By Admin 
Pakistan’s biggest weakness came to light in Operation Sindoor launched by India in May 2025. Its satellite surveillance network could not work in intense war-like situations. Pakistan Army could not get timely and clear satellite images to understand the ground situation. For this reason, many important moments of the war were missed by Pakistan. This weakness forced Pakistan to rapidly strengthen its space surveillance system.
Cooperation with China, Turkey and Europe
After revealing the weaknesses, Pakistan launched three new satellites in a few months. At the same time, it started trying to strengthen its surveillance capacity by increasing cooperation with China, Turkey, America and European companies.
January 2025: Two big satellites launched in three days
First Satellite -PAUSAT-1
Pakistan launched PAUSAT-1 from SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket. According to the report published in The Sunday Guardian, this 10U nano-satellite has been developed by Pakistan’s Air University in collaboration with Turkey’s Istanbul Technical University. It is equipped with high-resolution cameras and special sensors, which provide clearer data of land, crops and buildings. Pakistan is also getting indirect access to European technology through partnership with Turkey.
Second satellite- PRSC-EOL
On January 17, Pakistan launched a new Earth observation satellite named PRSC-EOL from China’s Jiuquan station. Although it is said to be ‘Made in Pakistan’, the design, technology and launch is done with the help of China. It is used in monitoring agriculture, cities and environment, but its military use is also clearly visible.
HS-1 was sent in October 2024
HS-1 is Pakistan’s first hyperspectral satellite, which was launched by China. It is capable of detecting hidden military bases, understanding airbase activities and detecting changes in infrastructure.
Why did Pakistan fail during Operation Sindoor?
During Operation Sindoor, Pakistan’s main military satellite PRSS-1 could capture clear images of Indian airbases – Pathankot, Udhampur and Adampur only once. After this, due to weather and orbit problems, no useful images were obtained for several hours. During this period, India made many changes, which Pakistan could not catch in time. An old satellite named PakTES-1A had already stopped functioning.
Ground system also weak, no backup
Pakistan has only two ground stations – Karachi and Islamabad. Karachi station remained closed for 18 hours during the floods of 2022, due to which the necessary photographs were delayed. The plan for a backup station in West Pakistan is still incomplete.
European pictures are available, but no control
Pakistan can order photos from Airbus and European companies, but cannot retask them immediately. European images were delayed by 36–48 hours during the Iran–Pakistan tensions in 2024. At the same time, China’s PRSS-1 can send fresh photos in about 4-6 hours. For this reason, China’s role still remains most important for Pakistan.
Preparation to launch SAR satellite by 2026–27
Pakistan now wants to build a SAR satellite that can take pictures even in clouds and at night. This technology gives real military surveillance capability to a country.