India has taken a significant step toward fielding its own stratospheric surveillance and communications platform, even as Russia unveiled a conceptually similar system designed to transform battlefield connectivity.
India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) requirement for an Airship-based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (AS-HAPS), marking the formal start of what could become one of the country’s most ambitious near-space programmes. Around the same time, Russia announced the first successful test flight of its high-altitude aerostat system, Barrage-1, intended to provide low-latency, high-bandwidth internet connectivity to troops along the Ukraine front.
Though both projects operate in the stratosphere and rely on lighter-than-air technologies, their primary missions and platform choices differ in notable ways.
India’s AS-HAPS is being developed to provide “persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), telecommunication and remote sensing” for the IAF. Operating far above conventional aircraft but well below satellites, such systems promise continuous coverage over large swathes of territory for extended durations.
Unlike traditional satellites, which orbit the Earth, a HAPS platform remains quasi-stationary in the stratosphere — typically between 18 and 25 kilometres above mean sea level. From this altitude, it can survey vast areas while remaining beyond the reach of most conventional air defence systems.
The AoN granted by the DAC — India’s highest defence procurement body — indicates that the project has cleared a critical milestone, with the IAF formally recognising the operational requirement and the likely high costs associated with development and acquisition. Airship-based HAPS platforms, capable of carrying heavier payloads and remaining aloft for extended periods, represent a more ambitious and potentially more expensive undertaking compared to fixed-wing solar drones.
India’s earlier HAPS efforts largely centred on solar-powered, fixed-wing unmanned aerial systems (UAS). These were designed primarily for surveillance and communication relay. The AS-HAPS concept signals a shift toward a heavier, more capable platform — one that could integrate advanced ISR sensors alongside broadband communication capabilities.
In contrast, Russia’s Barrage-1 system is primarily focused on communications rather than surveillance. Developed by the Russian company Aerodrommash in cooperation with Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the system completed its first successful test flight around February 12, 2026.
Unlike India’s airship-based AS-HAPS, Barrage-1 uses an aerostat platform — essentially a high-altitude balloon made of translucent film material typical of stratospheric balloons. The system can remain aloft for several weeks and carry a payload of up to 100 kilograms, including communications modules, 5G relay systems, and other networking equipment.
While many reports cite its operating altitude as 20 kilometres, some suggest it may reach between 20 and 40 kilometres, placing it firmly in the near-space regime.
Barrage-1 keeps station and cruises using pneumatic ballasting techniques that exploit differences in wind speed and direction at various altitudes. By ascending or descending into wind layers moving in different directions, the platform can maintain approximate positional control without complex propulsion systems.
Initially, Barrage-1 is expected to provide Starlink-like connectivity along the battlefront in Ukraine. Over time, as deployment scales up, Russia envisions offering high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity in remote regions and across the country.
The operational significance of such systems lies in latency — the time it takes for a signal to travel from a user to a relay and back.
Traditional satellite-based internet relies heavily on geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites positioned approximately 35,786 kilometres above Earth. A radio frequency signal typically takes about 240 milliseconds to complete a round trip to such a satellite — sufficient for broadband but suboptimal for real-time control applications.
Low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, orbit at around 550 kilometres, reducing round-trip latency to approximately 3.7 milliseconds.
By comparison, a high-altitude pseudo-satellite operating at around 20 kilometres would yield a round-trip latency of roughly 0.3 milliseconds — effectively instantaneous for most operational purposes.
This ultra-low latency is transformative for modern warfare. Remote piloting of drones, real-time dissemination of video feeds, and rapid command-and-control decision-making all benefit from near-instantaneous connectivity.
For Russia, Barrage-1 could allow real-time control of drones operating deep inside Ukrainian territory. It would also enable instantaneous distribution of drone footage to command nodes, accelerating the sensor-to-shooter cycle.
Ukraine has already leveraged Starlink connectivity to enable resilient battlefield networking. Barrage-1 appears to be Moscow’s attempt to replicate such capabilities without relying on foreign satellite infrastructure.
India, too, has been investing in HAPS technology for several years, though primarily through solar-powered fixed-wing systems.
Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research & Technologies (NRT) has been developing an autonomous, solar-powered unmanned aerial system in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the prototype development partner. The aircraft is designed to remain airborne for more than 90 days while cruising at approximately 65,000 feet.
A scale model with an eight-metre wingspan has already been tested. The full-scale HAPS is planned to feature a wingspan of 24 to 25 metres.
In February 2024, India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) conducted a series of flight tests on a subscale HAPS model at the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Challakere, Karnataka.
The 12-metre-wingspan model, with a maximum take-off weight of 22 kilograms, completed about 22 sorties and accumulated nearly 37 flight hours. According to NAL’s chief scientist and high-altitude platform programme director, L. Venkatakrishnan, the aircraft met or exceeded performance metrics, including endurance of more than eight and a half hours and an altitude of nearly three kilometres above mean sea level during testing. Parameters such as climb rate, maximum bank angle, turn radius, and one-engine-inoperative performance were also evaluated.
Separately, Mira Aerospace of the UAE and India’s VEDA Aeronautics have collaborated on a fixed-wing, solar-powered HAPS based on Mira’s ApusNeo platform. VEDA serves as the “Make in India” partner for the programme.
The ApusNeo HAPS has reportedly flown in the Indian stratosphere — the only such flight in India to date. The aircraft operates solely on solar energy, cruises autonomously at altitudes between 16 and 20 kilometres, and can carry a 35-kilogram payload at 18,000 metres for 30 to 45 days.
In January 2026, the Indian Army awarded a fast-track contract worth ₹168 crore (approximately USD 18.6 million) to NRT for its solar-powered Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS) UAV under emergency procurement authorisation.
It appears that HAPS and AS-HAPS are distinct projects. While HAPS development has so far been largely privately funded or supported through limited procurement contracts, the AS-HAPS has received formal AoN — indicating a larger, more resource-intensive programme likely to involve significant government investment.
The shift from fixed-wing solar drones to an airship-based platform suggests a desire for greater payload capacity, longer endurance, and possibly multi-mission flexibility. Airships can carry heavier ISR suites, electronic warfare systems, and potentially broadband communication relays — blending surveillance and connectivity in a single platform.
If Russia’s Barrage-1 delivers on its promise, it could provide a cost-effective alternative to deploying and maintaining a vast satellite constellation. High-altitude aerostats are far cheaper to manufacture and launch than rockets and satellites, and they can be recovered, upgraded, and redeployed.
A similar logic applies to India. An operational AS-HAPS fleet could provide persistent surveillance over sensitive borders while also serving as an airborne communications backbone during crises.
The key question for Indian defence planners will be whether to integrate broadband internet capabilities into AS-HAPS from the outset. The advantages of ultra-low latency connectivity for drone swarms, network-centric warfare, and distributed operations are enormous.
In the evolving battlespace — where drones, hybrid missile-drone systems, and AI-enabled targeting dominate — near-space platforms may prove as critical as traditional airpower assets.
As India formalises its AS-HAPS ambitions and Russia pushes forward with Barrage-1, the stratosphere is rapidly emerging as the next contested domain — a realm where lighter-than-air platforms could reshape both surveillance and connectivity at a fraction of the cost of space-based systems.
