In the face of rapid evolution of warfare, there is a dire need to boost geospatial intelligence, reconnaissance, navigation, and situational awareness capabilities across the spectrum of space defence.
The fact that an action which should have ended in three weeks has stretched beyond a year, is an indication that when it comes to territorial conflicts, unfortunately the brute force of war becomes the inescapable recourse to decide the outcome.
Prof. Arup Dasgupta arup@geospatialworld.net Managing Editor
While the Ukraine-Russia conflict has grabbed headlines, there are other covert wars involving salami slicing and outright terrorism. Thus, all countries are forced to invest in assets to detect and thwart overt and covert moves to forcibly enforce asymmetric territorial claims. The desire for global domination also leads to conflicts through proxies.
In this situation, a peaceful country like India has no choice but to commit limited resources to building up a defensive deterrence mechanism encompassing land, sea, air, and now space. Till recently, India eschewed joining military alliances but current events have led it to join the Quad to protect its interests in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and along the Western, Northern and North-eastern land borders.
What strength does India bring to the Quad?
The US has 200 to 300 satellites in orbit for supporting military operations globally. China, the main concern of the Quad, has a similar number. India has ten to fifteen satellites dedicated
for military use. It also uses civilian satellite resources as well which may add another five to ten satellites. India is very weak in ELINT and SIGINT, having launched only two experimental satellites.
While the US and China have thriving industries that are able to manufacture and deploy these resources on a continuous basis, India is solely dependent on ISRO and its supporting industries.
US has a dedicated military organization, the Space Force, While China has the PLA Strategic Support Force. In contrast, the Indian Defense Space Agency and the Defense Space Research Agency were set up in late 2019, but still continue to be works-inprogress.
While there is a very good understanding of what the needs are for establishing a space based defense system, the problem lies in the lack of the necessary infrastructure to design, build and deploy the components of the system.
The missile systems are manufactured by Bharat Dynamics, but when it comes to satellites, the DSA looks to ISRO which does not have a military mandate. It is imperative that with the New Space Policy regime, the private industry needs to get into the act and become a major supplier to the military services.
weighed a staggering 420 tons. At 10.42 a.m., it took off into the sky, successfully escaping the strong pull of Earth’s gravity. This significant launch would guarantee that NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) services will continue to operate.
NavIC is an Indian regional satellite navigation system similar to GPS that provides accurate and real-time navigation in India and a region that extends to 1,500 kilometers around the Indian mainland, reported IANS.
The positioning of NavIC signals are intended to be better than 20 meters and timing accuracy is intended to be 50 nanoseconds.
The primary mission of the 51.7 -meter-tall Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is to deploy the navigation satellite NVS-01 weighing 2,232 kg.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the second-generation Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), about 130 km from Chennai on 29th May.
The powerful GSLV rocket which had three stages, stood tall at a height of 51.7 meters and
The NVS-01 carries navigation payloads L1, L5 and S groups and in correlation with the past one, the second-generation satellite would likewise convey an indigenously created rubidium atomic clock.
The satellite with a mission life of 12 years is powered by two solar arrays and lithium-ion batteries capable of generating up to 2.4 kW of power during eclipse. The NVS series of satellites will maintain and enhance NAVIC with advanced features.
nologies to boost India’s military space capability and plans. He also highlighted that increasing weaponisation of space has led to the war in space.
He further drew attention to explore the field of miniaturization of satellites and reusable launch platforms to mitigate cost, and challenges and accelerate the pace of augmenting India’s space-based capabilities.
At the Indian DefSpace Symposium 2023 which was organised by the Indian Space Association, Chief of the Defence Staff,
General Anil Chauhan pointed out the need for building dual-use platforms with special focus on incorporating emerging tech-
Chauhan said that the need for creating a dual-use platform could be used in future both by the military and by the private sector. There is a need for India to enhance offensive and defensive capabilities in space domain. The most technologies in space are dual-use technologies, but to use them, they need to be adapted in a definite way, he asserted.
India and the European Union have agreed for bilateral cooperation in a host of sectors such as AI, Semiconductor, Telecom, and Digital Infrastructure.
Both sides have agreed to collaborate within the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelli-
gence (GPAI). This collaboration will include responsible and trustworthy AI activities in research and innovation, according to the India-EU joint statement.
Additionally, the two sides will also look to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
by September 2023 which will pertain to coordinating and strategizing policies for the semiconductor sector.
For IT and Telecoms Standardization, both India and the EU will collaborate on making interoperable standards the key priority. The importance of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for developing an open and inclusive digital economy has deepened and both sides recognize it. To further the cause, the two sides have decided to work together on enhancing the interoperability of their respective Digital Public Infrastructures. They will jointly promote and preserve security solutions for the betterment of developing countries.
L&T Technology Services (LTTS) and Ansys have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the LTTS-Ansys Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Digital Twin technology.
The CoE will help in demonstrations, proof of concepts, and easier adoption of the Digital Twin technology which the Mumbai-based engineering service company LTTS looks to showcase. Moreover, simulation software firm Ansys’ Twin Builder platform will allow LTTS to expand its share in the Digital Twin market.
The government of India will also work with LTTS to extend wider reach, better interopera-
bility, increase awareness, and development of forward-looking solutions. Additionally, improved manufacturing and supply chain processes will also be introduced.
Currently, the Digital Twin market is valued at $6.5 billion. It is expected to reach $125.7 billion by 2030 with a growth rate of CAGR of 39.48%. This collaboration will help LTTS get a good foot-hold in the Digital Twin growth expedition.
essential data across government departments and also regulate the usage of geospatial data.
Delhi cabinet approved a draft of the Delhi Geospatial Data Infrastructure (Management, Control, Administration, Security, and Safety) Bill, 2011. The Bill will help to reduce the time to share
A senior official from the information technology (IT) department said they now have data available for both, above the ground as well as 10 meters below the ground, collected through aerial photographs and using sophisticated systems to study the underground system.
The bill aims to create, update, manage, monetize, disseminate, and share Goa’s geospatial data including road, water, sewerage, electricity, telecommunication, internet services, and other service utilities.
The IT department intends to provide a reliable and robust GIS-based decision support system to the state authorities and citizens.
To make the city prepared to address climate change, UT administration will soon start GIS assisted monitoring of air, water, forest and urbanization in the city, as reported by TOI. With the help of satellite data and fieldlevel monitoring the impact of climate change will be monitored.
The work is being done under
Indian Defence Secretary
Giridhar Aramane invited Japanese industries to look at investment opportunities in India under ‘Make in India’, in policy dialogue with Japan at the 7th IndiaJapan Defence Policy Dialogue in New Delhi.
He was holding the IndiaJapan Defence Policy Dialogue with Japanese Vice-Minister of Defence for International Affairs Oka Masami. The meeting encompassed a wide array of subjects, as stated by the
the supervision of Climate Change Centre established by the UT with financial assistance from the department of science and technology. To make the city resilient to climate change, the focus will be on optimum management of water, air, forest cover and urbanisation.
A GIS web portal has been made where all the data gener-
ated using satellite and field based sensors will be available to citizens. The live monitored information on a map will be available on the site. E-tender for setting up of a geospatial climate change and environmental monitoring, analysis and dissemination portal has been floated by the department of environment.
Ministry of Defence (MoD). These topics ranged from Service-level exercises and engagements to regional security matters, as well as collaboration in defence equipment and technology.
The Japanese Vice Minister also highlighted policy updates from their recently released National Security Strategy and National Defence Strategy.
During the dialogue, India and Japan also decided to reinforce the conduct of the inaugural fighter exercise ‘Veer Guardian’ between Indian Air Force and the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force. The focus placed by Defence Secretary Aramane was on fostering a stronger partnership between the defence industries of both nations.
Pan India CORS Network is being established by Survey of India, to achieve centimetre level accuracy position in real time.
Total 1008 Continuously operating stations will be established in entire country, which will be capable of providing better than 3 cm accuracy in Real Time.
CORS Network in state of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka and Maharashtra is operational and services are available on SoI service Portal.
Real-time and Precision positioning services by SoI’s CORS Network, are being offered on No charge basis for 3 months from 1st June, 2022 to all citizens in the state of U.P., Uttrakhand, Haryana, N.C.R., Maharashtra and Karnataka.
http://cors.surveyofindia.gov.in
Geospatial Intelligence has become indispensable to modern militaries for a host of purposes, especially in the wake of ongoing Ukraine Conflict. In this scenario, there’s an immediate need to focus on spatial needs of the armed forces, as well as involve them in policy formulations.
GEOINT comprises of imagery, imagery intelligence (IMINT) and geospatial information. The full utility of GEOINT comes from the integration of all three, resulting in more comprehensive, tailored geospatial intelligence products for meeting the wider requirements of the Armed Forces.
It gives them the ability to rapidly respond to threats, providing geo-referenced visual and data products that serve as foundation and common frame of reference. These products include interactive maps, virtual flythroughs, and walk-through mission scenarios.
The Ukraine War is witnessing optimization of GEOINT, especially
By Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (Retd)the use of satellites and drones, for real-time situational awareness for hi-tech engagement.
Concurrently, the Indo-Pacific has gained prominence with American moves to checkmate Chinese aggression. Indian concerns include the continuing standoff with China, Pakistan’s proxy war, the China-Pakistan nexus, and emerging threats in the Indian-Ocean with increased Chinese presence in the waters and on Coco Islands.
The importance of GEOINT or Geospatial Intelligence for our Armed Forces remains vital, as is the need for adopting emerging GEOINT technologies, developing smart and integrated security ecosystems, plus international cooperation, although the latter should only be considered a ‘bonus’.
China's YaoGan constellation of military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites supports a range of geospatial intelligence capabilities: optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and electronic intelligence (ELINT).
China has 24x7 satellite cover astride the Tibet India border and recently deployed an AI-controlled satellite to surreptitiously monitor military areas in Bihar and a port in Japan. Beijing has also been using air balloons and hi-speed drones for collection of GEOINT.
India’s National Geospatial Policy 2022 aims to set up high resolution topographical survey and mapping national framework,
and a high-accuracy Digital Elevation Model (DEM) by 2030 (full implementation by 2050) to promote indigenous geospatial data industry.
The focus on commercialization is well understood considering that India’s geospatial economy is expected to grow at 12.8 percent and cross INR 63,000 crore by 2025. However, this should not be a reason to overlook the geospatial requirements of the Armed Forces.
Ironically, the 17-strong Geospatial Data Promotion Development Committee (GDPFC) has only one member from the Ministry of Defence (MoD); who can hardly ensure the considerable responsibility and role of his ministry in geospatial data acquisition – unless the ministry wants to wash its hands off from this responsibility and wishws the Armed Forces to deal directly with other governmental bodies and the industry.
Moreover, the military component in the Survey of India (SoI) has been eliminated altogether; relegating defence to second place. This needs serious revision, given that the military is a major user of geospatial data.
The relevance of geospatial data will keep growing in modern wars with rapid advances in technology and weapon systems, including unmanned and hypersonic platforms.
The security of geospatial data required by the Armed Forces is more complex than relational geospatial data; requiring data organization and structures to deny data manipulation and theft that would seriously compromise national security.
The SoI-Military Survey bond required strengthening but severing it and reducing the SoI to “peripheral” role is a setback for the Armed Forces.
Establishment of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) has been a good initiative but it apparently deals only with some aspects pertaining to creation of metadata of available geospatial data. It does not cater inputs from the intelligence community or the Armed Forces.
We need to work on fusion of intelligence data. Additionally, the Defence Intelligence Agency
(DIA) is the central repository for all intelligence inputs pertaining to the three Services including Imagery Intelligence (IMINT) and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT). But have we integrated the aspects of topography with the DIA.
Within the existing setup, do we have adequate resources in terms of remote sensing, ELINT payloads and cartography to produce high quality fused data?
Future wars will be fought in a completely integrated manner by the three Services, for which, real time C4I2SR and common situational picture are essential. The Services have been working
Ability to continuously create and interact in real time with real-time spatiotemporal data and its applications. 1
Deploy mobile geospatial sensor platforms like small satellites and drones in adequate numbers in orbits tailored to the mission. 2
Develop and employ small/miniature and low cost devices and sensors with wireless connectivity, as part of Internet of Things (IoT). 3
Broader wireless and web networks to ensure better and faster data transmission and geospatial data distribution to end users. 4
Improved high-performance computing networks and cloud computing services such as CyberGIS and Cloud GIS with requisite security. 5
Indian Armed Forces must strive to master the following capabilities in conjunction with industry
to acquire Network Centric Warfare (NCW) capabilities, which now must be fully integrated, even as wars would need a national response, not by the military alone.
The global fast-paced technological advances in terms of geospatial intelligence need to be widely adopted.
We need to dispense with compartmentalized thinking and switch to complete integration. For example, we are still launching satellites separately for the Army, Navy and Air Force, whereas, these could have been catering for all three with adequate redundancy in
incapacitated or shot down by the enemy.
China has successfully allowed its remote sensing satellite ‘Qimingxing-1’ in low-earth orbit to observe parts of India where army units are stationed. It also watches over a Japanese port that often stations US naval vessels, using AI from a ground-based station for the experiment— the operation for redeployment of the satellite was autonomous without any human intervention.
Following this revelation, there has been discussion in the media about the dangers of AI-controlled satellites, drones or robots going rogue, which in military engage-
There is a view that India should not let its satellites be AI-controlled. However, acquiring a capability and employing it are two different issues.
India should develop this capability as all major powers will surely do. There has been plenty of noise against weaponizing space or for that matter nukes, but research, development and deployment continues unabated.
Lt. Gen Katoch superannuated as DG Information Systems of Indian Army in 2009. He has authored books titled ‘India’s Special Forces’ , ‘Indian Military and Network Centric Warfare’ and ‘Special Operations Case Studies – Lessons for India’.
DefSat India 2023, a three-day event and expo on international defence and space took place in New Delhi. The conference had multiple panel discussions on topics ranging from RussiaUkraine war, and India's space capabilities, to the gaps and its use in the defence and military area. Many affiliates from government departments of space and military forces, defence personalities, space tech start-ups, and academia participated in the event.
The conference began with an important remark, noting that space diplomacy is becoming more crucial as nations endeavour to create principles and rules that regulate the military usage of space-based resources.
The highlights include, “cooperation initiatives, such as commer-
The global race to outer space has surpassed preceding strides. Nations like India can ill afford to procrastinate.
cial trade, combined research and development, and shared use of space-based resources, can aid in the establishment of mutual trust, advancement of transparency, and reduction of misunderstandings.”
The striking statement remains, “One who controls space, controls space battles and 21st century.”
Ambassador Bhaskar Balakrishnan, Fellow for Science Diplomacy at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi emphasized on the ongoing war that has exposed geopolitical tensions, and a lack of legal clarity on space, which ultimately contribute to the militarization of space.
“International cooperation is certainly hindered by the UkraineRussia conflict and the US-China tensions. There is a trend towards
militarising space through dual-purpose satellites and the development of ASAT technology which the US has issued a declaration to suspend.
There is a lack of legal clarity regarding the use of commercial entities. If a commercial entity works in space, under what law does it come? Does it come under
the home country’s law or the regime of the country under which it is operating? Such legal loopholes must be cleared up as they can lead to misunderstandings,” he said.
Dr P.K Jain, Director- Program Management and Authorisation, IN-SPACe mentioned, “Space diplomacy provides access to global technology and global funds. In the current scenario, ISRO has been doing all the heavy lifting and handling all the space activities, where the space industry is like a vendor to ISRO.”
He addressed that it is time to take the work done by ISRO to the next level, for that participation of industry is very necessary whose enabling mechanism is already in place.
ISRO has more than 275 MoUs signed with 60 plus countries and have several joint satellite projects,
NISAR being a good example which is an earth observing mission between NASA and ISRO.
The global race to outer space has surpassed preceding strides. Nations like India cannot afford to procrastinate or regulate this domain to lower significance.
Dr. S Somanath, Secretary, Department of Space, and ISRO's Chairman said, “There is an urgent need to create demand, expansion of space launch capabilities, application capabilities and usability widely across the space sector. We need to connect artificial intelligence and drone technologies along with quantum communication capabilities with space to get the maximum benefit out of space sector.”
Full potential of space for the strategic purposes was not recognised earlier, as it was primarily utilised for public good and civilian use. India has the capability to launch in a reasonable manner, but further scaling up and building up demand is essential as space investment is capital-intensive.
The conference focussed on the intersection of strategy and industrialisation for space applications in national security.
The DefSat initiative was organised to establish a common roadmap for the space and defence sectors. This effort will be achieved through cyclic debates that will be held every six months, to ensure continuous progress towards the goal.
“Private space players can very quickly step-in and provide solutions with scales that
governments cannot. The future wars and peaceful economic growth are both reliant of space capabilities. India must define its space philosophy, doctrine and strategy to enable building a tight roadmap for the industry,” said Lt. Gen. PJS Pannu, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd), Former Deputy Chief, Indian Integrated Defense Staff (Operations), Chair of the Aerospace and Defence Committee, SIA-India.
Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri pointed out that with the rate at which technology developments are taking place, “we will soon have to be very clear what we need to develop within the country and what needs to be sourced from outside until we develop the technologically sound resources.
That can be done by developing new institutes, collaborative efforts within existing institutes to develop future ready skilled and capable resources.”
“For R&D ecosystem, technological capabilities have to be enhanced at institutional level. There is a need for creation of action plans, Research and development platforms as well as observation capabilities for the entire nation,” added Dr. Somanath.
“India is ushering into the commercial space and satellite communication era where the opportunities are humongous, enhancing its global digital footprint. The emergence of the commercial space sector and startups throw up some attractive possibilities for the country’s Defence requirements,” stated Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, President, SIA-India.
In the coming era of hybrid, networked warfare, pre-eminence of spatial insights and space, changing face of reconnaissance, and increasing proliferation of multiple next-gen applications, it becomes imperative for India to be at the cutting edge of defense tech.
Militarisation of space is inevitable as technology empowers space and the cyber domains to control the outcome on the battleground. The future of warfare is being shaped by cutting-edge and transformational technologies. Space is now influencing how
By Lt Gen PJS Pannu (Retd)
the battles would be fought on the ground, making current landbased systems and traditional technologies relatively redundant.
This leads to a serious dislocation in the traditional ways, not just for militaries and industries, but nations as well. The Fourth Industrial Age has brought in
‘Information and knowledge’ as a new paradigm where operations have become more complex as threats are difficult to assimilate. Nations have understood the value of Artificial Intelligence (AI), linked to Communication and Technology. It has been realized that the Space and Cyber domains are intertwined, and both must grow synergistically.
New forms of warfare depends on disruptive technologies where data supremacy and sovereignty are seen as essential prerequisites to staying in the race for military dominance.
India, an active user and contributor to many features of the knowledge economy, needs to put in place a mechanism for ensuring data sovereignty.
Building and expanding national power is deeply influenced by the capacity and capability in owning credible
data in totality and its protection against all types of threats.
In the 21st century, data is wealth that exudes power. The more data you have, the better analytical ability you possess, if you know how to interpret it. There's a need be cautious about wrong and manipulated data fed into our systems.
Countries that lead in AI and quantum technology will dominate the coming decade. Information and Intelligence are the foundational needs for military
and business success. All nations are in a race to achieve Information Dominance.
Towards a New Arena Military service teaches the importance of ‘high ground’ and the ‘information’ as key factors for success. ‘Space’ is now seen as an essential and most significant domain of modern warfare.
It is the ‘ultimate high ground’ that makes it possible for an ordinary citizen to watch the world from God's eye.
Space Wars would be relevant because of the universal application of space technology to most digital platforms. PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing), Communication, Surveillance, planetary dominance, and counter-space assets would dominate the security paradigm.
New forms of warfare depend on disruptive technologies where data supremacy and sovereignty are seen as essential prerequisites to staying in the race for military dominance
Increasingly, 5G and beyond - IoT (Internet of Things) would be all-pervasive moving IoMT (Internet of Military Things) for strategic applications and warfighting applications.
Surveillance and Target Acquisition would be outsourced to space providing better resolution to identify the target and engage with the missiles of precision.
Due to these factors, decision-making would be more complex as Information Operations (IO) would need a highly developed Decision Support System (DSS) by cutting down the OO-SS-DA (Observe-OrientShare-Secure-Decide-Act) loop.
To counter the impact of disruptive technologies, we should not only nullify the technology edge of the adversary but build deterrence through superiority, making their military systems redundant.
Therefore, the Defence Space industry must invest in niche and disruptive technologies which are globally acceptable, competitive, secure, cutting-edge, and superior to that of the adversary.
‘Knowing the adversary’ has always been the most challenging part of warfare. With technology becoming its prime driver, ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance ) has emerged as the basis for IPB (Intelligence Preparation of the battlefield) and a tool to fight precise battles.
If an adversary is seen, identified, and tracked, it can be targeted at will, using weapons of choice. Space has emerged as the most important tool for ISR.
Most satellites in LEO and MEO are ideal, however, those on the lower orbit, are fast-moving and need several passes and short revisit capability for constant imagery updates. For military purposes, a resolution of less than a meter (sub-metric) and hyperspectral imagery is compulsory.
As the resolution improves it gets possible to identify the target with a higher spatial resolution. Currently, 25-30 cm resolution is the best publicly available.
Satellite with the highest resolution was probably the KH-8 Gambit, known for imagery better than four inches of ground-resolved distance. This resolution may have been great enough to see a golf ball, but not read newspapers. 5 cm resolution is known within the limits of spy satellites.
American Hubble Space Telescope is meant for astronomical research. It is more focused on studying the universe. Hubble certainly will have to be more sensitive than a spy satellite, because the nebulas are too dim to see otherwise, while Earth is bright.
They probably have similar optics, but Hubble will be forced at infinity focus, while a spy satellite might adjust slightly.
China is reportedly developing a new telescope with a 300-times larger field of view than the Hubble Space Telescope.
The country is also constantly upgrading the China High-Resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS). There are rapid technology upgrades in every field of
space taking place in the world and catching up would not be easy unless early steps are taken.
Beijing has invested in QC-QT (Quantum Computing and Technology), which would harden most of their future satellites. Post-launch of the first-ever Quantum communications satellite in 2016, China is experimenting with new capabilities. ISRO needs to focus on closing this gap by involving private players as technology partners.
India conducted the first space wargame named IndSpaceX in July 2019. That time, three new entities of future warfare, the Defence Space Agency, Defence Cyber Agency, and the Armed Forces Special Forces Division, were announced under the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff for integrated operations.
What sets these exercises apart from similar past events is that for the first time select representatives from the industry, academia, government, and professionals were invited to brainstorm space scenarios
With the advent of AI and sensors, it would be possible to robotize the battlefield. This would indeed be a gamechanger. Battles can be fought on pre-programmed ‘targeting on appearance’
based on the ground realities.
While most space-faring nations started their space programs with a military objective, India did exactly the opposite, initially using space to promote developmental activities.
On 27 March, 2019 India successfully conducted an Anti-Satellite (ASAT) test by destroying its satellite in the Low Earth Orbit, under an operation code-named Mission Shakti which was hit with a Kinetic Kill vehicle.
This demonstration made us the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to have successfully tested an ASAT weapon, signaling the country’s will and capability to use space, if necessary, for military purposes, while committing to peaceful space exploration.
Recent creation of INSPACe is a positive step to encourage start-ups and private players to contribute towards the development of dual-use space technologies and strive for indigenization.
Early this year, on April 23, another space exercise by the name of Ind-Space Exercise was held, led by the industry, under the aegis of the Satcom Industries Association (SIA), the knowledge partnership of the Indian Military Think Tanks such as Centre for Joint warfare and
studies (CENJOWS), Centre for Land warfare and Studies (CLAWS), National Marine Foundation (NMF) and Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS).
This was the first Industrial Space Wargame conducted at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, as part of DefSat 2023.
Valuable lesson from these events is that India must use whole national approach to develop space domain through dual-use space capability.
Military space capability would continuously develop with DRDO and with public-private partnerships. The importance of space diplomacy and space collaboration would certainly optimize strategic needs of the nation as it continues to develop indigenous capability.
In recent times, the private space sector has played a significant role in providing ISR and communication support in clashes. The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict is a prime example.
Many private and international players are providing ‘Data-as-a-Service’ (DaaS) or even Intelligence-as-a-Service (IaaS) for which space diplomacy becomes an essential component of Military diplomacy. SSA (Space Situational Awareness) is also significant part of intelligence.
The CDS and Chief of Air Staff have urged the need to develop defensive and offensive capabilities in space. Space Warfare concepts of the nation would need to be defined; this would be possible only if doctrinal aspects are debated and enshrined as an integrated philosophy.
It is necessary for India to plan for capabilities of data services during the surge needs of conflict, therefore ‘Rapid Response’ needs attention such as ‘Launch on Demand' (LOD), and rapid activation such as Activation on Demand (AOD) must be factored into Military Space Capacity Development.
One of the significant issues that were discussed during the DefSat 2023 was the emerging role of near-space technologies. The A2AD (Anti Access and Area Denial) in the sovereign Air Space beyond 20-25 Km becomes a serious challenge. On the other side, the outer space above the Karman line that begins at 100 km is becoming increasingly congested.
Indian Air Force recently published Aerospace doctrine, declaring airspace and outer space as a continuum. It is realized that drones, balloons, and HAAPS need more attention as part of the aerospace domain. Aerial Photography and drone cameras are reliable but have a limit to the range they can fly.
During the exercise, certain technologies were discussed that make it possible to fly drones in tandem with satellites to beat the weather/cloud cover and /or amplify the pictures of satellites by terrain correlation.
The Defence Space industry must invest in niche and disruptive technologies which are globally acceptable, competitive, secure, cutting-edge, and superior to that of the adversary
Swarms of surveillance drones can be made to fly over the same territory being covered in real-time by the satellite. Low-flying drones, captive to satellites, can bring excellent real-time results.
Indian Army currently uses Israeli Heron I for surveillance with a ceiling altitude of 30,000 ft, and now is set to acquire Heron II with 45 hours of endurance. The Navy is using MQ 9B Sea Guardian Drones, a variant of an iconic armed predator.
The MQ-9B drone can fly for about 48 hours and carry a payload of about 1,700 kilo-
grams (3,700 pounds). It will give the Indian Navy the ability to better monitor Chinese warships in the southern Indian Ocean, equipping. it to engage targets along the LOC or LAC.
Space Wars would keep the human soldier away from the fires and tribulations of the battlefield, with inherent safety would be provided by fighting from standoff ranges. Remote-controlled wars would be an extension of the ‘Systems of Systems’ network.
The digital arena and Industry 4.0 would make it possible to create a network with Command,
Control, Communications, Computers, and Cyber (C-5) connecting machines with the surveillance means of enmeshing ground and aerial platforms, including drones and satellites, making ISR a real-time possibility.
Quantum Leap Sky and space would provide a strategic vantage point for decison-makers at operational and strategic levels. There would be enough data and information available to decide, cutting short the Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) cycle, it making it possible for decision-makers to control operations of strategic importance.
Technological deterrence is the new security assurance benchmark to be achieved synergistically in integrated theatres. In this context, the Indian security apparatus must maintain a high-tech edge to dissuade an attack from the adversaries with the fear of swift reprisal
With the advent of AI and sensors, it would now be possible to robotize the battlefield. This would indeed be a gamechanger. Battles can be fought on pre-programmed ‘targeting on appearance’.
When target acquisition and robotics are brought together, we will have nearly achieved the Military Industrial Revolution for ‘Military 4.5’. Call it C5-IS2-STAR2 (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence and Information - Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Reconnaissance, and Robotics).
It is a substantial name for a substantial capability: a networked battlefield where decentralized, robotic-initiated decision-making would be norm. Command, Control, and Surveillance would largely be linked through Space. These assets in
Space would need protection; how that is achieved is another race in Quantum Technologies.
Imagine, for example, that humans pre-program a satellite to identify targets in a certain area. AI can enable them to set the parameters by which the target would be eliminated autonomously - the system would designate the weapon for doing so and take action if the criteria fit.
In another situation, humans might serve as the final confirmation before the autonomous system locks on to a target for action. Another step forward would be to designate pre-sanctioned targets, to be engaged on appearance.
Airborne Early Warning Aircraft have better ability to detect and recognize targets as compared to surface-based
radars, observation systems, and ground sensors.
PLA has built a digital surveillance wall along the borders with India for Electronic Warfare (EW) and targeting. Unmanned smart borders should be able to carry out unmanned tactical and operational recce.
Cyber surveillance, detection, and analysis is the emerging field for accessing military intelligence at all levels. AI applications must be used to quickly process the data collected from all the above intelligence feeds and make it available as Common Operating Picture (COP) for decision-making at each level.
Network-centric operations cannot happen without the fusion of smaller, smarter sensors, network connectivity, signal intel-
ligence devices, aircraft, UAVs, and space networks. A secure, private network is the core layer of data communication. This will require scalable satellite connectivity for narrowband applications plus fiber and microwave links to support broadband applications.
These would ultimately connect millions of devices and sensors operating ubiquitously and support data transfer. AI would play a critical role, enabling the IoMT to transition from mostly telemetry and sensing to complete autonomous action, guided by rules defined by individual countries.
Computer networks are efficient, desirable tools as they can move massive machine data simultaneously to multiple
subscribers. This can also turn disastrous, if disruption is caused by technology limitations, an incident driven by adversarial action, or a simple human error.
The military faces this challenge – it needs its machines and networks secured and protected against these possibilities. High assurances and strong protection tools will need to be delivered by the industry.
Call it military-grade secrecy; security protocols would need to be well-defined. Secure Chips, Quantum Technology, and IP concealment (i.e. no IP Address) would form this baseline.
Technological deterrence is the new security assurance
benchmark to be achieved synergistically in integrated theatres. In this context, the Indian security apparatus must maintain a high-tech edge to dissuade an attack from the adversaries while imposing fear of swift reprisal.
Building science & technology capability, along with deploying physical force, will give us the edge over an adversary, establishing deterrence. Technological prowess should be the main component of Comprehensive National Power (CNP).
Lt Gen PJS Pannu, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (R) is former Deputy Chief of Indian Integrated Defence Staff, who initiated the raising of the Defence Space Agency, Defence Cyber Agency, and Armed Forces Special Forces Division.
In the face of rapid evolution of warfare, there is a dire need to boost geospatial intelligence, reconnaissance, navigation, and situational awareness capabilities across the spectrum of space defence.
Wars of the future are all likely to be information-based. This is true not only of the ongoing propaganda wars but also of the real wars in which people still kill other people in various parts of the world.
Whilst India’s aspirations may be to develop peacefully, it is unlikely that she will be allowed to do so. Prudence dictates that the Indian state takes the necessary steps to protect itself and its
By Srinivasan Chandrasekharnational interests. Much of the information needed for a country to defend itself either originates in space, or is moved around using space assets. This makes the assets themselves vulnerable, adding to the complexities of the tasks that any aspiring power needs to address.
Readers can access them in case they want to know more. India shares land borders with seven other countries. We also have a large coastline of over
7500 Km that includes the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Maldives are the countries that have land and maritime borders with India.
While what happens in all of them is important, the China – Pakistan nexus is a historic vulnerability that needs to be addressed in hard military terms .
Of particular concern to an Indian military strategy is the rise of China as a peer competitor to the US and its increasing use of the space and information domains as a part of its military strategy.
India’s Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Needs
The information-driven wars of today and tomorrow will all use platforms that are situated as far away as possible from targets.
Space assets, especially Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) satellites that provide information from over-the-horizon thus become important components of any military strategy.
What kind of space based ISR assets does India need to deter its adversaries?
The challenge for any space based ISR system is to identify, locate and continuously track an object of interest as far away, as possible, from a country’s borders. Since optical and SAR satellites provide limited swaths, a very large
number of them may be needed to address the problems of ISR.
Traditionally, the ISR problem has been addressed not by using remote sensing, but by having broadband receivers, onboard satellites, that receive any radio-emission from a horizon-to-horizon coverage area on the ground. These satellites are termed Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) satellites.
The US was the first to operationally deploy them in the early 1970’s, calling it the National Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS). Through a clever architectural design, these satellites not only sensed an emission of interest within the broad coverage area, but were also able to locate it to some degree of accuracy.
This was possible because instead of launching one satellite, the NOSS launched three satellite at a time into a 1100 Km, 63.40 inclination orbit. The three satellites fly in a triangle with known separation distances between them.
The same radio signal is received by all of them at different times. This enables the location of the emitter on the ground through a standard triangulation routine. Using this architecture not only can one detect a radio emitter but also locate it with a reasonable degree of precision.
For an altitude of 1100 Km such a satellite triplet will cover an area with a 7000 Km diameter and locate an emitter within say a 25 Km radius. In the original NOSS architecture three to four such triplets were distributed around the equator, spaced in such a way that as one triplet moved away because of the rotation of the earth, another triplet would replace it.
Through this approach, the US was able to keep track of all naval deployments around the world.
China, which had been experimenting with ELINT programmes since the 1970’s, launched first Yaogan triplet the Yaogan 9A, 9B, 9C into a 1100 Km, 63.4 0 orbit in May 2010.
The orbital parameters of the Yaogan 9 triplet mimic those of the early US NOSS system. Over the last several years it has always had at least four such triplets in continuous operation. These enable the identification and location of relevant military emitters such as Aircraft Carrier Groups. Figure 1 provides an overview of this coverage.
China has also augmented this location capability into a continuous tracking capability to ensure constant surveillance as military platforms advance closer to its shoreline or borders. This is achieved by adding more ELINT satellites. But unlike the earlier
To respond to the challenge posed by China, India would need an operational constellation of at least 40 ISR satellites along with launchers for placing them in the desired orbits
ELINT satellites these do not fly in a triangular formation but in the same orbital plane spaced 600 apart at an altitude of 600 Km and an inclination of 350 as shown in Figure 2.
Through this combination of triangular formation and Coplanar ELINT satellites, China would not only be able to locate emitters but also continuously track them. It also has additional SAR and optical satellites that are cued by the ELINT so that the object of interest is always under surveillance and continuously trackable.
The assessment of the ISR capability of this constellation carried out using software developed at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), validates this near continuous surveillance capability.
Simply put, the NIAS study reveals that no military platform can come close to China’s shoreline or border without being identified, located, and tracked.
While Indian vulnerabilities and responses may be different, the above real-life deployments
suggest that Indian needs would be somewhat similar. The operational Chinese Yaogan constellation for ISR currently consists of 30 ELINT and a minimum of five optical and 5 SAR satellites at different altitudes and inclinations.
To respond to this challenge posed by China, India would need an operational constellation of at least 40 ISR satellites along with launchers for placing them in the desired orbits.
While ISR assets in space are important, it is also necessary that the information that is collected by them is moved around and delivered to the right locations over a large geographic area.
A minimum of nine large geostationary satellites would be needed for this purpose. Private sector capacities could supplement and complement any additional peak demands.
The data collected over the horizon also needs to reach a central repository for further processing and integration into the military system. Four large Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) in GSO will be needed for this purpose. These are very similar in architecture to heavy or very heavy GSO communications satellites.
The above assessment suggests that an operational C4ISR system for India will need a minimum complement of 53 satellites comprising ELINT, optical, SAR, and large communications satellites in Geostationary Orbit. They will also need
associated launch vehicles and services to place, maintain and replace them in orbit.
There is an ongoing revolution in the use of small satellite constellations for applications in communications and remote sensing. Such constellations can substitute for and complement the more advanced C4ISR capabilities mentioned above.
Though the scaling up needed may be best done by industry, a promotional effort involving a few satellites may need to be taken up as a part of the military space effort.
A small constellation of five communications and five remote sensing satellites along with their associated launch services may need support before scaling up by industry.
Space-based weather information is crucial for all military operations. India has in place an operational satellite service that provides weather information that includes Indian satellites in GSO as well as information from other sources. It has still not established any operational orbiting weather satellites.
Since one can expect this system to continue it would be logical to assume that the current system, with some improvements, can meet the operational needs of the military.
Navigation
India has established a Regional Navigation Satellite System that uses three satellites in GSO and four satellites in a 30 degree Inclination Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO). The US GPS, the Russian GLONASS,
China’s Beidou, and the European Galileo are all operational systems that largely use an architecture of 30 to 35 satellites orbiting in different planes with different inclinations at altitudes of about 20000 Km.
The location and timing information obtained from such systems is likely to be substantially better allowing it to be used for higher precision applications like missile guidance.
India will need a 35-satellite navigation constellation to operate meaningfully in the information-based wars of the future.
There is evidence that some of the advanced space powers have satellites in orbit that can track other satellites to provide Space Situational Awareness (SSA) information. India needs to explore these possibilities as early as possible and establish operational capabilities. India
may need a minimum of five small satellites along with associated launch services over the next five years to develop space based SSA capabilities.
India conducted its first successful ASAT test in 2019. Given current trends in the military uses of space, India needs to protect her assets in space. About five satellites with associated launchers may be needed for meeting these development needs over the next five years.
India may also need to keep her BMD options open. Early Warning Satellites in GSO are needed for this purpose. About three large satellites in GSO over the next five years may be needed for an R&D effort.
For the next five years or so the PSLV and the GSLV Mark 3 launchers will remain the mainstay vehicles that can launch all
The Civilian Public Good services with some augmentation may be adequate to meet military requirements
the satellites that are needed for the Indian military.
For scaling-up and large scale production it is imperative that the technologies for manufacture and launch operations are transferred to Indian industry.
Table 1 provides a listing of the satellites and launchers needed for establishing this Indian space military capability. India needs a minimum of 111 satellites to meet her space military requirements over the next five to seven years.
These are largely C4ISR, and navigation needs with some capability development in areas like SSA, BMD and ASAT. India also needs 22 PSLV and 51 GSLV launches for realizing this complement of military satellites.
It is a well-known fact that even on the commercial side existing capacities and capabilities within the country are not sufficient to meet the needs of the domestic markets. More than half of the satellite transponders services to the Indian market are owned by foreign entities.
In remote sensing, many companies based in the US and Europe are entering the Indian
market for space products and value-added services. China too is poised to make a major mark in the global space marketplace.
It is obvious that the Indian Space Market is poised to grow exponentially over the next decade. Many commercial services like weather, navigation, mapping are built on a backbone of public good services that requires to be supported by the government.
In many of the critical areas of space technology and applications, significant capabilities exist within government entities. However, they lack the funding and the resources to scale-up for meeting the military and civilian needs of the country. There is also likely to be internal resistance in letting go of key capabilities built over decades.
The recent space sector reforms have evoked widespread discussions in the media and the business world. A plethora of new government entities have been created to facilitate the creation of a viable space ecosystem with demarcations between defence and civilian uses. There are also several initiatives to promote the emergence of an Indian Space Industry.
Most of the changes reflect the government's focus on easing entry barriers and facilitating the ease of doing business in space. These steps do not, by themselves, adequately address how national requirements for public goods can be harnessed to accelerate the emergence of an Indian space industry.
There is a major need for a military space effort to be
supported and funded by the government. There are also several commercial space applications that depend on a publicly supported backbone infrastructure. Taken together, the financial outlays required to procure or build them are substantial. Many, if not all of these, can be developed and built by entities within the government.
However, as the evidence suggests, these entities are not able to scale-up, manufacture and diversify their product mix to meet the growth in demand. It is therefore evident that if these needs, capabilities, and challenges are seen together, they provide a huge opportunity for the space industry in the country.
These large outlays provide an opportunity for the government to create a mechanism through which the key technologies developed in government institutions with public funding are transferred to Indian industry for large scale deployment and use.
The first step is to identify the space assets that would be needed by the military over the next five to seven years along with numbers, masses, timelines, specifications, launch requirements and budgets.
The common backbone infrastructure could also be included in this, if feasible. In simple terms, it is the preparation of a detailed strategy plan for the government supported space sector.
This could be followed by inviting proposals from industry for the realization of various parts of the plan. The proposals should include the technological efforts that industry would perform as well as collaboration
India will need a 35-satellite navigation constellation to operate meaningfully in the information-based wars of the future
in technology with entities like ISRO for the delivery of products and services.
Details regarding the use of test facilities and infrastructure available with various government entities should become a part of the discussions.
Guarantees of suitable numbers of satellites or launches should also be provided to industry, once they meet specifications and demonstrate performance through initial partnership forays with government entities such as ISRO.
These joint industry-government development and scale-up projects can provide much needed impetus to accelerate the development of Indian Space Industry.
In the absence of such initiatives that reduce the technical, financial and market risks for Indian industry, it is quite likely that the resulting turf wars between various government entities will bypass many of the
technical capabilities that are there within them.
These approaches and practices are not new to the global space industry. Both the US as well as Europe have adopted many approaches where these joint initiatives have created huge global industries—Satellite communications and navigation are two outstanding examples.
In India too, ISRO in its earlier days promoted the joint development of key capabilities for space, in collaboration with industry and research labs. There is a wealth of knowledge, experience, and talent within India to enable this transformation.
While a lot of hype has been created about reforms in the space sector, so far there has been no visible progress on a strategic national plan for meeting the military and public good needs in space. There are also no discussions on how government procurement of key space products and services could be leveraged to develop
the space industry.
Figure 3 provides an overview of the various components of an operational space military capability with other related military assets. The areas highlighted in red are all areas of concern where major efforts are needed to ensure the nation’s security.
It is evident that the large number of satellites and launchers that will be needed are best manufactured and operated by Indian industry. The great challenge facing the nascent Indian space ecosystem is the transfer and form the government to the government to industry.
Since the entire effort for meeting these needs must be funded by the government, there's an opportunity to create a mechanism through which the key technologies developed in government institutions with public funding are transferred to Indian industry for large scale deployment and use.
There is no reason to believe that such a trajectory of partnership and co-evolution cannot be followed.
Will the Indian government and its various entities work with Industry to affect such a transformation? We hope and pray that the answer will be a resounding yes.
Srinivasan is the JRD Tata Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS). He was earlier a Professor in the Corporate Strategy and Policy Area at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). Before moving to IIMB he had spent more than 20 years working at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
In an exclusive interview with Geospatial World, IN-SPACe chairman Dr. Pawan Goenka talks about the role of private sector in space, how IN-SPACe is facilitating it, and the roadmap for future.
r. Pawan Goenka earned his B. Tech. from IIT Kanpur and Ph.D. from Cornell University, USA. He is a graduate of Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School. His professional experience includes working at General Motors R&D Centre, Detroit, USA for 14 years and at Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Ltd. for 28 years. At Mahindra, he led the development of the Scorpio SUV and built a strong R&D infrastructure and a robust product portfolio.
He retired from M&M as MD & CEO on April 1, 2021. Dr. Goenka is currently also the chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Madras. He is also the chairperson of the Steering Committee for Advancing Local value-add and Employment (SCALE), an initiative under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
IN-SPACe was created with the predominant objective of encouraging the private sector’s participation in space. Apart from the launch of a private satellite around six months back, what other milestones have been achieved by INSPACe?
IN-SPACe is one of the rungs of the ladder in the Space ecosystem. ISRO, government and private companies being the other rungs of the ladder. IN-SPACe is working as a facilitator for the Start-ups to enter the space sector. We are facilitating that process by providing help wherever it is needed. Nothing of such kind existed before.
The most important thing which has happened in the last two years is the belief in private industries that the government is serious about establishing private sector’s presence in the space sector. This is now established. There is always non-believer when you start something new, which is not the case now.
The opening of ISRO to support private sector is another big development. Whether this opening is for providing facility, infrastructure, manpower, resources, or expertise. All these are now readily available to private sector.
Investors’ confidence comes from seeing all these developments. It shows government’s intention of walking along with the private players in space sector. That is the reason that private players are coming forward to invest in Space sector.
IN-SPACe is doing the work of a regulator, whereby the body is authorizing the private sectors for the launch of satellites.
Private sectors are not aware of the nuances of the success in Space sector. Imparting such knowledge to them is an important part of this whole initiative. ISRO has its own internal guidelines for the launch, which we
follow for private launches. We take the expertise of current and retired ISRO members for these launches.
We have finalized the price support mechanism so that all the things that we talk about becomes affordable to the private sector.
One of the important things happening right now is the preparation for the new FDI policy in Space sector which is till now is very restrictive. Just like Defence sector, we want to open-up Space. It has gone through multiple reviews and many layers of approval already. The new space policy is likely to come out anytime.
Due to a relatively small domestic space market, most Indian private sector companies look overseas. What needs to be done to expand indigenous base, luring private companies here?
A particular sector can grow only when there is a demand, which can either be domestic or overseas. You must look at demand and the domestic demand at present is not small, but almost non-existent.
It is non-existent because we have not been able to leverage the Space sector. Once we start creating downstream applications. Demand will come for downstream applications, which will drive the demand for upstream applications.
So, the whole data acquisition, dissemination and sharing will start happening in a much bigger way than what it is today once we have apps. Right now, these apps are used only by government departments. Once it goes to the public, the pool will become bigger and the demand will come.
We need to encourage private sector in upstream side for producing various apps. Those apps must be taken to the masses, who in turn must be willing to pay for it. There should be a drive to create market for such apps, and then those apps should be monetized. Nothing in this world comes free.
We need to create awareness in end-users about the benefit of those applications. We all know about the Marine App which tells us which part of the sea has the maximum catch, but how many fishermen are using that technology? Users will have to be educated and then asked to pay. We must convert pull to push.
Same is the case with agricultural sector or laying out of highway in construction industry. Take the example of gatishakti. If you apply space data to plan construction of highways, you can save the construction cost and fuel consumption of 200 km between Delhi and Mumbai.
Space application can make
The opening of ISRO to support private sector is another big development. Be it providing facility, infrastructure, manpower, resources, or expertise, all of these are now readily available
such things happen, but we need to bring awareness about it. This is a journey on which we are embarking upon now. We need to open up ISRO, whose doors are fully open now. We want the private sectors to come in and the investors to invest.
All these applications will not have a multiplier effect on the Satellite Launches? That is not necessarily true anymore. It was true when we were talking of GSO. Once you launch, you are done for 20-25 years. Now, we are talking of fiveyear life. Thousands of satellites will be launched in next few years for Broadband Satellite Service.
All these satellites will need replacement every five years. This will create a cycle. In the case of earth observation satellite, we are scratching the surface. Whether it is India or any other country. There is so much more which can be done in earth observation.
Technologies are ever evolving. So, the satellite that you put up today may have life after 5 years, but the technology will become redundant. The optical and microwave technologies keep changing so rapidly. Therefore, the replacement will drive demand.
India does not have today any satellite building capability other than ISRO, which is not going to be in the business of building satellites. Therefore, we need
to bring private sector to build satellites. India has the advantage of availability of skilled people and labour cost together, which can make India a satellite manufacturing hub, if we do lot of things right.
Space is one area which every country wants to keep protected. A company from a country A will not be easily allowed to go to a country B. We need to create the right value equation for this. All these role IN-SPACe will play.
We keep hearing about increasing India’s Space sector contribution to GDP from present 2% to 10%. How do we do that?
That’s a very pertinent question.. We are currently in the middle of the study, which will define what India should focus on. If we want to do everything, nothing will happen. We have to identify the areas where India can be competitive globally and so, where do we focus on.
That is one part. Second part is – what is the enablement that the government has to provide through ISRO and IN-SPACe. All of this are work in progress. I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of that study.
With the right effort and 100% alignment, India should be able to achieve $40 billion plus contribution.
Dr . Goenka — from car & SUVs to Space — how has
this journey been?
I have retired from Mahindra & Mahindra, and this is a post-retirement role. The government wanted somebody from the private sector to come in. The person to be in this position need not be a space scientist.
The government wanted somebody who understands the commercial aspects of business and technology and has been able to grow a business from the ground up. They must have done some research and found that I fit the bill. So, I was invited, and I accepted.
It was an eye opener for me. When I started interacting with various centers of ISRO, the depth of knowledge and complexities of space system as to what goes into it. The technology that goes into space is of very high level. This one area of technology where India is counted as a leader. There are not too many technologies, including automobile, where India is counted as a leader.
It is gratifying to see the vision which the founders like Vikram Sarabhai had and the government of India which supported that. To have such a vision for a country like India is itself a reason to be proud of. Personally, I feel happy that currently I am able to associate with the Space sector and do something to create a thriving space industry in India.
Interviewed by: Sanjay Singh
Space is one area which every country wants to keep protected. A company from a country A will not be easily allowed to go to a country B. We need to create the right value equation for this. All these role IN-SPACe will play
India needs to escalate efforts towards instituting spatial data sharing and building resilient space systems for the purpose of national defence. By Nibedita Mohanta
equally critical, though remains understressed as of now.
Lt. General Prakash
Katoch, Former DG Information Systems of Indian Army rues that “the 17 member strong Geospatial Data Promotion Development Committee (GDPFC) has only one member from the Ministry of Defence (MoD); who can hardly ensure the considerable responsibility and role of his ministry in geospatial data acquisition”.
Bridging these gaps and ensuring synergy with defence is a key priority as space becomes the next battleground. India is the fourth country in the world with ASAT capabilities, however, unlike USA or China, the progress on a dedicated space force is lackadaisical, as Prof. Arup Dasgupta, Managing Editor, Geospatial World points out.
The recently-released Indian Space Policy 2023 provides a comprehensive framework for overseeing space activities, setting ambitious goals for growth and development. With the establishment of IN-SPACe as the regulatory authority, it emphasizes promotion of indigenous technologies and deepening international cooperation.
“The policy equips the private sector to build rockets, satellites, launch vehicles, data collection
as well dissemination, over all access to end-to-end activities,” says Union Minister of State (Ind. Charge) Science & Technology Jitendra Singh.
Dr. S Somanath, Chairman, ISRO states that the space agency will help in maximising private player’s participation in space activities, leading to a five-fold increase in India’s share in global space economy.
However, defence domain of space and spatial applications is
The formation of Defence Space Agency (DSA) in 2018 is a great administrative step in the right direction, but it requires a cohesive integration with the policies and the system at a broader scale. Overall, India's defense readiness in space is an area that requires immediate attention.
“Most space-faring nations commenced Space sector in defence and then adopted it for civilian use. India needs to catch up, and government needs to be more proactive in policies that direct, facilitate, and push the private sector for strategic space applications,” says Lt Gen PJS Pannu, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (R), Former Deputy Chief of Indian Integrated Defence Staff.
Unlike the airspace boundaries where conducting Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Operations outside national boundaries is done with a caution, space provides an unrestricted access for such operations.
Besides intelligence collection, new technologies like space-based internet, ASAT systems, and electronic warfare (EW) systems possess a huge threat and opportunity at the same time. Space assets play a vital role in surveillance, communication, reconnaissance, and early warning systems, enabling governments to monitor their territories, gather intelligence, and respond to security threats effectively.
“One of the prime examples from the recent times is the Russia-Ukraine conflict which could also be termed, if not
Areas
the full but the first small scale Space War,” says Ankit Bhateja, Founder and Director, Xovian Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.
He states that “space is becoming increasingly important from the national security point of view both from the defensive and offensive perspectives and demands a revisit on the obsolete infrastructure and policies in place in order to address the challenges that are waiting in the journey ahead”
“To effectively safeguard our national security, we must expedite the development and acquisition of advanced space technologies. This includes enhancing our space-based surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence-gathering capabilities,” says Awais Ahmed, CEO, Pixxel
order to strengthen its presence in space,” adds Bhateja.
Indigenous PNT serves as the backbone of some key technologies that enable the growth of the multiple industry vertical. It is hard to imagine even a single second without PNT data in this modern age, a PNT denial scenario could cause havoc at mass scale without even the use of WMDs.
“During Kargil conflict, India was denied GPS use. Navigation tracking and precise targeting was not possible. We need better guidance systems too, which are to be based on Indian PNT. Our deep battles shall be defeated if the adversary can spoof or manipulate the PNT. Therefore indigenous PNT is the need of the hour,” mentions Lt. Gen Pannu.
1. Skilled manpower creation and retention
2. large-scale Industry academia tie-ups
3. Indigenous data hosting infrastructure
4. Advanced materials and electronics
5. Indigenisation of the enabling infrastructure
“It is essential to intensify research and development efforts focused on space-based sensors, advanced imaging systems, and other cutting-edge technologies that can provide us with a strategic advantage in defense operations,” Ahmed adds.
“With China expanding its footprint in space through technology deployment & making revisions in its conscription laws, allowing retired service people to re-enlist in the forces, with increased focus on space and cyberwarfare. It is now a wakeup call for India in
“Indigenous and reliable PNT ensures strategic autonomy, reducing dependence on foreign systems, which may be subject to limitations or interruptions during times of conflict or political tensions,” adds Ahmed. It also fosters technological self-reliance, spur innovation, and provide economic benefits by enabling the development of indigenous applications and services.
Indigenous navigation system not only enhances nation’s ability in providing reliable high accuracy services for the battlefield operations but also proves to be highly impactful in the evolution and advancement of various industries relying on these services.
Nibedita Mohanta Assistant Editor, Geospatial World Nibedita@geospatialmedia.net
During Kargil conflict, India was denied GPS use. Navigation tracking and precise targeting was not possible. We need better guidance systems too, which are to be based on Indian PNT
“National security goes beyond armed forces, involving many important stakeholders. We are looking at partnerships and collaborations to join all the information together through geospatial and meet our security requirements”, says Colonel Norazlin Pamuji, Deputy Director, Defence Geospatial, Department of Survey and Mapping, Government of Malaysia.
Please tell us about the work done by your department?
I work at Department of Survey and Mapping in Malaysia, which handles all the geospatial products for the Malaysian armed forces.
My role is to serve the armed forces on geospatial projects, national security, and disaster management. We are a hub for any national requirement on security and defense.
The division connects all the divisions that are working towards geospatial application, technology, or research to the other divisions.
Geo intelligence has been crucial for national security and boosting ties with other countries. How do you see this progressing in the near future?
While talking about national security requirements, we need the capacity to see the bigger picture for every domain, so that we can pinpoint exactly what’s needed where.
For example, in case of mission-making process, the
information dispatch requirement must be through integrated platforms. This basically means that we have a common platform to take care of data integrity and single source of information distribution so that any miscommunication can be nullified.
National security goes beyond armed forces, involving many important stakeholders. We are looking at partnerships and collaborations to join all the information together through geospatial and meet our security requirements.
Recently, the Malaysian defense Minister committed to enhancing defense capabilities of the countries while emphasizing that a defense and security blueprint is under work. What role do you think geospatial will play in this?
Currently, my division is developing a program on defense geospatial information management. We are developing a platform through the concept of mapping and computing that can serve all the requirement of security and defense, enabling geospatial data sharing with everyone.
Another of our core task is to put all the mapping requirements of other agencies. This ensures that everybody is using the same source of information, so that there’s no misunderstanding, and navigation, location, and targeting is accurate enough. It also allows us to keep our our defense capabilities up-to-date and comprehensive.
Last year, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), opened its office in Kuala Lumpur, signing an MoU for bolstering defense ties with Malaysian government. How the Indo-Malaysian collaboration would mutually benefit the space, defense and geospatial sector of both the countries? In my division, we are looking on defense lines of development. In this, we listed a few segments like training, doctrine, technology, etc.
When we look at this, we understand that maybe these defence lines of development are crucial for sharing with other countries since they might have a different perspective on security.
Of course, we need to share
domain expertise among countries and increase shared knowledge by doing so.
We also create opportunities to make sure our defensive lines are upto date in terms of technology and advancement and also to track if any sensitive information is not leaking on our part as well as for the other country.
We have the bilateral and multilateral exercises with many countries. In lieu of this, we are not focusing on the operational setting and instead on the technology, people, and knowledge. We are also sharing the best practices when it comes to defense and security.
In some use-cases, countries provide us with case studies where they have built a good output model by customizing their defense modules. Similarly, with that medium we can share what is better for development of our as well as other countries.
Malaysia is among the founding members of ASEAN and has played a leading role in multilateral organizations and forums. What role can geospatial intelligence play today in boosting regional cooperation and convergence in Asia?
As discussed before, geospatial intelligence can actually strengthen our country’s talent and skill. Previously, we were not focusing on deep-cut technologies such as PNT, Precise Location etc., but now people have started to look towards them.
Of course, when the requirement of such technology increases, it'll also improve the talent, capacity, and skill to
produce products that will be very beneficial for the application of geospatial technologies for us and the ASEAN countries.
Additionally, we can see that different countries are using different hardware or software. This is where our initiative for innovation of technologies come in play. Through this, we will see the development of our economy if we share and collaborate with our neighboring countries for geospatial equipment.
We can also foster innovation on digital transformation, which is among the key technology trends for years now. We believe that we can build capacity for enhancing subject matter experts in geospatial information, analysis, and data collection.
AI and ML along with geospatial, will play a key role to make sure regional cooperation and convergence stays solid in the ASEAN countries.
Strait of Malacca is among the busiest waterways in the world with estimated 25% of global ships passing through it every year. What role does geospatial play in safeguarding transit through this strategic shipping lane and strengthening maritime domain awareness?
I believe maritime is similar to land and space. However, many times maritime finds itself at the core of business generation. It plays a big role in economies worldwide and thus becomes very sensitive arrangement.
Geospatial plays a big role in securing these maritime ships, vessels, and cargos by various methods. For example, we have Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) which help in tracking and mapping the voyage of big ships. Then we have S-AIS where Satellite comes into play.
This makes real-time live data accessible for better monitoring and management of these maritime ships.
We also have Terrestrial Automatic Identification System (T-AIS). When we look at these different methods of tracking, monitoring, and managing cargo vessels with live data and inputs embedded in one platform, we see how maritime domain awareness and geospatial data helps.
This also gives us confidence to take actions against illegal economic activities, piracy, smuggling, and other such illicit activities.
While talking about defense, we can get stricter with our boundaries in the ocean. We can specifically monitor ships or vessels that may enter the zones that we have predefined to be a hotspot for smuggling and other such activities.
Geospatial data is actually very important in all of our activities, especially in defence. Geospatial is one of the sources to make sure that everything is in order; from defence and economics to societal changes.
Interviewed by: Sachin AwanaAI, ML and geospatial will play a key role in solidifying regional cooperation and convergence in the ASEAN countries.
Earth Observation has been a true game-changer in ensuring that government schemes and public services reach villages optimally, and are constantly tracked and monitored. By Stutee Gupta and Dr. KM Reddy
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its ambitious 17 goals and 169 targets, aims to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. However, the success of these goals and targets would depend on developing the rural areas where most of the world's poor live.
More resources would need to be allocated for investment in rural areas, not just because that is where most of the poor live but also because these areas have a great potential for economic development (SOFA 2017). The rural population worldwide is vulnerable to livelihood shocks and
climate variability.
A wide range of public service delivery schemes (PSDS), almost 70% worldwide (World Bank 2020), aim at ensuring social security to over 2.5 billion rural people representing 56% of the poorest quintile globally (Ivaschenko et al., 2018).
In developed countries, services are delivered by coordinated efforts of various institutions and programs, including social insurance, social assistance, and employment protection and promotion.
Whereas, in developing countries, it happens directly through strengthening the livelihood
resource base of the underprivileged and marginalized communities. It also relies significantly on income transfers, improved access to essential services and/ or efficacious job markets, and the creation of durable assets (Barrientos and Hulme, 2009).
Conventionally, all public service delivery has followed a typical linear hierarchical model in which outputs from one stage form a direct input to the next stage and vice versa. The mismatch in input/ output needs among the different levels lead to suboptimal realization of goals since the optimum of the whole chain may be different from the optimum of each stage, thus lacking coherence.
Other issues have been the need for more data and data asymmetries caused due to manual record-keeping and a non-standardized process, citing arduous operating terrain, the scale of coverage, multiple languages, and low literacy rates as the main reasons.
Overall, this led to opaqueness at the lower levels and a lack of accountability at higher levels. Subsequently, adopting Information and Communication Technology and Management Information systems led to trans-
parency due to digitization.
However, it failed to account for double booking, i.e., counting the same asset under two or more schemes, or the ghost assets that don’t exist on the ground but are on papers/records. Monitoring the pace of the work, and its current state on the ground, also proved to be difficult.
Overall effectiveness of ICT-based solutions has been limited mainly to inventory management, i.e., counting the works, tracking the allocation, and disbursement of funds.
Remote sensing and satellite data has been of immense value in overcoming the constraints associated with traditional ICT solutions, providing effective solutions.
An unprecedented array of Earth Observation data capable of depicting the footprints of human activities at various scales has been a boon in solving the complex issues bothering decision-makers and planners. It also helped advance the understanding of ecological processes and the changing composition of the Earth's biosphere at scales from local plots to the whole planet.
The very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imageries (less than 1 m spatial resolution) have enhanced the ability to precisely detect and identify the ground features, broadening their utility in various domains. It has led to substantial improvement in the public services delivery chains, which supports the creation of rural infrastructure such as roads, houses, animal sheds, soil, and water conservation structures-farm ponds, check
dams, contour trenches, contour bunds farm forests/plantations to name a few.
With their dedicated outlay, these schemes are implemented either independently or in convergence with MGNREGA for payment of wages which is the latter's primary mandate.
In India, leapfrog transformation has been witnessed in almost all major schemes (Table 1) by adopting EO data as the basis of monitoring and evaluation at various levels leading to enhanced transparency and accountability. Table 2 presents the comparative account of the different PSDC models as they evolved.
Some of the salient features of EO-augmented PSDC that have revolutionized the entire services chain are summarized as follows:
1. Asset management system: Geotagging of assets created under various schemes using a mobile app with multiple attributes and confirming their physical existence in the backdrop of high-resolution earth observation satellite data have helped overcome the issues of ghost assets. It has also helped overcome double
booking issues due to convergence with schemes, thus transforming these service deliveries from mere asset inventory to a more robust asset management system.
2. Before, During, and After
Monitoring: With the adoption of satellite data and geotagging tools, progress-based fund disbursement is introduced in the PSDS. Satellite images provide evidence for stages of work execution subject to the availability of the satellite pass over the particular location, as captured through the geotagged field photograph leaving little or no room for malpractice.
3. Targeted Performance Monitoring: Spatially explicitness offered by satellite images facilitates a timebound reporting system that mandates geotagging of an asset within a stipulated time. Such a Mechanism helps monitoring the performance at various administrative levels so that issues, if any, are reported and resolved efficiently.
4. Rich Asset Bank: Data is a new fuel for development. The vast amount of geotagged
Pradhan Mantri Grameen Aavas Yojna (PMGAY)
Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna (PMGSY)
Rashtriya Krsihi Vikas Yojna (RKVY)
Housing for All
Rural Roads Connectivity
Agriculture Infrastructure
Swatch Bharat Abhiyan - Grameen Sanitation/ Household Toilets
Per Drop More Crop ( PDMC) Micro-irrigation Infrastructure
Integrated Watershed Management (IWMP); Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)
Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Watershed Development
Rural Livelihood - Guaranteed Wages to the Marginal Farmers
grievances redressal, etc., with a piece of valid evidence.
7. Cost-effectiveness: EO satellite data capture the most realistic insights of even the remotest places. Once the data is acquired, anyone can virtually visit any location anywhere on the ground multiple times, thus reducing the overall costs of project monitoring most objectively and modestly.
Open data philosophy: Given the recent policy reforms and geospatial data ecosystem, EO-based offering opens the pathways for open government data, i.e., complete, primary, timely, accessible, machine processable, non-discriminatory, non-proprietary, permanent, license-free, and free of charge for research and development.
data provides myriads of opportunities for research and innovation using advanced computational tools and citizen engagement solutions. It offers a baseline digital ecosystem opening avenues to the wide range of upcoming technologies, viz., the cloud, big data, the Internet of Things, augmented reality, and others, for bringing rural transformation by tailoring prepackaged and custom-built landscape intelligence products.
5. Comprehensive Planning and Development: EO data provides thematic information on the various resources. It also provides the basis for deriving high-value landscape insights depicting the project impacts on the ecosystem structure
and process in a spatially explicit manner. The suite of biophysical parameters, such as normalized difference vegetation indices, normalized difference vegetation indices, primary productivity, and crop condition, can help quantify the changes, especially in terms of ecosystem services, thus justifying the significant investments incurred in such public service delivery schemes. It also ensures long-term dividends are reaped, moving towards sustainable development goals.
6. Citizen-centric Focus: Open Visualization of the whole data offers substantial opportunities for developing citizen-centric applications such as reporting malpractices,
Public service schemes are evolving rapidly and are being looked beyond mere charity to the villagers to a viable business model bringing a good return on the investment to the stakeholders.
Satellite data provides the most inherent component in ensuring the optimal realization of these schemes to ensure sustained positive impacts on the social-economic and biophysical environment. Enhanced use of geospatial tools in rural development planning will drive future actions nationally.
It’s imperative for India to formulate a military space doctrine commensurate to its increasing heft for preempting regional security challenges, and forging deeper cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries.
To a great extent, states decide their foreign policy posture and national development priorities based on where they are located, as is illustrated by the title of Tim Marshal book ‘Prisoners of Geography’.
For India, the context of South Asia – unresolved border disputes with China and Pakistan,
By Namrata Goswami
both nuclear states in its eastern and western flanks – renders geographic context extremely relevant and strategic in terms of to capacity building in civilian as well as military domain.
India’s ability to utilize space for both economic and national security has become critical since the development of Chinese space capabilities and ambitions,
given that such capacities can be utilized for counter-space strikes to destroy India’s ability to utilize its own civilian and military space assets.
Advanced space capabilities lend support to China’s movement of military forces at high altitudes through its more than 250 military satellites utilized for intelligence,
Photo Credit: Air University PressSurveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Command, Control, Communication, and targeting (C3T), as well as precision missile deployment and tracking.
China has conducted more than hundred military exercises annually in the Tibetan plateau since 2023 where its disputed border with India is, that has included a joint effort by its Tibetan Military District (TMD), Western Theatre Command (WTC) and Xinjiang Military District (XMD).
Since 2015, China’s Military Strategic Guidance as well as its 2019 White Paper on National Defense have included the space domain as part of its multi-domain operations, with space capabilities forming an important component of China taking the strategic initiative in a conflict, be it in the South China Sea (SCS), East China Sea (ECS), or the China-India border areas.
In 2016, China became the first nation in the world to test a Quantum satellite, named Mecius, based on which more experiments have been conducted to develop an un-hackable Quantum communications capability. China declared certain assets in space like ‘satellite internet’ as critical infrastructure in 2020
China’s military space capabilities have witnessed the establishment of the People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF), and development of counter-space capabilities like Anti-Satellite (ASAT) weapons, robotic arms, spoofing, jamming, dazzling and blinding, cyber-attacks on satellites, in orbit platforms augmented by Artificial Intelligence that can target adversary capabilities,
as the QUAD
laser and power beaming capabilities and electronic warfare.
Given this clear strategic rationale for China’s development of space capabilities for augmenting its military space capabilities, one of the weaknesses of India’s own defense posture and capability is its military space capability.
India’s civilian space capabilities like rocket launch, satellite manufacturing, support to national development like agriculture, weather forecasting, tele-education, tele-medicine, and navigation like Global Positioning System (GPS) is well known.
However, the lack of a clear national security strategy vis-à-vis space capabilities has created strategic ambiguity, leading to a weakened global posture when it comes to deterrence in the upper Himalayas.
This also stands in the way of building a robust foundation for its naval posture in the Indian Ocean, and towards building strategic partnerships with countries like the United States, Australia, and Japan through a mechanism such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD).
Due to a lack of strategic clarity, partner nations find it difficult to ensure strategic convergence on issues like Space Situational Awareness (SSA),
space domain awareness, and towards building a joint strategic posture when it come to a free and democratic Indo-Pacific.
What is needed is a roadmap for a military space doctrine that enables India to take advantage of its space assets towards building a resilient deterrence architecture, augmenting its partner nation capability in forums such as the QUAD.
India established the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969. Since beginning, state funded and directed investments have been the thrust of India’s space program, geared towards national development.
Since the establishment of ISRO, India has earned a reputation as a reliable and cost-effective launch provider for a global market of satellite launches, sending hundreds of Indian origin and foreign satellites to space since 1975.
In 2014, India became the first Asian country to reach Mars orbit. Since 2019, India has taken some significant policy decisions to privatize its space sector, and with the official Indian space policy of 2023, this has been institutionalized into a clear authorization process.
As part of India’s space vision
What is needed is a roadmap for a military space doctrine that enables India to take advantage of its space assets towards building a resilient deterrence architecture, augmenting its partner nation capability in forums such
in the long term, the 2023 space policy states that “to augment space capabilities; enable, encourage and develop a flourishing commercial presence in space; use space as a driver of technology development and derived benefits in allied areas; pursue international relations, and create an ecosystem for effective implementation of space applications among all stakeholders.”
Subsequently, the vision is connected to India’s space goals of utilizing space for national development, national security, and economic development with a focus on peaceful development of space.
The 2023 space policy makes it clear that the strategy adopted by the government of India to develop India into a space power is via commercialization of space.
“Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) will be encouraged to engage in the commercial recovery of an asteroid resource or a space resource. Any NGE engaged in such process shall be entitled to possess, own, transport, use, and sell any such asteroid resource or space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including the international obligations of India”, says the space policy document.
The Indian position on space resources is important to consider as it would imply the development of capacities to extract resources like in-space manufacturing and assembly, 3D printing, robotic capabilities, Artificial Intelligence, in space re-fueling, the development of Space Based Solar Power (SBSP), that would include power beaming, nuclear propulsion for shorter duration travel from one celestial body to another.
Such capacities require a high level of space-based communication, to include both lunar communications, specifically cislunar (Earth-Moon) space situational awareness, something that adds to military capabilities.
The Indian position on space based resources is similar to two other QUAD partner nations, to include the United States with its US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (2015), and the 2021 Japan space resources act.
India now joins them in encouraging its private sector to engage in the extraction of space resources by creating the enabling policy and regulatory structures.
The 2023 space policy directs ISRO to concentrate on Research & Development (R&D) and states that ISRO “undertake studies and missions on in-situ resource utilization, celestial prospecting and other aspects of extra-terrestrial habitability.”
The New Space India Ltd (NSIL) that was established in 2019 will be responsible for “commercialising space technologies and platforms created through public expenditure and procure/ manufacture space systems from either the public or the private sector.” The Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) will function as the single-window authorization center for both public and private sector space activities.
It will include launch, operation, in orbit slots, re-entry of space objects, and the dissemination of Earth observation data. IN-SPACe has been tasked
to proactively promote private industry in order to “establish India as a preferred service provider for global requirements of products/services in the space sector.” The main government entity that will implement the 2023 space policy is the Department of Space (DoS), which falls under the Prime Minister’s Office.
While India’s official 2023 space policy is clear regarding the urgent requirement to privatize space development to scale up India’s contribution to the global space economy, India needs to think seriously about its military space posture.
This is urgent because of two important strategic roles that India will be expected to play. The first role is India’s partner capabilities as a key contributor to the QUAD space capabilities to ensure a free Indo-Pacific which to be successful will require joint interoperability across multiple domains to include space.
Amongst the QUAD nations, the United States possess geospatial capabilities like electro-optical infrared imaging, earth imaging, synthetic aperture radar, electro-magnetic spectrum mapping, hyper spectral, specialized satellites for missile warning and weather, and large constellations in Low Earth Orbit.
US also has capabilities in shipping and aircraft tracking called identification tracking, and is developing space-based radar to track moving targets on land, air, and sea.
Additionally, the US is involved in wind and atmospheric tracking.
A military doctrine is a declared military policy that signals a country’s posture in regard to both compellence and deterrence. The military doctrine is an authoritative guidance in terms of warfare, or what the military believes is operationally effective. India’s military space doctrine should be conceptualized within the parameters mentioned below.
1
India requires a capability for strategic warning when it has to know when an adversary is positioning assets at its border or when it is mobilizing forces around its territorial waters. This kind of advanced knowledge is critical to ensure India’s ability to defend its territory.
This is true for nuclear weapons, where signaling, tracking and intelligence on nuclear deployment is important. 2
India needs to develop sufficient space situational awareness to understand if its civilian and military satellites are being targeted or have been rendered incapable to support its civilian infrastructure. 3
India has to be able to communicate and coordinate distant military forces which will require satellite communications. This includes forces on land or at sea. This is important as India’s air power and unmanned aerial vehicles could be enhanced through satellite data links. 4
5
India requires the ability to target invading forces. That requires overhead observation and precision, navigation, and timing and might eventually require real-time tracking.
6
Indian military forces are threatened by adversary Command, Control and Communication (satellite data links) and by adversary Precision, Navigation and Timing (PNT) and by counter space capabilities. And so, India’s Earth Observation, Communication and Navigation Satellites require protective SSA, against counter space threats and resistant to ground based attacks such as jamming and dazzling.
7
India requires its own counter-space capacities besides ASAT to jam or interfere and degrade adversary space capabilities that threaten the support function for India’s surface forces and threaten India’s satellites. To maximize total national power, India should develop non-kinetic ASAT capabilities that protects its national security without compromising its international standing and partner capability especially opportunities for international support through the QUAD. France is an example with its announcement of laser satellite defences.
In terms of low latency and large constellations, the U.S. commercial sector plays a vital role. In 2007, Japan enacted a national geospatial policy that prioritized the development of Earth imaging, sensing, tracking, and electro-optical infrared imaging. All this falls under the
purview of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.
In 2020, Japan established the Space Domain Mission Unit as its version of a space force, as well as an operational command.
Tokyo's 2022 National
Security Strategy, for the first time, includes space as part of its multi-domain operations, highlighting the importance of acquiring counter-strike capabilities in space for defense.
Australia aims to develop its own geospatial capabilities like
Earth imaging, Precision, Navigation, Timing, and the development of launch infrastructure to include spaceports by 2030.
Australia established a Defence Space Command in 2022 in order to not only focus on the national security aspects of space but also built into inter-operability for multi-national space operations.
India has its own geo-spatial capabilities to include remote sensing, global navigation satellite system and additional geo-intelligence capabilities that adds to big data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cyber capabilities.
All these capabilities however require a grand strategic vision and clear military space doctrine, augmented by a separate space defense organization and a defense space command.
The U.S., Japan and Australia have established space commands as mentioned above, while India’s Defense Space Agency, established in 2019, is organized to play a pro-active role in space, but not quite independent enough to develop its space expertise and knowledge base.
The lack of an Indian official national security strategy and military space doctrine further decreases its potential for joint operational capabilities.
In the Defense Space Symposium organized by the Indian Space Association on April 11, 2023, India’s Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan stated that “the very nature of warfare is on the cusp of major transformation and what is being witnessed is militarization of space and steady progress towards weaponization, the aim for all of us should be towards developing dual-use platforms with special focus towards incorporating cutting-edge technology and we must expand our NAVIC constellation, provide agile space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and ensure secure satellite-assisted communications”.
When we analyze the CDS’s speech, there is a general assessment that the anti-satellite (ASAT) capability that India tested in 2019 is not enough of a deterrence against an adversary that has enhanced capabilities to destroy India’s space-based assets through non-kinetic capabilities like high powered laser, high powered microwaves, electromagnetic pulse, jamming, and spoofing.
The role of commercial space in augmenting space warfare capabilities was specified by General Chauhan when he stated that “as seen during the Russia-Ukraine conflict by SpaceX and Maxar, had unfolded
a new area in the war on convergence. This combined with the intense race towards militarization of space has resulted in the battlespace becoming expanded and the very nature of warfare is at a major cusp of transformation.”
India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) chief, Samir V. Kamat, specified that India needs to develop greater space situational awareness, resilient space systems, and better ISR capabilities. For this, he called upon collaborations with India’s private space sector and academia.
In October 2022, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mission DefSpace that called for private sector space companies to apply for 75 defense space challenges for indigenous development. This included the development of “Launch System, Satellite System, Communication & Payload System, Ground System, and Software System.”
The highlight of the launch was a push to “liberalizing the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to allow 74% FDI under the automatic route”. India issued a Joint Doctrine in 2017, by Integrated Headquarters of the Integrated Defense Staff (HQ IDS), that views space as a multi-domain operation. In chapter VI of the joint doctrine titled “Concepts of Military Power
In the next five years, by 2028, the QUAD will transcend from being a partnership high on rhetoric to being called upon to provide real-time support, across all domains of land, sea, air, cyber and space, to ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free and accessible to all nations. In that context, issuing a military space doctrine is in India’s and the QUAD’s strategic interest
Application”, there is a section on space power that states:
Emergence of space power is analogous to conventional land, sea or air power that will mark it out as a ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’. Space bestows immense force multiplication capability on the Armed Forces, and the dependence on space assets for military operations is rapidly increasing.
Currently, India’s space capabilities are mostly driven by civil and commercial requirements, steps for exploitation of space for military applications are undertaken. Leveraging space power would include protection of our national space assets and exploitation of space to enable defense capabilities across the conflict spectrum.
The second role that arises in this context is one of strategic clarity, of whether India needs to issue and adopt a military space doctrine. This is perhaps necessary given the first requirement to stake India’s strategic position and capabilities when it comes to partnering at the level of the QUAD.
In the next five years, by 2028, the QUAD will transcend from being a partnership high on rhetoric to being called upon to provide real-time support, across all domains of land, sea, air, cyber and space, to ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains free and accessible to all nations. In this context, issuing a military space doctrine is in India’s and the QUAD’s strategic interest.
Issuing a military space doctrine matters because it offers a clear signal of India’s strategic posture in regard to its military forces to partner nations and adversaries. The military space doctrine signals
intent and strategic posture that can augment interoperability, create common strategic threat assessments, and build space capacities that can take advantage of globally available technologies, especially with the three other members of the QUAD (U.S., Japan and Australia).
This kind of clear posture showcases India’s leadership, while at the same time offers clarity in regard to India’s position on responsible behavior in space, which includes regulations o space debris and space traffic management.
It also counts proximity operations, ASAT moratoriums, and on the development of non-kinetic ASATs important for national security but which could also lead to destabilization of the international space governance structure. India’s position in these matters is vital given it is a major space-faring nation.
Moreover, India’s trajectory by 2060 may well be different, with New Delhi inheriting the leadership of the QUAD with the largest GDP and population. India needs to develop interoperability now, to take advantage and build the required strategic habits of assuming leadership with capabilities, institutions, and grand strategic posturing.
A more active leadership position in the QUAD is likely to enhance India’s influence within other regional bodies like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a more capable space program is likely to increase India’s influence across Africa and West Asia.
India should begin the process of establishing a space command structure that can operate within the other QUAD partner space command formats.
India could assign exchange officers at key locations within the USSF, JSDU, or the Australian Space Defence Command, including any strategic studies group and professional military education. QUAD countries can collaborate on point-to-point sub-orbital transportation which will greatly lessen the time and assist in connectivity.
Such capabilities could result in a joint QUAD strategic space vision. In this, India can play a critical role given it offers clarity to the world regarding its civilian and military space posture.
The military space doctrine signals intent and strategic posture that can augment interoperability, create common strategic threat assessments and build space capacities that can take advantage of globally available space technologies especially with the three other members of the QUAD (U.S., Japan and Australia)
The challenges, however, with high-resolution optical EO are spread across CONOPS (Concept of Operations) and other challenges like in the figure below:
What does India need?
A large country like India will require innovation in the EO satellite hardware and how insights are generated from the satellites.
A unique combination of the following parameters is what will help India potentially solve the challenges for defence:
50+ km swath: A small fleet of microsatellites with a larger km swath will be able to cover the whole country in a short turnaround time, hence providing near-real-time monitoring.
Today, a large fleet of satellites and systems are assisting the armed forces to plan, manage and execute their operations efficiently. Effective monitoring of long borders and extensive areas require capturing images at large swath and high-resolution image with image processing and analytics in orbit solutions, contributing to the armed forces' decision-making process and enhancing ground opera-
tions. However, monitoring for a large country like India has a particular set of challenges.
Challenges in the EO industry
Enabling efficient monitoring for defence with high-resolution satellite imagery requires a unique combination of resolution, frequency and swath. The commercial high resolution (~1m GSD) imaging satellites operating commercially have a swath of less than 50 km and mostly around 20 km.
Sub-meter resolution: The high-resolution capability will enable the armed forces to monitor changes and activities, enhancing the decision-making process.
On-board data processing: Improves efficiency by processing nearly 40% of the data in orbit to make insights available.
End-to-end data infrastructure: A state-of-the-art infrastructure to disseminate data starting from capturing from orbit to solution, solving problems for the end customer.
KaleidEO is planning an aerial test in July 2023 for a planned fleet of four high-resolution, optical, multispectral satellites by 2025. The key features of the satellite will be a sub-meter resolution, with a large swath and on-the-edge processing capability. To know more about KaleidEO, or drop an email at info@kaleideo.co.
1. High cost of data
2. Complex buying process of high-resolution data
3. High performance time from image acquisition to insight generation
4. High turnaround time for area coverage
5. Low Swath
The vision is to facilitate automatic identification and quantification of various vegetation types in a region by credibly correlating spectral signatures collected on field and spectral reflectance measured using space-borne hyperspectral sensors.
Stakeholders Involved
The project team from Lab for Spatial Informatics, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, and Indian Institute of Space Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
The project used spectra extracted from multi-temporal CHRIS PROBA Hyperspectral data.
The spectra extracted for the selected species from satellite data are correlated with canopy spectra derived from leaf reflectance spectra obtained from the field using SEMULS.
The outputs of the model are validated for their applicability by comparing with upscaled spectra derived from popular PROSPECT.
The SEMULS model is unique in retaining the
1. To estimate the chlorophyll and nitrogen content of various species with integrated field and satellite-based methods.
2. To correlate spectral variations with that of canopy biochemical patterns under stress conditions (factors leading to a decrease in chlorophyll, and nitrogen constituents).
minute dips and peaks of the spectra, which are important in discriminating (80% matching at 5deg or less threshold) species, unlike other models that smoothen spectra using different filters.
The upscaled canopy spectra (SEMULS) are further used to classify selected species in the study area from CHRIS-PROBA satellite data, using the SAM method and validated based on GPS locations observed from the field.
A spectral database was developed for selected tree species using hyperspectral satellite imagery and to build a canopy upscaling model. The SEMULS model is created for upscaling the leaf spectrum to the canopy level. Parameters like LAI, chlorophyll, nitrogen, lignin, cellulose, protein, water content and the leaf spectrum from the field are inputs for the model. The model converts the leaf biochemical parameters at the canopy level and upscales the spectrum with the canopy biochemical parameters.
Disclaimer: These case studies have been extracted from the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework report.
Back in 2015, the government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) as a response to the fast-paced rural to urban movement of the country’s population.
The National Commission on Population (NCP) predicts that 38.6% of the Indian population will be living in the urban areas in the next 13 years. The initiatives surrounding smart cities are developing into efficient and direct discourses to cultivate sustainable, inclusive, and accessible spaces.
The objectives are to be
projects. This creates an extensive data repository of important mission-related data, introduce geospatial capabilities and create a single engagement and monitoring platform for all officials involved in Smart Cities Mission implementation.
The application has potential to unlock a new way of managing and developing smart cities with evidence-based planning, project monitoring, and policy formulation.
The Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS) was
1. Map all projects under the Smart Cities Mission and make it available in one place.
2. Provide a comprehensive progress view of the 100 Smart Cities.
3. Provide evidence-based monitoring of the Smart City projects.
4. Facilitate knowledge sharing between the Smart Cities.
updated projects, and active/ inactive projects.
Vendor Repository Module - Provides a view of existing vendors and enables adding new vendors for different Smart City projects, providing transparency, ownership of projects and SLAs.
City Progress Module –Provides visibility to the physical progress of the projects in a city.
The GMIS web application developed on Esri’s ArcGIS system facilitates evidence-based monitoring of the Smart City projects. Photos of the projects are uploaded on GMIS using a mobile app, which is configured on ArcGIS Survey123. Authorized personnel conduct surveys via the survey app to update project details and images and geo-tag.
achieved either on an areabased development plan or via pan-city initiatives in which Smart Solutions are covering large parts of the city.
This is where the Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS) come into picture. GMIS is a web-based platform that is created with data from 100 cities and more than 7000
formally launched in February 2021. The implementation plan involved the creation of the following modules in GMIS:
Ranking Module - To track a city’s performance and benchmark other cities towards achieving the Smart City goals.
Reports - Various reports can be generated for different cities on all ongoing projects, geo-tagged projects,
The app is connected to the GMIS portal and synchronized with existing project IDs. This enhances the monitoring capabilities and transparency concerning all Smart Cities. GMIS enables monitoring of Smart City projects at the state and centre levels through geospatial dashboards providing details of the milestones achieved.
GMIS City Dashboard
The Smart Cities Mission aimed at driving financial development and improving citizen satisfaction through exhaustive work on the friendly, monetary, physical, and institutional strengths of the city. The attention was on manageable and comprehensive advancement by the formation of replicable models.
The vision was to encourage urban communities that give better infrastructure, clean surroundings, and economical livelihood and provide satisfaction to their residents through 'smart solutions’.
Stakeholders involved Smart Cities Mission authorities, municipal corporations, urban local bodies, urban planners, department officials, project management consultants, master system integrators, and citizens.
GIS-based planning helped the department to plan utilities strategically so that the maximum number of citizens can be served at optimal cost. The property tagging feature helped departments identify unassessed properties, resulting in a property tax collection increase. GIS also helped the department to improve traffic movement for less congestion in peak hours.
1. To increase the liveability index of the city by using geospatial & remote sensing technologies with visualization techniques.
2. To improve citizen services including the adequacy of water supply, proper sanitation, and solid waste management, assured supply of electricity, efficient urban mobility, public transport, affordable housing, robust information technology connectivity, transparent and good governance, safety, and security of citizens, modernized health and education infrastructure.
Citizen services have become a lot easier with GIS information as it helped the department to exactly know about the citizens’ location and their requirements and it led to quick resolution of required services.
GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making support has led many departments in spatially selecting sites for city utility planning and asset management. Disclaimer: These case
3. To establish better governance and improved life quality of the citizens as well as an improved financial flow for the administrative department.
the
Fig. 1: Road Network Analysis Module Fig. 2: Capital Project Monitoring Module Fig. 3: Disaster Response Module Fig. 4: Citizen ModuleAfter going through several land record management system, India’s administration has struggled with wide gaping loopholes, incomplete datasets, and a lack of standardized metrics for data collection.
Moreover, the huge diversity in land governance in the country often led to doubts and disputes regarding the delimitation of boundaries, transfer of rights, and associated challenges.
These challenges set forth the need for a better system that prioritizes standardization and efficiency in data collection methods. Along these lines, the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP), which was approved in 2008 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, was revamped as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) with 100% Central funding from April 1, 2016, onwards.
The State Governments/UT Administrations are implementing
the programme through the Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) set up under the Programme. These stakeholders have been directed to ensure that the basic computerization of digital land records and registration are completed by early 2023, and all districts have been asked to meet programme objectives by March 31, 2026.
Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) System: Conceptualised as the single authoritative source of truth for land parcel information throughout the country, the ULPIN generates a 14-digit alphanumeric ID unique to each parcel based on its geo-coordinates in compliance with the Electronic Commerce Code Management Association (ECCMA) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards.
Matribhoomi Geoportal: This is an integrated National Geo-Portal for Governance that acts as a single repository for all cadastral maps and land parcel data and single authentic source of the cadastral base layer.
States and UTs are undertaking survey/resurvey using modern techniques – aerial photography or high-resolution satellite imagery combined with ground truthing using ETS + DGPS to ensure true ground depiction on cadastral maps and land records for the integrated land information management system.
The right platform and technology are chosen based on the terrain, location, accessibility,
To develop a modern, comprehensive, and transparent land record management system with the aim to put in place an Integrated Land Information Management System (ILIMS) which will inter alia:
1. Improve real-time information on land
2. Optimize use of land resources
3. Assist in policy & planning
4. Reduce land disputes
5. Obviate the need of physical visits to Revenue/ Registration offices
etc. and survey and settlement records updated accordingly later.
For areas where cadastral maps are not available, the following options are resorted to:
Electronic Total System (ETS) + Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS)
Hybrid Aerial Photographs + ETS + DGPS
Hybrid High resolution satellite imagery + ETS+DGPS (< 1 m spatial resolution).
The DILRMP has led to the creation of huge spatial data, with more than 90% of cadastral maps digitized and over 32 % of cadastral maps of villages across the country geo-referenced.
This cadastral level Geospatial data will enable informed decision making, planning, analysis, agriculture, natural resources management, quick disaster response, economic development, social services delivery, public safety and emergency management, and efficient transportation, to name a few.
The National Hydrology Project (NHP) was taken up by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Govt. of India to improve the extent and accessibility of water resources information and strengthen institutional capacity to enable improved water resources planning and management across India. The focus was on establishing a sound hydrological database and information system and scientific tools for effective planning and management of water resources within each implementing agency.
Stakeholders involved
Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Government of India, and State Water Resources Departments.
The project implementation plan was prepared as per the ISO guidelines practised within the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), including information on project management structure, internal and external QC teams, detailed project schedule with milestones, manpower deployment schedule, funds and other infrastructure requirements, necessary software tools, a mechanism for obtaining and handling customer feedback, and so on.
All geospatial products generated under the project are disseminated through the customized Bhuvan-NHP web geoportal for their use & feedback by various stakeholders.
1. To design and develop an open-source web-based GIS portal for facilitating spatial planning at the Gram Panchayat level.
2. To assist in capacity building of all involved stakeholders so that they can apply the tools for rural development.
3. To collate multi-thematic content on natural resource management for ease of evaluation, verification, and execution of planning projects.
All activities taken up by NRSC use satellite data-based inputs and derived inputs like Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for generating water resources information and products. High-resolution and coarse-resolution satellite datasets are used as inputs for activities like an estimation of ET, snowmelt runoff, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) risk assessment, irrigation, and hydrological drought.
Disclaimer: These case studies have been extracted from the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework report.
Bhuvan-NHP portal showing Geospatial Hydro products and services generated under NHP
