According to persons familiar with the situation, India's security services have ordered private companies to create so-called bodyguard satellites as the nation steps up efforts to safeguard space assets during a period of increased geopolitical tensions.
According to the persons, who asked not to be named because the information is confidential, talks between government agencies and startups are advanced, and the private companies hope to launch their first test satellite in the first half of this year. High-value spacecraft are intended to be escorted, shielded, and protected from orbital hazards.
They stated that more launches are anticipated by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, after which government organizations are likely to purchase the technology and build more bodyguard satellites.

Following a border dispute with neighbor Pakistan last year, India has grown more worried about the threat foreign spacecraft represent to national security. According to a research group under India's defense ministry in May, China gave Pakistan satellite support during the conflict, enabling Islamabad to more successfully modify its radar and air defense systems.
A near-miss incident in 2024 where a spacecraft from an unidentified neighboring country came within one kilometer (0.6 miles) of an Indian satellite carrying out tasks that could have military applications, like mapping and monitoring of on-ground objects, sparked the desire to implement safeguards, according to a September Bloomberg News report.After last year's military conflict with Pakistan, which put the two countries on the verge of full-scale conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration found the initiatives to be even more urgent. During the four-day conflict, which also exposed certain flaws that New Delhi is now fixing by strengthening its monitoring system, satellites were heavily utilized to identify and track targets.
An email requesting feedback on plans for bodyguard satellites was not answered by the Indian Space Research Organization, India's Department of Space, or the Ministry of Defense."Probability of Disruption" Anil Bhatt, the director general of the Indian Space Association and a former commander of military operations, stated that "the probability of satellites being disrupted is definitely there." "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."
According to a US Space Force officer cited by CNN in March 2025, China is engaging in "dogfighting" satellites as its space capabilities continue to grow.
According to a media report last year, Japan's defense ministry has started developing a bodyguard satellite prototype to defend against other countries' alleged killer satellites. This idea has also been under consideration by the European Defense Fund since at least 2023.China's increasing importance as a space superpower and its technological capabilities have increased security worries. According to data from tracking site N2YO.com, China has more than 1,100 active satellites compared to just over 100 for India. Despite a recent thaw in tensions with India, China has been experimenting with bodyguard satellites for a while and has probably developed capabilities to physically disrupt or connect with other satellites, according to the people.
According to a source, India has been talking with nations like France and the United Arab Emirates about space cooperation, including real-time satellite surveillance and monitoring.Two kinds of bodyguard satellites are being developed by Indian entrepreneurs. One variant features a robotic arm that can physically move and hook into spacecraft that India perceives as engaging in hostile activities. The second kind is intended to stop smaller satellites from targeting Indian space assets by encircling them with a box and then relocating them."Eye in the Sky"
The satellite-protection project is a component of PM Modi's government's larger initiative to increase the number of security assets in orbit.
The Space-Based Surveillance program, which seeks to launch over 50 spy satellites and include nighttime and all-weather surveillance, has been accelerated.To guarantee a thorough "eye in the sky" over the country's borders, India's space agency and business partners intend to launch up to 150 additional satellites in the long run.
In order to monitor foreign spacecraft and guarantee nearly immediate data transmissions, India is also developing its ground infrastructure by constructing stations both domestically and in key foreign areas.