India Eyes Indigenous Stratospheric Surveillance with ₹15,000 Cr Airship Project

India has reportedly launched a ₹15,000-crore programme to develop indigenous stratospheric airships capable of carrying out long-duration surveillance and intelligence missions, with private sector companies expected to compete for government-backed prototype development.

The Air Ship-based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (AS-HAPS) programme is being steered by the Directorate of Operations (Remote) of the Indian Air Force (IAF), as per a report by The Economic Times (ET).

Under the project, selected industry partners will receive government support to develop prototype airships that can operate at altitudes exceeding 20 km for months at a time while performing optical surveillance, electronic intelligence gathering and long-range communication functions.

The project has been reportedly approved under the Make-I procurement route, which allows the government to fund up to 70% of research and development costs.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the programme in February, with an estimated overall value of ₹15,000 crore, covering both development and the eventual procurement of an unspecified number of systems, as per ET.

Private Firms Invited For Development

According to the report, multiple Indian aerospace companies have been approached for the programme, and at least two development partners are expected to be shortlisted based on their technical capabilities and financial strength.

Designed to operate in the stratosphere above 20 km, the AS-HAPS platform is intended to bridge the capability gap between high-altitude drones, which typically operate at around 12 km, and low Earth orbit satellites positioned between 500 km and 2,000 km above the Earth.

The airships are expected to remain airborne for extended periods while carrying radar, optical and electronic intelligence payloads. The government also intends to develop these sensors domestically and requires the platform to be steerable towards areas of operational interest, as per the report.

In parallel, the Ministry of Defence has also initiated plans to develop fixed-wing High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS) capable of taking off from the ground and undertaking long-range missions.

DRDO's 2025 Trial Of Stratospheric Airships

The programme follows an important technology demonstration by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in May 2025. DRDO successfully conducted the maiden flight trial of its Stratospheric Airship Platform from the Sheopur trial site in Madhya Pradesh.

Developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra, the airship carried an instrumental payload to an altitude of around 17 km during a 62-minute flight.

The Defence Ministry said data gathered from onboard sensors would be used to develop high-fidelity simulation models for future high-altitude airship missions. It added that the envelope pressure control and emergency deflation systems were also tested during the flight before the platform was successfully recovered for further analysis.

Global Race For High-Altitude Platforms

Several countries are pursuing similar technologies, although operational deployment remains limited.

Europe is advancing the EUROHAPS programme and Thales Alenia's Stratobus project, while the US has demonstrated comparable systems without inducting them into service.

China is also actively pursuing high-altitude airship technology, although details remain limited.