PierSight, an Ahmedabad-based space tech startup, has opened trials for Vidura, an airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload designed for tactical surveillance through forest cover.
The company said defence operators can begin testing the system immediately. Vidura aims to support reconnaissance by detecting concealed movement and structures beneath dense foliage in all weather conditions.
The radar system works through foliage, cloud cover and darkness, unlike optical systems that often struggle in such environments. It can also support stand-off intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions from friendly airspace. The company developed the system in India and designed it for use across multiple unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms.
Vidura marks PierSight’s second SAR system after Varuna, the company’s planned 32-satellite SAR+AIS constellation for maritime surveillance. The startup said it adapted the same SAR technology used for maritime monitoring to land-based tactical surveillance.
“When we built Varuna, we built more than a satellite; we built a team and a body of IP that could be reshaped for any SAR mission,” said Gaurav Seth, Founder and CEO of PierSight. “Vidura came directly out of that work. The same engineers, the same core technology, redesigned for a completely different operating environment.”
PierSight said Vidura supports P, L, and X-band configurations, allowing wide-swath coverage. The system also remains drone-agnostic, which means defence personnel can deploy it on different UAV platforms without depending on a single manufacturer.
The system has already secured initial contracts from a few organisations and plans to conduct several field trials through 2026. PierSight also seeks partnerships with drone manufacturers to integrate the radar payload into their systems and take a combined radar-drone solution to market.
Founded by former ISRO scientist Gaurav Seth, PierSight builds application-specific SAR systems for maritime, defence and related sectors. The company said Vidura is currently available through an early, limited-access launch for defence operators.
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