Imagine a surveillance platform that can stay over one location for months, watch enemy movements day and night, relay communications, and cost only a fraction of launching a satellite into space.

That's exactly what the Indian Air Force is now trying to build.

The Ministry of Defence, through the Indian Air Force's Directorate of Operations (Remote), has launched a ₹15,000 crore indigenous programme to develop Airship-based High Altitude Pseudo Satellites, or AS-HAPS.

But what exactly is an AS-HAPS?

Think of it as a giant helium-filled airship that flies not in space, but in the stratosphere, around 20 to 30 kilometres above the Earth. That's well above commercial aircraft and weather systems.

Unlike ordinary balloons that drift with the wind, these airships are powered by solar panels and batteries, allowing them to hold their position over a specific area for months at a time—or move wherever they're needed.

So why not just use drones or satellites?

Because AS-HAPS is designed to dominate what militaries call "near-space"—the layer between conventional aircraft and orbiting satellites.

Conventional drones fly at around 12 kilometres and can stay airborne only for hours or days. Satellites orbit hundreds of kilometres above Earth and pass over a target in just a few minutes.

An AS-HAPS combines the best of both worlds. It can remain fixed over a single location, providing what the military calls an "unblinking eye." And unlike satellites, it can be brought back to Earth, upgraded with newer sensors, and redeployed.

So what will it do?

These platforms are expected to carry indigenous Synthetic Aperture Radars, electro-optical and infrared cameras, along with electronic and signals intelligence payloads capable of monitoring activity deep inside hostile territory. They can also act as airborne communication relays, linking troops on the ground with military satellites and command centres.

The programme will be executed under the Make-I category, with the government funding up to 70 percent of prototype development costs. At least two Indian companies will develop competing designs, giving the Air Force a choice before selecting the final platform.

The project also builds on a successful DRDO demonstration in 2025, when an experimental stratospheric airship climbed to nearly 17 kilometres, validating the technology needed for today's programme.

As China expands its own stratospheric surveillance programme and Europe and the United States pursue similar technologies, India is making its bid to dominate the next frontier of military surveillance. For a country that must keep watch over two active land borders and thousands of kilometres of coastline, an unblinking eye in near-space could become one of the most valuable assets in its surveillance network.

Deepak Bhadana

Over the past decade, Deepak Bhadana has built expertise in multimedia storytelling, with a focus on military conflicts, insurgencies, international relations, the defence industry, and occasionally, wildlife and environmental issues.