Days after India’s DAC accorded AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) to IAF (Indian Air Force) requirement for an Airship-based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (AS-HAPS), Russia flight-tested a conceptually similar system.
India’s AS-HAPS and the Russian system, named Barrage-1, are both based on lighter-than-air platforms that operate in the stratosphere.
However, while the AS-HAPS is being developed for the Indian Air Force to carry out “persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Electronic Intelligence, telecommunication and remote sensing”, Russia’s Barrage is primarily focused on providing low-latency, high-bandwidth internet to its troops and field formations.
Another difference: the Russian system is not based on an airship platform; it is based on an aerostat platform.
Barrage System
The Russian system, named Barrage-1, will initially provide Starlink-like connectivity along the battlefront in Ukraine. Later, as deployment increases, the system will provide high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity in remote areas and across the country.
Russia’s Barrage-1 has been developed by the Russian company Aerodrommash in cooperation with Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
The first successful test flight was announced around February 12, 2026.
Most news outlets have reported an operating altitude of 20 km, but some reports suggest an altitude capability of 20–40 km.
The system, which can remain aloft for several weeks, features a payload of up to 100 kg comprising communications, 5G relay, and other equipment.
The aerostat is made of translucent film material typical of high-altitude balloons. It keeps station and cruises using pneumatic ballasting that leverages differences in wind speed and direction at varying altitudes.
The operating altitude of the Barrage system enables low-latency broadband connectivity for Russian drones and hybrid cruise missile–drone combinations operating deep inside Ukrainian territory — the kind of connectivity that Ukrainian forces already enjoy via Starlink.
Allow me to explain latency.
Typically, satellite-based internet uses satellites parked in geostationary orbit (GSO) at an altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above Earth’s mean sea level. Starlink uses a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 550 km.
RF signals typically take 240 ms to round-trip to a GSO satellite. In contrast, a round trip to a Starlink satellite takes only 3.7 ms.
Guess what a round-trip to a HAPS platform would cost? 0.3 ms!
Low-latency connectivity facilitates remote piloting of drones. It also enables instantaneous, widespread distribution of footage relayed by the drone to command-and-control nodes for quick decision-making.
The Barrage-1 system will not only allow real-time control of Russian drones operating deep inside Ukrainian territory, but it will also facilitate instantaneous dissemination of drone video footage to command-and-control nodes for a quick response.
Indian HAPS Development
India has been actively developing HAPS technology over the past five years.
NewSpace Research & Technologies (NRT), a Bengaluru-based private limited company, has been developing an autonomous, solar-powered unmanned aerial system (UAS) in collaboration with HAL, the prototype development partner.
According to the company, the aircraft is being designed to remain airborne for more than 90 days while cruising at 65,000 ft. A scale model has already been tested.
In October 2022, the company spokesperson told Jane’s, “The scale model, which was tested, has a wingspan of 8 m. The full-sized HAPS is planned to have a wingspan of 24 or 25 m.”
In February 2024, Jane’s reported that India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) had carried out a series of flight tests on a subscale model of its high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) platform.
The tests were conducted at the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Challakere, Karnataka, from January 23, 2024, to February 2, 2024. During the tests, the subscale model, which has a wingspan of 12 m and a maximum take-off weight of 22 kg, conducted about 22 sorties and accumulated close to 37 flight hours.
L. Venkatakrishnan, NAL’s chief scientist and high-altitude platform programme director, told Jane’s, “The aircraft met or exceeded all the performance metrics set out for it, including a flight endurance of more than 8 hours 30 minutes and reaching an altitude of almost 3 km above mean sea level.” Venkatakrishnan added that metrics, including climb rate, maximum bank angle, turn radius, and one-engine-inoperative performance, were also assessed during the flight tests.
Mira Aerospace (UAE) and VEDA Aeronautics (India) are collaborating on a fixed-wing, solar-powered HAPS.
The collaboration pivots around Mira’s mature ApusNeo HAPS technology. VEDA serves as the “Make in India” front.
In March 2024, VEDA had committed to “deliver a HAPS platform specific to the Indian market within the first half of 2024.”
Prior to that statement, the company’s technology demonstrator HAPS unit flew in the Indian stratosphere — the only such flight in India to date.
The HAPS operates solely on solar energy and cruises autonomously at altitudes of 16-20 km for extended periods. It cruises at 18,000 m with a 35 kg payload and has an endurance of 30 to 45 days.
In January 2026, the Indian Army awarded a fast-track contract worth ₹168 crore (≈ USD 18.6 million) to Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research & Technologies (NRT) for its solar-powered Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS) UAV.
AS-HAPS
It appears that HAPS and AS-HAPS are two distinct projects. Only one of them, AS-HAPS, has received DAC AoN, indicating high development and procurement costs.
HAPS development has so far been privately funded, and the recent procurement contract is under the Indian Army’s emergency purchase authorisation.
Conclusion
In the past, India has focused solely on developing solar-powered high-altitude drones as pseudo-satellites. However, the focus has been on surveillance and communication relay.
The AoN for AS-HAPS appears to be a more ambitious project. Hopefully, Indian defence planners have factored in the enormous advantages that will accrue from integrating broadband internet capabilities into the planned AS-HAPS.
If the Barrage system delivers on its promise, it will likely do so at a very small fraction of the cost of deploying and maintaining the Starlink system. A similar spin-off could accrue to India from the AS-HAPS project.
- Vijainder K Thakur is a retired IAF Jaguar pilot, author, software architect, entrepreneur, and military analyst.
- THIS IS AN OPINION ARTICLE. VIEWS PERSONAL OF THE AUTHOR
- Follow the author @vkthakur
