- Views: 217
- Replies: 3
During the brief but technologically intense India-Pakistan conflict of April 2025, codenamed "Operation Sindoor," India successfully neutralized a critical threat to its premier air defence system, the S-400 Triumf.
While Pakistan attempted to target the S-400 batteries using high-resolution intelligence from Chinese reconnaissance satellites, India employed a sophisticated counter-strategy combining advanced space surveillance with rapid ground-based deception, rendering the satellite data obsolete.
The conflict, which reportedly began after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, saw Pakistan retaliate against Indian airstrikes with waves of drones and missiles.
Central to Pakistan's offensive strategy was locating and destroying India's S-400 systems, which proved formidable by intercepting nearly all incoming aerial threats.
To achieve this, Pakistan relied heavily on intelligence provided by China’s extensive network of military surveillance satellites.
The Orbital Threat
China’s Yaogan series of satellites, a constellation of over 290 dual-use platforms, was reportedly tasked to assist Pakistan. These satellites, operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), are capable of capturing detailed imagery and electronic intelligence.Following Pakistan's request, several of these satellites allegedly adjusted their orbits to increase their frequency of passes over India's western border, focusing on S-400 deployment sites in Punjab and Rajasthan.
Their objective was to provide Pakistani forces with precise, real-time coordinates for targeted strikes.
India’s Counter: A Chess Game in Space
India responded not by targeting the satellites themselves, but by outmaneuvering their surveillance capabilities.The effort was led by India’s Defence Space Agency (DSA), a tri-service organisation established in 2019 to command the nation's space warfare and satellite intelligence assets.
The DSA utilized its growing Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capabilities, primarily powered by the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Project NETRA (Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis).
Project NETRA, an indigenous system comprising a network of connected radars, telescopes, and data processing centres, is designed to monitor objects in Earth's orbit.
During the conflict, it was used to precisely track the Chinese satellites, predict their orbital paths, and calculate the exact minutes they would be positioned over sensitive Indian military sites. This predictive intelligence was the cornerstone of India’s defence.
Deception on the Ground
Armed with the knowledge of when they were being watched from space, Indian forces on the ground executed a well-coordinated plan of deception.A key feature of the Russian-made S-400 Triumf system is its high mobility; its components, including launchers and radars, are mounted on trucks and can be relocated in a very short time.
When the DSA issued an alert about an impending satellite overflight, the S-400 units would immediately change their position.
In their place, military units deployed sophisticated decoys, such as inflatable mock-ups of the S-400 launchers and advanced electronic emitters that mimicked the system's unique radar signature.
Consequently, the high-resolution images captured by the Chinese satellites showed either an empty location or a decoy, making the intelligence useless for any subsequent missile strike.
Further enhancing this strategy, India's National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) engaged in signals intelligence.
By monitoring the downlink transmissions from the satellites, Indian agencies could confirm when a satellite was actively capturing images or data over a specific area.
In some instances, targeted electronic warfare measures were used to jam or disrupt these signals, further delaying the transmission of intelligence and buying more time for ground units to reposition.
Lessons and Future Direction
The success of this integrated strategy demonstrated that a superior satellite surveillance network can be effectively countered through agility, predictive intelligence, and tactical deception."Operation Sindoor" served as a critical test for India’s nascent space defence architecture, proving its effectiveness in a live conflict scenario.
The event has reportedly accelerated New Delhi's plans to expand its own space-based military assets. According to reports, India aims to establish a multi-layered constellation of at least 52 new military satellites by 2029.
This will provide the Indian armed forces with persistent surveillance capabilities, reducing reliance on external intelligence and further strengthening the nation's defence in the increasingly vital domain of space.
