PAKISTANI SATELLITES: Over the last year and a half, Pakistan has really stepped up its Earth-observation satellite game, launching six new satellites between January 2025 and June 2026. ThePrint reports that most of these satellites are set up to keep a close eye on India, especially up north in places like Jammu and Kashmir. This comes just a bit more than a year after India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire following Operation Sindoor. Things have stayed pretty calm on the ground, but behind the scenes, Pakistan has quietly boosted its space-based surveillance power. China’s been backing them up, too, helping out with building and launching these satellites.
New report makes big claim
The report breaks down the list: PAUSAT-1, PRSC-EO1, PRSS-2, HS-1, PRSC-EO2, and PRSC-EO3. Officially, Pakistan says these satellites are for civilian use like agriculture, disaster management, or monitoring resources. But experts say that these days, Earth-observation satellites can do a lot more. They often double as tools for military surveillance.
These satellites aren’t exactly basic, either. They come loaded with high-res optical cameras, hyperspectral sensors, and even AI-driven image processing. With tech like this, Pakistan can track all kinds of things, i.e. infrastructure changes, new or shifting military sites, troop activity, even what’s happening at sea.
PRSC-EO3 was reportedly put in an orbit that would provide a higher revisit frequency over South Asia, in particular over northern India and Kashmir, as opposed to traditional Earth observation satellites, which are deployed in Sun-synchronous orbits and are launched in April 2026.
Increase in the number of satellites by Pakistan
The number of satellites launched by Pakistan shows a dramatic change from its traditionally slow-moving space programme. Pakistan has launched a total of 15 satellites since its inception in 1961, six of which have been launched in the past 16 months.
The quick development pace indicates a high level of external assistance, especially from China. The report stated that the majority of the recently launched satellites were either placed in orbit using Chinese rockets or were co-developed satellites of China-Pakistan.
What challenges are India facing in space?
This is the time when India has experienced various setbacks in certain strategic satellite programmes. During 2025-2026, missions with Earth Observation Satellites and Navigation Satellites failed such as EOS-N1, EOS-09 and NavIC NVS-02 missions. Space-based surveillance has become an essential part of modern-day conflict and national security. Experts have recommended the strengthening of India’s own satellite capacities in order to keep an eye on its strategic surroundings in the competitive regional environment.
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With 13 years on the line, Ashish Kumar Singh loves everything when it comes to movies, music, travel and pop culture. Formerly employed at ANI, Pinkvilla, India Today and HT, Ashish has interviewed some of the top celebrities of India, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, among others. Breaking news excites him and deadlines are what he chases. Interviewing comes naturally to him. Hit him up at ashish.kumar02singh@gmail.com.
