The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and India’s Innovations for Defence Excellence have launched the Dual Horizons: U.S.-India Satellite Tracking Challenge, seeking detection and tracking solutions for satellites in contested, low Earth orbit environments.
In collaboration with the U.S. Space Force-Indo-Pacific and the Space Domain Awareness Tools, Application & Processing, DIU and IDEX are looking for algorithms capable of detecting evasive satellites within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility in real time.
Space Domain Advantage
The monthlong challenge will kick off with an information session on Dec. 4, with a final pitch session scheduled for February 2025.
It is the third challenge under the INDUS-X bilateral defense initiative, short for India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem. A prize pool of $150,000 is available for early- to mid-stage companies. Participants will receive static datasets and access to near-real-time data via an API for experimentation.
“This challenge will help both governments to identify best-of-breed technologies that our militaries need to maintain advantage in the space domain,” Aditi Kumar, DIU’s deputy director for strategy, policy and national security partnerships, said in a statement.
According to Maj. Gen. Steve Butow, director of DIU’s space portfolio, the collaborative work contributes to the overall space mission.
“Tapping into the technological advancements from our partners and allies gets us closer to the critical integration of our efforts in the space domain,” he said. “More broadly, our efforts to grow the space industrial base continues to be a priority.”
Technology Partnership
The INDUS-X platform was launched by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Indian Ministry of Defense in 2023 to strengthen defense industry cooperation and foster technological innovation between American and Indian governments, businesses and academic institutions.
The bilateral initiative’s collaboration agenda includes joint prize challenges, which aim to support startups in developing dual-use technological solutions for defense challenges shared by the two nations. Participants who submit the best ideas will receive prizes that include an opportunity to receive financial support, which could lead to their business partnering with DOD.
Other startup-focused agendas include an Indo-U.S. joint innovation fund for deep-tech defense companies, standardization of Indo-U.S. certifications for tech firms, and partnerships with universities and accelerators.