Imagine you have a very expensive, very important security camera placed high above your house. That camera watches your borders, tracks enemies, maps your land, and sends you critical information 24 hours a day. Now imagine someone else's camera slowly drifting towards yours — getting closer and closer until it is just one kilometre away. That is not an accident. That is a threat.
This is exactly what happened to India in 2024. A satellite from a neighbouring country whose identity was not revealed came within just 1 kilometre of an Indian satellite that was performing land mapping and ground surveillance. Bloomberg News had first reported this incident in September 2024, revealed that this near-miss shook India's space security establishment badly. And that one incident changed everything.
So what exactly is a bodyguard satellite?
“Think of it like a security guard, but in space. A bodyguard satellite is a spacecraft whose only job is to protect another important satellite. It hovers nearby, watches for threats, detects suspicious movements from enemy satellites, and if needed, responds,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.
It is being reported in the media that India is now building two types of these bodyguard satellites. The first type has a robotic arm, yes, a mechanical arm in space, that can physically grab a threatening satellite and move it away. The second type works in a group. When a small enemy satellite tries to get close to an Indian asset, these bodyguard satellites surround it in a box-like formation and push it away. Like bouncers at a nightclub, but 500 kilometres above the Earth.
Why is India doing this now?
Two events forced India's hand. First, the 2024 near-miss incident. Second, and more urgently, last year's military standoff with Pakistan. During those four tense days of conflict, satellites played a massive role. Both sides used them to locate targets, track troop movements, and position radar systems. But here is the alarming part: a research group working under India's own defence ministry reported in May that China reportedly provided satellite support to Pakistan during the conflict. This helped Pakistan improve the positioning of its radar and air-defence systems.
India was essentially being watched from space by a third country while fighting a two-front situation. That exposed a deep vulnerability. India's satellites could see the enemy. However, India's satellites could also be targeted, blinded, or interfered with, and India had no way to stop that.
Who else is doing this?
India is not alone in this race but it is behind, and it knows it. “China is already far ahead. There are reports that China has been testing "dogfighting" satellites, a spacecraft specifically designed to manoeuvre aggressively around other satellites in space.
China has likely already developed the ability to physically interfere with or even attach itself to another country's satellite. With over 1,100 active satellites compared to India's little over 100, according to satellite tracking website N2YO.com, China's space dominance is not just technological, it is numerical,” pointed out Linganna.
Japan's defence ministry has also started developing its own prototype bodyguard satellite to protect against so-called "killer satellites," as reported by the media last year. The European Defence Fund has been studying similar programmes since at least 2023. The race to protect assets in space is already on, and multiple major powers have quietly entered it.
What is India's bigger plan?
The bodyguard satellite programme is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Bloomberg has reported that India's government has been in advanced talks with private startups to build and launch the first test bodyguard satellite in the first half of this year. More launches are expected. After the technology is proven, government agencies will take over and scale it up.
In parallel, India is fast-tracking its Space-Based Surveillance programme and planning to launch more than 50 spy satellites capable of providing imaging even at night and in all weather conditions. Long-term plans include launching up to 150 new satellites, creating a permanent "eye in the sky" watching India's borders continuously.
India is also building monitoring stations inside the country and at key overseas locations to track foreign satellites in real time. Bloomberg sources confirm that talks with France and the UAE on joint satellite tracking and monitoring cooperation are already underway.
“Space was once considered neutral ground — a place for science, communication, and weather forecasting. That age is over. Space is now a battlefield. Countries are positioning killer satellites, bodyguard satellites, and surveillance systems above our heads every single day. India has woken up to this reality. Slowly, but surely, it is now building its own army above the clouds,” remarked Linganna.