Indra, a leading technological engineering company in the aerospace and defense sectors, and Centum Electronics have signed a collaboration agreement to submit a joint proposal to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to manufacture a space object observation and tracking radar that will protect the country’s spatial assets.
Centum Electronics is a Bangalore-based manufacturer of advanced electronics systems for various applications that has been working with the Indian Space Research Organization for 22 years.
Indra is a global leader in the aerospace and defense sectors and one of the world’s leading radar manufacturers. It has developed one of the most powerful space surveillance radars that is currently operated by the Spanish Air and Space Force and, in turn, integrated into the European Space Surveillance and Tracking System.
The agreement reached by the two companies to combine their capabilities is in keeping with the Indian government’s “Make India” strategy to support the formation of strategic partnerships with leading companies.
“We’re very proud to be able to work with Centum to provide the Indian Space Research Organisation with the essential capabilities to ensure the safety of any launch or mission,” said Jaime Temes, International Commercial Director for Defense at Indra. “We’re one of the few companies in the world with the proven ability to supply these kinds of radars, which offer the power and accuracy required to detect small objects thousands of kilometers from Earth.”
Meanwhile, the head of Centum stated that “India would benefit by filling a key technology gap that exists. This exclusive cooperation would also serve the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) by manufacturing most of the high-end microwave, digital and power electronics hardware within the country.”
Satellites currently play a vitally important role in any advanced economy. And as new constellations are launched to provide higher-value services, they are becoming more and more crucial. From air navigation and fleet logistics management to environmental protection and the provision of meteorological services, space is already part of our daily lives. Indra’s space radars can monitor all these space infrastructures, analyzing and controlling the trajectory of any objects that could pose a danger to them.