The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned a Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) system to improve the speed and accuracy of detecting distress signals from vessels and people at sea, marking a significant upgrade to India’s satellite-aided maritime rescue infrastructure.
The system was commissioned alongside a sea-based drill conducted off the Paradip coast during SAREX 2026, the Indian Coast Guard’s biennial national maritime search and rescue exercise. Coast Guard director-general Paramesh Sivamani described MEOSAR as a “game changer” in maritime emergency response and said it addresses key limitations in existing satellite-based distress alert networks.
MEOSAR uses navigation satellite constellations including GPS, Galileo and GLONASS to receive distress signals simultaneously through multiple satellites. This enables near real-time detection and more precise positioning of emergency beacons, allowing rescue authorities to identify the location of an incident more quickly.
The system is designed to combine the strengths of the two satellite networks traditionally used for search and rescue. Low Earth Orbit Search and Rescue, or LEOSAR, satellites operate at an altitude of about 850 km to 1,000 km and can locate distress beacons. However, an alert transmitted after a satellite has passed over an incident site may not be detected until the satellite returns on its next orbit, potentially delaying the response.
Geostationary Search and Rescue, or GEOSAR, satellites are positioned nearly 36,000 km above the Earth and can provide near-instant detection across much of the globe. Their coverage, however, is limited to approximately 70 degrees north and south latitude, leaving gaps in polar regions, according to Coast Guard officials. MEOSAR operates in the medium Earth orbit range between 2,000 km and 20,000 km and is intended to overcome these limitations.
The commissioning includes an indigenous Indian Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal, or MEOLUT. The seven-channel ground station is equipped with advanced antennas and digital signal-processing systems. It determines the location of distress beacons, processes emergency alerts and feeds the information into the national search-and-rescue network.
The Coast Guard said the system will strengthen the technological backbone of maritime emergency response. Its role is particularly important in a country where search-and-rescue operations require coordination between satellite systems, ground facilities, maritime agencies and rescue units operating at sea. The latest commissioning places faster signal detection and more accurate beacon positioning at the centre of that chain.
“Signals guide, technology connects and the ICG coordinates, ensuring that no lives are lost at sea,” Sivamani said. The Coast Guard’s sea-based drill off Paradip formed part of the wider SAREX 2026 exercise, during which the new capability was demonstrated in the context of national maritime search-and-rescue operations.
