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India Signs Rs 4,106 Crore Deals for GSAT-7C and Varunastra

India's Defence Ministry signed contracts worth about Rs 4,106 crore on October 15 for the GSAT-7C satellite for the Air Force and Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes for the Navy. Both systems were designed and built in India.

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India Signs Rs 4,106 Crore Deals for GSAT-7C and Varunastra

Key points

  • India's Defence Ministry signed contracts worth about Rs 4,106 crore on October 15 for a dedicated communications satellite for the Air Force and a new batch of heavyweight torpedoes for the Navy,…
  • The larger deal, worth Rs 2,563 crore, went to NewSpace India Limited in Bengaluru for the GSAT-7C satellite.
  • The second contract, worth Rs 1,543 crore, went to Bharat Dynamics Limited in Hyderabad for Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes.

India's Defence Ministry signed contracts worth about Rs 4,106 crore on October 15 for a dedicated communications satellite for the Air Force and a new batch of heavyweight torpedoes for the Navy, the ministry said. Both systems were designed and built in India.

The larger deal, worth Rs 2,563 crore, went to NewSpace India Limited in Bengaluru for the GSAT-7C satellite. The ministry described GSAT-7C as indigenously designed, developed and manufactured, and said it will give Air Force assets secure, resilient and seamless communication. Reporting on the contract said the satellite will carry end to end encrypted voice, data and video links and support software defined radios that extend Air Force communications beyond line of sight.

The second contract, worth Rs 1,543 crore, went to Bharat Dynamics Limited in Hyderabad for Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes. Varunastra is a ship launched anti-submarine torpedo developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory. It is electrically propelled, weighs about 1,850 kg, runs at up to 40 knots and has a range of about 40 km. It first entered Navy service in 2016.

Why the two deals belong together

One deal works in space, the other under water, and both close the same gap: talking and acting at long range without foreign systems in the chain. The Air Force already uses GSAT-7A, launched in 2018, and the Navy has used GSAT-7 since 2013, with GSAT-7R following in 2025. A further dedicated platform for the Air Force reflects how far its fighters, airborne warning aircraft and drones now operate from home bases. For the Navy, more Varunastra rounds add to its anti-submarine stock as submarine activity across the Indian Ocean rises.

Both contracts were signed in New Delhi in the presence of A. Anbarasu, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Department of Defence. The ministry linked the buys to its Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India programs, which push defence orders toward Indian suppliers.

What is not yet known

A signed contract is not a delivered system. The ministry has not announced a launch date for GSAT-7C or a delivery schedule for the torpedoes, and reporting on the satellite deal notes that its full operational timeline is still unset. The value of the deals is settled, about 431.98 million dollars in total. The dates that matter for squadrons and ships are not.

Sources