Hyderabad, July 9 -- India has embarked on an ambitious project to put in place a constellation of satellites for intelligence gathering.

Kepler Aerospace will develop what it claims as the world's first autonomous swarming satellite constellation for intelligence gathering. The company based in Bengaluru has secured a $4 million contract from the Ministry of Defence to develop it.

"We're essentially creating a brain in space," said Navneet Singh, Kepler Aerospace's founder and CEO. "Six satellites that think, talk to each other, and act on their own. When they spot something suspicious, they don't call home for permission - they investigate immediately," he said in a statement.

The satellites will serve the Defence Space Agency, Headq...