Ancient India, according to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, saw exploitation of outer space and use of energy as weapons to create inordinate devastation during wars. The design of modern spacecraft has a lot in common with the ‘Vimana’, or ancient Indian spacecraft. The use of very powerful space weapons such as the ‘Brahmadanda’ of Lord Brahma and the ‘Vajra’ of Indra, the God of heavens, lightning and thunderbolt, is also described in ancient manuscripts. History repeats itself. The devastating effects of nuclear weapons and the recent news of the plan of highly frightening space-based weapons labelled as “Rods from the God” by the US has proved that imagination of great Indian ancient minds for the exploitation of space and energy as weapons of war was of great importance.
The outer space has been successfully exploited for civil and military applications. In civil applications, space is used to facilitate satellite-based communication and navigation; imaging capability for natural resource management; forecasting weather and climate change; space science missions for better understanding of solar system and universe; and planetary exploration. In military applications, space is used to facilitate, Command, Control, Computers Communications, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities for military operations; providing precise navigation and timing information for weapon guidance; providing imagery and other intelligence parameters of targets, in order to observe, detect and analyse, and precisely attack.
Spaced based Intelligence,Surveillance, Reconnaissance
Development and deployment of space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems with networking at LEO (Low Earth Orbit), GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) and HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbit) platforms is a necessity for any country for effective detection of emerging aerospace vehicle threats such as Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCMs) with longer reaction time for air defence weapon systems against these threats.
The SBIRS (Space Based Infrared System) being built by the US is an orbiting network of satellites with flexible ground processing and control systems that provide a continuous view of the earth’s surface. A powerful asset for situational awareness, data from SBIRS will be applied across areas like battle space awareness, intelligence and 24/7 tactical alerts.
The US is soliciting industry proposals for the development and fielding of a new network of LEO satellites, designed specifically to detect, track, and provide advanced warning against hypersonic weapons. The detection and tracking of hypersonic weapons is a challenging task and provides low reaction times for the air defence systems due to its low flying altitude and high speed.
The US is also planning to execute Space-based Deterrence Programme with constellations varying in size from 300 to more than 500 satellites in LEO ranging from 750 km to 1,200 km in altitude. With a full constellation, 95% of the locations on earth will have at least two satellites in view at any given time, while 99% of the locations on earth will have at least one satellite in view. This will ensure constant surveillance around the globe.
India’s Dual Application Satellites
As far as civil and military dual application for satellites is concerned, India currently has following operational satellites:
- Radar Imaging Satellite-2 (RISAT-2) has Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). It has a day-night, all-weather monitoring capability with one meter resolution. RISAT-2B was launched by ISRO in 2019 to replace RISAT-2.
- The CARTOSAT-2 series carries state-of-the-art Panchromatic (PAN) camera that takes black and white pictures of the earth in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. CARTOSAT-3 was launched in November 2019 for adding new dimension to military’s strategic depth by providing very high-resolution images.
- GSAT-6 is strategic satellite mainly for use by the armed forces for secure communication. The Indian Navy presently uses GSAT-7 for real-time communication among its warships, submarines, aircraft and land systems. GSAT-7A or ‘angry bird’ — an advanced military communication satellite for the Indian Air Force (IAF), was launched in December 2018. It is enhancing network-centric warfare capabilities by interlinking with the IAF ground radar network and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.
- EMISAT is a dedicated satellite launched in April 2019 to detect emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum.
- IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system being developed by ISRO. It will provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised military users.
targets
on ground from space or attack targets
transiting through space.
In order to meet Indian requirement of space-based Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), constellations of advanced communications satellites are required to provide Internet services for the military. Several constellations of Electro-Optical, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and Communication Intelligence (COMINT) satellites are to be placed in appropriate orbits for ISR. Small satellites on hot-standby will be required to be launched at short notice into LEO for ISR needs during crises. There should be adequate Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) satellites with C4ISR capability, as well as satellites for meeting operational and navigation functions. To meet all these requirements, India would need numerous PSLV, GSLV, and Launch on Demand (LoD) launchers every year. This would mean creating significant indigenous launch capacity.
Space Weapons
Space weapons can be categorised as those that attack targets in space (anti-satellite or ASAT) or attack targets on ground from space or attack targets transiting through space (anti-ballistic missile).
The Ground-to-Space kinetic weapons or ASAT are developed to attack satellites through warheads (conventional/nuclear) and causing collateral damage. These weapons have been successfully tested by United States, Russia, China and India (Mission Shakti in 2019). It is interesting to note that the HAMMER (Hyper-velocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response) technology developed by NASA can be used to power steer an incoming asteroid towards its enemy.
The Ground-to-Space non-kinetic weapons such as Uplink Jammer, Laser Dazzler/Blinder, and Cyberattacks are aimed to disrupt, degrade or destroy the ability of satellites/sensors to function properly without having any physical contact. Russia has developed Peresvet laser cannon that is capable of zapping satellites. US forces has begun operating a new offensive weapon system, an advance ground-based satellite communications jamming system. This system is targeted mainly at geostationary communications satellites. Multiple nations have demonstrated these capabilities, including Russia, China, Iran and others.
The Space-to-Space kinetic weapons are meant to physically damage satellites through co-orbital satellite collision or firing warhead (conventional/nuclear) and causing permanent damage. The Soviet Union had tested co-orbital kinetic ASAT weapons repeatedly during the Cold War.
The Space-to-Space non-kinetic weapons such as Co-orbital Crosslink Jammer or Co-orbital High-powered Microwave are aimed to disrupt, degrade or destroy the ability of satellites/sensors to function properly without having any physical contact. The US is running a laser gun program called Excalibur. It uses electricity to emit lasers which can concentrate devastating energy rays on their targets.
The Space-to-Ground kinetic weapons are meant for global strike by launching weapons with conventional/nuclear warheads placed in orbit that re-enter the atmosphere to strike a target on ground, when commanded. “Rods from the God” by the US is based on the concept of creating man-made meteorites made out of tungsten — a rare metal that can withstand the intense heat generated by entering Earth’s atmosphere with the ability to destroy hardened targets, like underground bunkers or reinforced structures, accurate enough to strike very close to the target.
The Space-to-Ground non-kinetic weapons such as Space-based Downlink Jammer, Space-based High-powered Laser are designed to target assets on Earth, such as a laser used to target missiles or aircraft in flight or a jammer used to interfere with operations of radars or satellite ground stations or navigation systems. When used, the effects would be localised to the target area, but such a system could theoretically strike anywhere without warning. While the US military has contemplated space-based lasers for boost-phase missile defence, there are no open-source examples of such a system being tested.
Space Situational Awareness
In view of a large number of space objects, implementation of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capability is very important for both civil and military applications. In civil context, SSA refers to tracking of objects in orbit and predicting where they will be at any given time. In military context, the SSA role is to generate current and predictive knowledge of space events and enable military to gain and maintain space superiority across all the spectrum of conflicts. To augment SSA capability requires establishing distributed network of ground and space-based sensors (multi-object tracking RADARs, optical telescopes, RF & Laser Ranging Systems)
The Space Fence radar facility developed by US Space Surveillance Network (SSN) can detect, track, catalogue and identify artificial objects orbiting earth, e.g. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. Space Fence will revolutionise the way of viewing space by providing timely, precise orbital data on objects that threaten both manned and unmanned military and commercial space assets. Russia is planning to develop space surveillance satellite that will monitor space along with a network of 65 ground-based optical telescopes that will help it identify potential threats and collision hazards in an accurate and timely manner by 2027.
India has the technology for multi-object tracking in LEO using Phased Array RADAR. The ground-based Multi Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) has been developed by ISRO for simultaneous tracking capability of ten objects up to a maximum range of 1,000 km for an object size of 0.25m. This can be exploited for the SSA system. Many Indian institutions have optical telescopes for the astronomical observations. The Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu, and the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, Uttarakhand, have successfully used their 1.3m IR telescopes to track and image the GSAT-6A Indian satellite. Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle, Ladakh, has also used its IR telescope for tracking navigation satellites of India.
It is good to note that ISRO has already entered into an agreement with ARIES for cooperation in the field of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Astrophysics. In addition, ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in “SSA and professional exchange programme”. ISRO has also initiated a Project NETRA (Project Network for space object Tracking and Analysis) which is aimed at monitoring, tracking and protecting India’s space assets. It will consist of a radar, an optical telescope facility, and a control centre for SSA.
The SSA implementation in India for military will require close coordination, collaboration and asset networking of defence organisations (viz. DRDO, NTRO), civil space organization (ISRO), Astronomy Institutes and Meteorological observation stations across India. It requires establishing a network of ground and space-based sensors (Multi-object tracking RADARs, optical telescopes, RF & Laser Ranging Systems) to effectively augment the SSA capability.
Former President and missile man Dr A P J Abdul Kalam had visualized the future military operations to be based on our scientific and technological competence in the development of communications satellites, high precision resource mapping satellites, missile systems, unmanned super-sonic aerial vehicles, and electronics and communication systems. This capability will enable the military to succeed in the electronically controlled warfare in the midst of space encounters, deep sea encounters, and ballistic missile encounters. To fulfil the vision of our great scientist, India is already developing military satellites with Command, C4ISR capabilities, Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system and anti-satellite weapons.
The exploitation of outer space is increasing and becoming an essential component for all the military operations, communications, navigation and timing, and much more. Adopting space technology and its command and control could surely give the country edge over others during strategic and tactical operations.
*The writer is Outstanding Scientist, DRDO, where he has been working for the past 30 years. He has vast research experience and has successfully executed several major Electronic Warfare and Space based Project(s) for the country.
