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Viasat Targets India for Satellite Manufacturing and Sovereign Space Partnerships

US satellite communications major Viasat is evaluating the manufacture of satellite subsystems in India and is in discussions with Indian companies on sovereign satellite opportunities, as the company looks to deepen its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing space markets.

Viasat India Managing Director Gautam Sharma said the company is also exploring the possibility of launching satellites from India and is engaging with Indian launch companies as part of a broader effort to develop partnerships that could eventually bring Indian suppliers into Viasat’s global supply chain. “We are seriously looking at manufacturing some subsystems in India,” Sharma said. On launching from India, he added that Viasat was looking at “all options.”

The company had previously disclosed plans to explore small Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite manufacturing in India, including potential collaboration with Indian startups on satellite buses and subsystems.

Sharma said Viasat is now discussing opportunities with Indian companies that could seek to build and operate their own small GEO or other satellites, including systems with full telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) capabilities.

The company is also examining partnerships with larger satellite operators looking to develop constellations for India or international markets.

Importantly, Viasat sees any manufacturing base established in India as potentially serving global customers rather than being limited to the domestic market.

“It’s not only for India, it’s also for exporting outside India,” Sharma said.

Viasat currently has more than 300 engineers in India, with established engineering centres in Chennai and Hyderabad. Sharma said the company expects these operations to expand significantly over the next five years.

India Emerges as a Strategic Space Market

Viasat’s interest comes as India’s private space sector moves from the initial phase of market opening to one increasingly focused on manufacturing scale, commercial demand and global integration.

Sharma noted that India had fewer than 10 space startups when the sector began opening to greater private participation, compared with roughly 450 today.

He said the next five to six years would be particularly important for the Indian space industry as the country seeks to increase its share of the global space economy. India has set a target of capturing an 8 per cent share of the global space economy by 2033, which Sharma valued at around $44 billion.

The creation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe, along with broader government reforms, has helped create a more supportive environment for private companies and international satellite operators, he said.

“There is a lot of respect which India is getting on the space sector side because of opening up of the market,” Sharma said.

For Viasat, this evolving ecosystem could provide an opportunity to combine the company’s satellite communications expertise with India’s growing capabilities in spacecraft manufacturing, components, launch services and engineering.

One of the more significant opportunities Viasat is exploring is the development of sovereign satellite systems for Indian customers.

Sharma said Viasat sees potential to provide satellite platforms and payloads to Indian companies seeking greater control over their own space infrastructure and communications capacity.

The company’s small GEO satellite platforms could offer capacity of approximately 170–175 Gbps, according to Sharma.

Viasat has previously indicated that it is examining small GEO satellite opportunities in India for both domestic and international markets. Under such a model, some payload technologies could continue to be sourced from the United States, while other subsystems, including satellite buses, could potentially be manufactured in India.

However, Sharma acknowledged that establishing a new manufacturing and supplier ecosystem would require careful consideration because Viasat already has established global supply chains.

“These are not easy decisions because you already have your supply chains in place, you’re trying to build something new,” he said.

The company is therefore evaluating the economics, production capabilities and supply-chain implications of localising satellite subsystem manufacturing.

Viasat is also in discussions with Indian space startups, particularly companies involved in launch activities, Sharma said, although he did not identify the companies.

Defence Remains a Core Indian Business

While the potential satellite manufacturing opportunity represents a longer-term expansion of Viasat’s Indian footprint, the company’s existing business is anchored in defence, aviation and maritime connectivity.

Viasat has a long-standing presence in India’s defence sector and provides L-band connectivity services to the country’s three armed forces.

The company is now working to modernise those networks by adding Global Xpress, or GX, capacity to a larger number of vessels and platforms.

“On the defence side, we continue to grow and that’s the area where we have strength in India,” Sharma said.

Aviation represents another major growth opportunity, although adoption of in-flight connectivity by Indian airlines has progressed more slowly than Viasat initially expected.

The company currently provides connectivity to more than 2,000 aircraft flying over India, although many are operated by international airlines. Viasat also provides connectivity to most private jets in the country as well as some government aircraft.

Sharma expects the Indian airline market to begin scaling over the next one to two years as regulatory and commercial conditions mature.

“We see it as a future market in next one or two years probably,” he said.

Maritime Connectivity Expands

Maritime connectivity is another area where Viasat has established a strong position in India.

Sharma said the company connects a majority of Indian ships and has worked with government and research organisations on satellite-enabled maritime applications.

The Directorate General of Shipping uses some Viasat technologies for vessel monitoring across the Indian Ocean region, while the company has also worked with the National Institute of Ocean Technology on satellite systems deployed on ocean buoys for applications including tsunami warning.

These deployments illustrate the broader role satellite communications can play beyond broadband, particularly in maritime safety, monitoring and resilient communications.

Viasat is also positioning its multi-orbit strategy as a key differentiator as competition in satellite broadband intensifies.

The company, which has more than two decades of experience in satellite communications and strengthened its global position through the acquisition of Inmarsat, faces increasing competition from Low Earth Orbit operators such as SpaceX’s Starlink and emerging Indian satellite broadband ambitions.

Rather than relying exclusively on a single orbital architecture, Viasat is pursuing a model that combines capacity from different orbits and frequency bands.

“Customers don’t look at orbits, customers want connectivity,” Sharma said.

Its NexusWave service, for instance, combines LEO capacity with Global Xpress and L-band connectivity, while terrestrial LTE networks can also be incorporated where available. The combination is designed to improve availability and resilience, particularly for demanding maritime and mobility applications.

Viasat is also developing aviation terminals capable of operating across multiple frequency bands and satellite constellations.

Sharma said Viasat views the emergence of Indian ambitions to develop LEO constellations positively, arguing that greater satellite capacity would ultimately benefit the country’s connectivity ecosystem.

“India needs a constellation,” he said, adding that it was encouraging to see Indian companies considering the development of LEO systems.

For Viasat, the opportunity in India is therefore extending beyond connectivity services. The company is now evaluating a deeper role across the space value chain—from engineering and subsystem manufacturing to sovereign satellite platforms, launch partnerships and potentially global supply-chain integration.