New Delhi:During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces made extensive use of both indigenous and foreign commercial space assets. A senior official from India’s space agency ISRO said, “All our strategic space assets were utilized in various ways during Operation Sindoor. Our teams worked tirelessly, and we are proud that ISRO could support the armed forces in the national interest.”
According to a report by The Times of India, another official confirmed that the Indian military currently has access to around 9–11 dedicated military satellites. In addition to these, ISRO also facilitated access to data from the American commercial satellite imaging company, Maxar. The official stated, “Imagery from our Cartosat series satellites was crucial in operational planning, while the high-resolution daily imagery from Maxar gave the operation an additional edge.”
Satellites like Cartosat-2C can provide imagery with a resolution of up to 0.65 meters, making them a vital part of India’s military intelligence system. These satellites have previously been used in missions like the 2016 surgical strikes. Additionally, the RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) series was employed for real-time surveillance of activity in the region, while the GSAT series ensured seamless communication. As a result, the entire Pakistani territory fell within India’s observational scope. This contributed to the Indian military executing precise strikes, targeting only those installations that were pre-identified for destruction — the pinpoint strikes on Pakistani airbases serve as a striking example.
The official explained that Indian satellites typically provide imagery of a specific location every 14 days, but commercial satellites can deliver such data on a daily basis. India’s indigenous NavIC navigation system, alongside other global GPS networks, also supported navigation and positioning throughout the operation.
Lieutenant General (Retd.) A.K. Bhatt, Director General of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), remarked, “In modern warfare, space technology is critical. It plays a major role through imagery, satellite communications, and PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing).”
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan did not directly comment on the operation, but confirmed that currently, 10 satellites are working around the clock for the Indian military. He also announced that on May 18, India will launch EOS-09 or RISAT-1B, a new strategic satellite equipped with a C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar system capable of providing clear surface images in all weather and lighting conditions.
Narayanan further revealed that over the next five years, India plans to launch 100 to 150 satellites, of which 52 will be part of the Space-Based Surveillance-3 (SBS-3) program. Notably, 31 of these satellites will be developed by the private sector, signaling a stronger partnership between India’s defense forces and space research institutions.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, 2025, in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists. The operation aimed to eliminate nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian Armed Forces executed the mission with high precision, ensuring minimal damage to civilian and non-combatant infrastructure.