INDIA'S MILITARY SATELLITE OPTIONS

There is a growing requirement for dedicated military early-warning satellites, given the missile threats from both China and Pakistan, argues SANJAY BADRI MAHARAJ

- SANJAY BADRI MAHARAJ

On November 27, 2019, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), placed 13 Nanosatellites from the United States plus an Indian Earth Observation Satellite – the CARTOSAT-3 – into orbit. While ostensibly for earth observation to assist with infrastructure and coastal development, the image resolution of 25cm lends itself to defence purposes. India has a long history of deploying dual purpose satellites with civilian and military purposes.

India’s efforts

On June 10, 2008, the then Defence Minister A K Antony announced the formation of an Integrated Space Cell under the aegis of the Integrated Defence Services Headquarters which would act as a single entity to facilitate integration among the Armed Forces, the Department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was supposed to be operated jointly by the three service arms, the DRDO, and the ISRO. While India has not yet developed a dedicated space command – such as the Russian Space Forces or the United States Space Command – India does make extensive use of space technology for its military needs but has chosen the path of dual-use satellites to fulfill its requirements.

Indian satellites with military applications

India today has some fourteen operational satellites dedicated to remote sensing, making the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) series the largest civilian remote sensing constellation in orbit. All of the IRS satellites are placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit, being launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), making both the satellites and launch vehicle entirely Indian. The IRS satellites provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions, some having a spatial resolution of 1 meter or below which with definite military applications.