MILITARISATION OF SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY

If anything, satellite imaging company Vantor signing recently a contract with the U.S. Space Force to help run a "neighbourhood watch" in space to monitor for space-based threats like rogue satellites or debris that ground sensors may miss has reconfirmed a growing trend.

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And that is the significant role the private sector now plays in developing and operating spy satellites of the world's major military powers. This marks a major shift from the traditional model, where only government space agencies and large defence contractors handled such programs. But now the commercial sector is often developing technology faster and cheaper. Defence agencies are leveraging that.

Since the earliest reconnaissance satellites of the Cold War era, space-based assets have evolved into "silent sentinels" that offer unrivalled advantages in "Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR); secure communications; navigation and precision strike; missile defence early warning; electronic warfare support; and space situational awareness".

As has been proved in the ongoing RussianUkraine War, recent "air-wars" between India and Pakistan (during Operation Sindoor, satellite-based surveillance helped Indian defence forces to act swiftly by offering accurate intelligence, including the trajectory and movement of drones and missiles), and series of missiles exchanges in the Middle East, involving particularly the U.S. and Israel, over the last few years, military satellites have become vital force multipliers indicating a nation's military strength and readiness. And here, the private sector is playing an important role. The private sector is participating in the production of the satellites and their components; development or innovation of technologies for satellite propulsion, highresolution cameras, and hyperspectral and radar imaging; building satellite constellations; putting intelligence-gathering satellites into orbit; and providing advanced imagery and data analytics to governments and intelligence agencies, complementing or, in some cases, substituting for government-owned capabilities.