NEW DELHI. In a major move to fortify national security along its expansive and contested borders, India has officially invited private sector enterprises to co-develop cutting-edge, high-altitude stratospheric surveillance airships. Driven by the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Directorate of Operations (Remote), the Airship-based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (AS-HAPS) programme is a monumental ₹15,000-crore initiative intended to establish persistent, near-space Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
The Ministry of Defence plans to execute this high-tech venture under the robust ‘Make-I’ procurement framework. Under these guidelines, the Central Government will fund up to 70 per cent of the prototype development costs for selected industry partners, mitigation-testing the immense financial risks inherent to aerospace innovation. The strategic project, cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), aims to eventually shortlist at least two domestic private entities based on rigorous financial evaluation and technical competency.
Operating at altitudes between 20 to 30 kilometres above sea level, the planned AS-HAPS platforms will cruise comfortably in the stratosphere. This positions them directly in the critical operational gap between tactical high-altitude drones – which typically cap out at 12 kilometers – and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites orbiting hundreds of kilometers above. Unlike satellites that pass quickly over a target area in fixed orbits, these steerable airships can hover dynamically over specific zones of interest for extended periods.
The AS-HAPS platforms offer persistent, stationary surveillance over target zones at a fraction of the astronomical design, launch and maintenance costs associated with orbital satellite constellations.
The Indian government plans to source the advanced sensory arrays domestically. Once deployed, the airships will carry a sophisticated mix of indigenously developed electro-optical systems, thermal imagers, long-range radars and electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering payloads. Beyond raw observation, the pseudo-satellites will serve a vital architectural role as data-relay nodes, seamlessly routing communication traffic between isolated ground networks and overhead satellite systems.
The domestic foundation for this technology was proven in May 2025, when the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flew a payload-bearing prototype airship to an altitude of 17 kilometres over Madhya Pradesh. While no Indian private player has independently replicated this milestone, the rollout of massive government subsidies is expected to ignite aggressive competition among the nation’s premier private defence conglomerates.
Parallel to the airship initiative, the government is simultaneously pursuing fixed-wing High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) that can take off from conventional runways. This multi-pronged aerospace push arrives amidst heightened global interest in near-space assets. While Europe’s EUROHAPS and Thales Alenia’s Stratobus target operational readiness by the early 2030s, China has already actively deployed high-altitude balloons worldwide, including over Indian airspace, underscoring New Delhi’s urgency to control the upper atmosphere.
By opening the skies of the stratosphere to private industry, India is not just plugging a critical surveillance vulnerability along its borders; it is actively accelerating its domestic military-industrial complex. The AS-HAPS programme promises to redefine the nation’s air defence grid, ensuring that India’s defence forces possess unblinking, cost-effective eyes over geopolitical hotspots for decades to come.
