Six Satellites In 16 Months: How Pakistan Expanded Its Space-Based Monitoring Network, Are They Quietly Spying On India?

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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