Ministry of Defence seeks 3 pseudo satellites for Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force will be getting ‘pseudo satellites’ that can provide communication, do surveillance and act as data relay system between aircraft and ground stations.

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Called high altitude platform systems (HAPS), these platforms work as long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones). Powered by solar energy, they need not be refuelled. These operate at altitudes exceeding traditional drones while being lower in altitude than the orbit of low earth orbit satellites — offering a satellite-like view for extended periods.

The Ministry of Defence had issued a request for information (RFI) – a step in the tender process – seeking three such platforms for the IAF and has invited domestic manufacturers to bid for the process.

The RFI says these are needed for ‘persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Also provide airborne data relay for other unmanned platform while reading electronic signals of the adversary.

The MoD wants the system to be solar-powered and be able to operate at an altitude of 16 km or 16,000 m. To give a reference, the Mount Everest is 8,849 meters high while planes on long-haul international routes fly 10,000 meters high.

Also the MoD wants HAPS to be able to communicate for 150 km in clear line of sight and at least 400 km when communicating with satellites.

The IAF is following the Navy to get these systems. Last year, the Indian Navy signed a deal with Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research & Technologies to design and develop a domestically built HAPS. This was aimed at bolstering the Navy’s surveillance capabilities and reducing its dependence on foreign technology.

The Navy’s HAPS will also be solar-powered. Unlike the familiar solar panels on rooftops, those used to power the plane are extremely thin solar films.

The MoD itself had funded the research with NewSpace Research Technologies for HAPS under its own scheme called the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative.

Separately, scientists at the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) have successfully tested their own HAPS.