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Dedicated satellite for Navy by year-end - India - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: India's first dedicated military satellite should be up in space well within a year. Indian Space Research Organisation has fixed the "launch window'' of the naval communication and surveillance satellite between December 2010 and March 2011.
The defence establishment was slightly worried ISRO might not be able to stick to the planned launch window after the failure of the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) in mid-April, which was launched with the new indigenously-developed cryogenic engine.
"But ISRO has assured us the naval satellite, with an around 1,000 nautical mile footprint over Indian Ocean, will be launched as slated... The project cost is Rs 950 crore. IAF and Army satellites will follow in a couple of years,'' said a senior MoD official on Wednesday.
This comes even as the top Navy brass, led by Admiral Nirmal Verma, is currently discussing the intricacies of "navy-wide network-centric operations'' and "maritime domain awareness'', both of which hinge on dedicated satellite capabilities, during the ongoing naval commanders' conference here.
Coupled with induction of eight P-8i long-range maritime patrol aircraft between 2013 and 2017 under a $2.1-billion deal inked with US, the geo-stationary satellite will ensure a quantum jump in Navy's C4ISR (command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) capabilities.
Though India sees its primary area of strategic interest stretching from Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait, Navy as of now does not have "dedicated sensors'' which can provide it with a "clear picture of all actors'' in the constantly changing maritime environment.
The dedicated satellite will help Navy network all its warships, submarines and aircraft among themselves as well as with operational centres ashore through high-speed data-links. "Maritime threats can then be detected and shared in real-time to ensure swift reaction,'' said an officer.
Indian armed forces have long used "dual use'' satellites like Cartosat-I, Cartosat-II and Cartosat-IIA, among others, but it will only be now that they will get dedicated satellites of their own.
This is in keeping with the Defence Space Vision-2020, which identifies intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, communication and navigation as the thrust areas in Phase-I till 2012. The need to keep "real-time'' tabs on enemy troop movements, warships, airbases, missile silos and the like cannot be over-emphasised.
There are, for instance, around 300 dedicated or dual-use military satellites orbiting around the earth at present. The US, of course, leads the pack, owning 50% of them, followed by Russia and China.
India, however, has been slow to react to even China's huge strides in the military use of space, which was rudely brought home by Beijing's test of an ASAT (anti-satellite) weapon in January 2007. The government, for instance, is still reluctant to establish a full-fledged Aerospace Command despite the armed forces demanding it for years.
NEW DELHI: India's first dedicated military satellite should be up in space well within a year. Indian Space Research Organisation has fixed the "launch window'' of the naval communication and surveillance satellite between December 2010 and March 2011.
The defence establishment was slightly worried ISRO might not be able to stick to the planned launch window after the failure of the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) in mid-April, which was launched with the new indigenously-developed cryogenic engine.
"But ISRO has assured us the naval satellite, with an around 1,000 nautical mile footprint over Indian Ocean, will be launched as slated... The project cost is Rs 950 crore. IAF and Army satellites will follow in a couple of years,'' said a senior MoD official on Wednesday.
This comes even as the top Navy brass, led by Admiral Nirmal Verma, is currently discussing the intricacies of "navy-wide network-centric operations'' and "maritime domain awareness'', both of which hinge on dedicated satellite capabilities, during the ongoing naval commanders' conference here.
Coupled with induction of eight P-8i long-range maritime patrol aircraft between 2013 and 2017 under a $2.1-billion deal inked with US, the geo-stationary satellite will ensure a quantum jump in Navy's C4ISR (command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) capabilities.
Though India sees its primary area of strategic interest stretching from Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait, Navy as of now does not have "dedicated sensors'' which can provide it with a "clear picture of all actors'' in the constantly changing maritime environment.
The dedicated satellite will help Navy network all its warships, submarines and aircraft among themselves as well as with operational centres ashore through high-speed data-links. "Maritime threats can then be detected and shared in real-time to ensure swift reaction,'' said an officer.
Indian armed forces have long used "dual use'' satellites like Cartosat-I, Cartosat-II and Cartosat-IIA, among others, but it will only be now that they will get dedicated satellites of their own.
This is in keeping with the Defence Space Vision-2020, which identifies intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, communication and navigation as the thrust areas in Phase-I till 2012. The need to keep "real-time'' tabs on enemy troop movements, warships, airbases, missile silos and the like cannot be over-emphasised.
There are, for instance, around 300 dedicated or dual-use military satellites orbiting around the earth at present. The US, of course, leads the pack, owning 50% of them, followed by Russia and China.
India, however, has been slow to react to even China's huge strides in the military use of space, which was rudely brought home by Beijing's test of an ASAT (anti-satellite) weapon in January 2007. The government, for instance, is still reluctant to establish a full-fledged Aerospace Command despite the armed forces demanding it for years.
