Can Pakistan Now Watch India’s Every Move? Inside the $406M Satellite Deal With China Quwa Premium

On 05 September, China’s Yicai Global reported that PIESAT Information Technology Co. signed a USD $406 million deal with the Government of Pakistan to assist the latter build “an integrated satellite system for global real-time communication and remote sensing.”

In its first phase, the program will see the “launch and operation of 20 satellites, the construction of a satellite manufacturing facility, and the development of supporting software.” Overall, the goal of the program is to “help Pakistan develop independent capabilities in satellite manufacturing, operations, and applications.”

Founded in 2008 and listed on Shanghai’s Star Market in 2019, PIESAT’s flagship initiative is the new “Nuwa” constellation. Nuwa is slated to be China’s largest commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) network, with a target of 114 satellites, 13 of which have reportedly launched.

The Pakistan deal is valued at nearly twice PIESAT’s 2024 revenue, and given the softer domestic demand in the Chinese market in 2025, the contract could be a financial lifeline for PIESAT.

For Pakistan, the agreement aligns with its long-term aim to design, manufacture, and potentially launch satellites domestically. In 2021, the government earmarked funding for a feasibility study of a local production site, the Pakistan Space Centre (PSC). However, those studies did not materialize into an actual facility, much less any substantive large-scale satellite manufacturing work.

It now appears the PSC concept has been rolled into this PIESAT contract. If this is the case, this new contract compresses the multi-year learning curve by packaging transfer-of-technology (ToT), factory setup, and constellation deployment into a single, integrated program rather than ad hoc purchases.

The acquisition also speaks to capability gaps observed during Pakistan’s recent conflict with India, notably the absence of a strong, sovereign imaging intelligence (IMINT) pipeline for target selection and post-strike battle damage assessment (BDA).

The problem was not solely a lack of satellites; rather, it was unreliable access to cloud-free, daylight electro-optical (EO) imagery and delays between the tasking and delivery. SAR – i.e., PIESAT’s core offering – addresses both constraints by providing an all weather, all-day, and rapid IMINT capability by enabling frequent ‘refreshes’ of the battlefield picture.

In short, this reported deal signals three key shifts in Pakistan’s space development.

• First, it is the clearest sign yet that Pakistan is decoupling SUPARCO from satellite procurement – and, in time, manufacturing. This follows a near-92% cut to SUPARCO’s annual budget (from USD $235 million in 2024–2025 to USD $19.5 million in 2025–2026).
  
  While this would shrink SUPARCO’s role in dual-use and defence-oriented space programs, it will also restore its original mandate to scientific research and economic applications. Hence, the acquisition of new satellites will be managed by a separate entity, likely from within the military’s structure.
  
  
• Second, the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) would likely stand up a new entity to manage satellite acquisition and, eventually, production. PIESAT could support the SPD in building that organization’s assembly, integration, and testing (AIT) lines, quality assurance, and a rolling-refresh plan to sustain performance over the constellation’s life.
  
  
• Third, the PIESAT package points to an ISR expansion with an emphasis on timely IMINT that can directly support Pakistan’s growing focus on preemptive strikes via Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

PIESAT specialises in remote sensing satellites with an emphasis on interferometric SAR (InSAR). With sufficient satellites, the company claims revisit rates of up to 60 minutes at sub-0.5 m resolution. In effect, Pakistan could generate fresh imagery within a 24-hour cycle, potentially up to within one hour in certain conditions.