigger effort by Modi’s government to develop more security assets in orbit.

It has fast-tracked the Space-Based Surveillance program that aims to launch more than 50 spy satellites and add night-time as well as all-weather imaging. In the longer term, India’s space agency and private partners plan to deploy up to 150 new satellites to ensure a comprehensive “eye in the sky” over the nation’s borders.

India is expanding its ground infrastructure too by building stations at home and in strategic overseas locations to monitor foreign spacecraft and ensure near-instantaneous data transfers.