India is accelerating its push to develop space‑based missile‑detection systems, aiming to identify launches within seconds and dramatically expand the country’s interception window. The effort follows lessons from Operation Sindoor, when the Indian Air Force intercepted a Delhi‑bound Pakistani high‑speed missile over Haryana’s Sirsa barely one or two minutes before its expected impact — a dangerously narrow margin for decision‑making.
During the operation, interceptions relied entirely on ground‑based radars, which can only track missiles once they enter the final phase of flight. This compresses response timelines and limits the air‑defence grid’s ability to assess trajectories, activate countermeasures, and coordinate interception. India’s new approach aims to shift detection into space, using satellites capable of spotting launches almost instantly.
According to Anirudh Sharma, founder and CEO of Digantara — a space‑intelligence company working on missile‑detection technology — “time is the decisive variable.” Early detection via satellite sensors provides a clear window to understand intent, track trajectories, and initiate the kill chain long before a missile nears its target. Without such systems, he warned, the risk of escalation rises sharply, especially in an era of hypersonic weapons, ICBMs, and satellite‑guided missiles.
A Pakistani ballistic missile, for example, would take 10–15 minutes to strike deep inside India after launch. Its flight includes three phases: the boost phase (engines firing after launch), the midcourse phase (ballistic arc, often outside the atmosphere), and the terminal phase (descent toward the target). Detecting the missile in the boost phase — possible only through space‑based sensors — would give India the maximum time to intercept.
India’s emerging “eyes in space” represent a major leap in national defence, aiming to ensure threats are neutralised long before they approach cities like Delhi.