Tata betting big on high-resolution imagery satellites for military
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) has set up a facility to manufacture high-resolution imagery satellites that will help the armed forces keep a closer eye on border areas, betting big on the military space sector.
The Bengaluru-based facility will manufacture sub-metre resolution satellites and will have a ground station that can control their movement and process imagery required by the armed forces to monitor infrastructure or acquire military targets.
The defence ministry has thrown open a challenge to Indian industry to make metre and sub-metre resolution satellites for military use.
Built on TASL's considerable defence sector capabilities, the facility is geared to manufacture up to 24 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites a year.
The plant is being set up in partnership with Satellogic, a Latin American company that specialises in earth observation satellites. The first Indian-made satellite is expected to be ready for launch within six months and will provide images with a 0.5-metre spatial resolution.
TASL confirmed the initiative to set up the Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) facility, in response to a query.
«There is an urgent need for more high-end resolution imagery satellites for Indian defence applications, and this will be a meaningful first step by TASL to build Indian capabilities in this area,» TASL CEO and MD Sukaran Singh told ET.
«Our technical partner Satellogic has great heritage in this area, and our strategy will be to build on that.»
The armed forces currently depend on satellite imagery from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and obtain commercial images from foreign companies as needed. Given the extended border areas that need to be monitored, the armed forces have been
