Space Technologies and Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific has emerged as one of the most critical maritime theaters in the twenty-first century. The combination of immense sea lanes, contested territorial waters and rapidly growing naval buildups and associated rivalries has made the region vulnerable to intense geopolitical competition as well as illicit and hostile activity. Conventional terrestrial patrol assets either crewed or uncrewed can’t cover every corner of the littoral region. Space technologies can provide a surveillance architecture that strengthens maritime domain awareness and offers countries like India persistent tools to track, verify and respond to threats, entities and events of interest.
Automatic Identification System(AIS) transponders are legally required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on most commercial ships. These devices broadcast a vessel’s location, speed and identity. However, vessels engaged in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing or trafficking often switch off their AIS signals or manipulate them to broadcast false data. Satellite observation offers the most effective counter. Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) satellites can detect the presence of vessels even when they appear invisible on AIS feeds. For India, which faces regular incidents of dark ships on both of its flanks, in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, this may be indispensable.
Unlike conventional optical imaging sensors on satellites, SAR can penetrate clouds and observe at night, giving earth observation satellites all-weather capability. Programs such as Europe’s Sentinel-1 and India’s RISAT-2B have proven this advantage repeatedly. With SAR, it is possible not only to locate vessels but also to estimate their size, track their routes, and identify suspicious formations and patterns. Such granular data can be instrumental in mapping IUU fishing networks, expose clandestine trans-shipments and monitor hostile deployments even during bad weather such as the monsoon season when cloud cover reduces visibility for conventional imagery reconnaissance assets or under complete darkness.
Despite the advantages of SAR imagery, dedicated high-resolution optical satellites also remain valuable for tasks that require visual clarity. India’s Cartosat and Resourcesat series of satellites produce images sharp enough to confirm vessel identity, detect flag markings and observe port infrastructure. These images can provide evidence of a vessel anchored illegally in restricted waters or unloading cargo at an unregistered jetty. Such imagery can be powerful diplomatic leverage, enabling India and its partners to present proof of violations before international organisations, or during negotiations with other states accused of ignoring or violating maritime law.
Beyond radar and conventional imagery, hyperspectral and multispectral sensors add a new layer of sophistication to earth observation, they detect subtle variations in reflected light that reveal activities otherwise invisible. Oil spills, chemical dumping and even illegal ballast water discharge can be traced through spectral signatures. The clustering of fishing vessels can be analysed to distinguish between lawful operations and fleets engaged in illicit activities. The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has been working on developing these sensors for future satellites, which would enhance both maritime security and environmental protection goals simultaneously.
CubeSats – which are small cube shaped satellites and micro satellites(MicroSats) – which while not necessarily cube shaped are extremely small, have also changed the economics of launching earth observation assets, with small payloads being deployed for a tiny fraction of what a dedicated conventional satellite launch would have cost only a decade ago. These small satellites have also made maritime monitoring affordable and scalable. Instead of relying only on a few large satellites, constellations of smaller spacecraft can image vast areas multiple times a day. Internationally, private companies like the US based Planet Labs already capture imagery of most of the globe daily servicing both government and private sector customers. India too has begun encouraging its homegrown startups such as PierSight and Pixxel both individually and as consortiums to launch and operate their own CubeSats and MicroSats for various use-cases including maritime surveillance. These small but powerful assets are the bespoke solution to close the coverage gaps across the Indian Ocean Region, making it difficult for unscrupulous networks to operate unnoticed.
In terms of direct space agency cooperation NISAR which launched on July 30, 2025, is the Quad’s flagship achievement with the US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) and ISRO undertaking a cutting edge endeavour. The NISAR mission comprises a joint NASA-ISRO earth observation satellite featuring dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems operating in L-band and S-band. It uses novel SweepSAR technology to provide wide-swath (over 240 km) microwave imaging at resolutions between 2 to 8 meters, capturing fully polarimetric and interferometric data. The L-band radar penetrates forest canopy, ice, and soil, aiding biomass and deformation studies, while the S-band radar focuses on coastal bathymetry, ocean winds, and surface vegetation. NISAR completes global coverage every 12 days in a sun-synchronous orbit, enabling detailed monitoring of land deformation, ecosystems, and maritime domains critical for Quad cooperation in regional surveillance and disaster management. The data is openly available for scientific and operational use.
Furthermore, numerous small satellites working in conjunction and strategically placed in Low Earth Orbit(LEO) can also sharply cut down on revisit times compared to conventional earth imaging satellites, providing near real-time monitoring of maritime activity especially targeting ships engaged in illicit activities that constantly relocate to avoid detection.
Processing and analysing earth observation data can be overwhelming in a high-traffic and target-rich maritime environment like the Indo-Pacific littoral. To manage the ever-bourgeoning flow of maritime domain awareness data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be the proverbial silver bullet as long as they are employed with a “human in the loop” paradigm whereby automated data analysis is overseen by an experienced human analyst manually.
