By The Diplomat | Created at 2026-09-19 00:35:13 | Updated at 2026-09-19 12:12:48
16 hours ago
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently launched a new surveillance satellite designated as EOS-05 into geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO). The launch was carried out with the GSLV-F17 rocket.
The satellite – launched on September 4 – is the first earth observation satellite deployed in GEO by India. The satellite will allow New Delhi to continuously observe the subcontinent from an altitude ranging between 34,903 km and 35,884 km. The chairman of ISRO, V. Narayanan, said that “EOS-05 will become India’s first dedicated imaging satellite from the geo orbit providing important strategic data for the country.”
The launch of the satellite is part of India’s long-term plan to strengthen its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. The satellite will provide India with the capability to persistently track military movements in the subcontinent – especially Pakistan’s naval warships, aircraft, strategic assets movements, and force mobilization during crisis time. A new eye in the sky is an important military asset for India and can increase its counterforce capabilities in the age of emerging and disruptive technologies.
India’s current space architecture consists of navigation, communication, ISR, and scientific satellites. For the purpose of communication, India has three dedicated military satellites – two of which are used by the Indian Navy and one by the Indian Air Force. Besides this, India has around 10 satellites that are dual-capable and can be used for military communication. The Indian navigation satellitessystem – known as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) – has three operational satellites, IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I , and NVS-01. However, for basic positioning service four satellites are required in orbit ; the next satellite NVS-03 would be launched soon. The Indian ISR architecture consists of the CROSAT series for Optical purposes, the RISAT and NISAR series for SAR purposes, and the EMISAT satellite for Electronic ISR. The newly launched EOS-05 would be India’s first ISR satellite that would give real-time persistent observation of the subcontinent.
In 2024, India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the Space Based Surveillance Phase-III (SBS-III) program that aimed to deploy 52 defense satellites into low-earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit for surveillance. Under this project, ISRO will deploy 21 satellites and the private sector will develop 31 satellites.
After the May 2025 crisis, there have been calls within the Indian strategic community to further strengthen Indian military capabilities in the space domain. For example, former Indian Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan, speaking at the Indian Defense Space Symposium (IDS) 2026, stressed the importance of military space based assets. He said, “If we fail in space, we will be forced to fight blind. However, if we dominate in space, we will fight with foresight.”
The statement reflects a transformation in India’s strategic thinking vis-à-vis the military utility of space. The evolving character of warfare necessitates strengthening ISR architecture for maintaining persistent surveillance of strategically important areas both during peacetime and crisis situations.
The newly launched EOS-05 satellite is particularly important as it adds to the persistent surveillance layer of India’s existing ISR architecture. Currently, India’s satellites are mainly in LEO, where they provide high-resolution imagery but have limitations because of rapid movement across the earth’s surface. EOS-05 being in geosynchronous orbit will provide prolonged observation of the subcontinent. This capability will strengthen India’s precision-strike capacity, as precision-strike missiles not only depend on range and accuracy but also timely information regarding the location of targets. Thus, in the broader sensor-to-shooter chain of network-centric warfare, space-based surveillance would play an important role.
Moreover, persistent eyes in the sky can also strengthen India’s counterforce capabilities for both conventional and strategic purposes. For Pakistan, the implications of India strengthening ISR architecture and enhanced counterforce capabilities are direct. A persistent Indian eye in the sky would give its tri-services a near real-time picture of Pakistani naval deployments in the Arabian Sea, aircraft movements, and the dispersal of mobile missile launchers. As the survivability of mobile systems rests largely on their concealment, continuous wide-area surveillance, combined with high-resolution follow-up, shortens the time between detecting a target and striking it. India’s growing arsenal of long-range precision-strike missiles may become far more threatening with an added eye in space.
Moreover, there are also benefits to India of the new satellite system for defensive purposes. It can also help India be better prepared for a counterstrike by Pakistan, especially with an advanced missile defense system. Having persistent capability to monitor movements of Pakistan’s troops, India can be more prepared to defend itself.
However, this can have implications for South Asian deterrence dynamics. Faster detection, enhanced targeting information, and better precision-strike capabilities would lead to a compression of decision-making timelines during crisis. Because of territorial contiguity between India and Pakistan, decision-making timelines are already very short. Thus, increasing vulnerability of strategic assets to detection can induce Pakistan to early dispersal, mobilization, and further concealment of its military assets. This can also create a “use-it-or-lose-it dilemma” and further increases the risks of miscalculation and inadvertent escalation. Thus, enhanced space-based ISR capabilities can help in increasing situational awareness but would present new challenges for crisis stability and escalation management in South Asia.
In conclusion, EOS-05 is a single satellite that is part of a broader imitative of India to strengthen its ISR capabilities under the SBS-III program. However, its launching points toward an Indian strategic shift from periodic snapshots to persistent watch, and this enhancement of capability can have implications on how the next crisis between India and Pakistan will unfold. Islamabad has to further strengthen survivability of its conventional and strategic assets through concealment, deception, and mobility practices.
