A Bengaluru-based company has unveiled an AI-powered wide-area sensing network designed to detect, identify and track objects in orbit. Digantara calls the system as MOSAIC, or an AI-powered Wide Area Sensing Architecture.

It is a sensing network designed to detect, identify and track objects in orbit, marking a new step in India's efforts to strengthen its indigenous space situational awareness capabilities.

It is designed to provide a persistent and wide-area view of the space environment. The system is designed to search, detect and track hundreds of objects simultaneously and convert observations into what Digantara calls "orbital intelligence”.

The initial deployment comprises five interconnected ground-based sensor nodes that work together as a single surveillance network.

Each node consists of an Optical Head Unit and an Electronics Head Unit. The optical system is responsible for observing and imaging objects in the sky, while the electronics system supports processing, communications, timing and autonomous operations. The nodes are designed to operate independently using solar power and battery backup, allowing them to be deployed across geographically diverse and challenging environments.

At present, India does have access to indigenous space surveillance capability. Modern military operations increasingly require timely, persistent and precise access to space-based information and dependence on foreign commercial providers can become a vulnerability during crises. Digantara essentially contends about having sovereignty over space data. The company’s statement says MOSAIC is intended to reduce India's reliance on foreign-owned surveillance systems and commercial data providers.

Digantara's broader ambitions extend beyond the MOSAIC ground sensor network. The Bengaluru-based company is developing an integrated space surveillance architecture combining ground-based sensors, space-based assets and data processing capabilities and is also working to develop missile-tracking capabilities.

Recent conflicts have underscored the importance of satellite-based intelligence. In the 2020 Galwan Valley border skirmishes with Chinese troops, Indian soldiers had access to live movements of the opposite side due to geospatial intelligence provided by the United States. Also, during Operation Sindoor, India's armed forces relied on a range of satellite-enabled Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

The battlefield is no longer confined to land, sea and air. The ability to observe the battlefield from space and to protect the satellites providing that information, is itself becoming a military requirement. Against this backdrop, MOSAIC serves as the system enabling the military to access data without relying on foreign support.

As geopolitical and broader strategic competition increasingly extends to space, it is becoming an arena where states will seek to observe, deter, protect and potentially, contest one another’s capabilities. For India, developing the ability to monitor and understand this domain will therefore be as important as developing the assets that operate within it. In the emerging competition for space, India must not only have satellites in orbit, but also the capability to see, understand and secure the environment around them.

Savio Rodrigues

Savio Rodrigues is a Research Analyst at Escape Velocity MediaWorks Pvt Ltd, where he writes extensively for Chakra Newz on defence, national security, geopolitics and emerging technologies. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the University of Mumbai and has experience in geopolitical risk analysis, strategic research and international affairs.