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Unbreakable Communication
By Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch
The Army should review its communication philosophy and cater to requisite satellite communications with alacrity, boosting the Indian Armys quest for acquiring true NCW capabilities.
Communications have been important for winning battles since time immemorial. Success or failure continue to be dependent on the ability of the fighting force components to communicate with each other. Future wars will continue to be technology driven and technology is developing speedily. Today, militaries use very high technology communication systems wherein messages can be sent and received instantly through a secured network. The equipment is specially tailored since no compromise in quality is acceptable. Satellite signals are mainly used for radio transmission with high security features to avoid interception and recording by the enemy.
Satellite communications (SATCOM) are increasingly becoming important in the fast moving operations not only for non-line of sight (NLOS) communications, but also where large and varied forces, including strike corps and their various battle groups, are engaged in manoeuvres and intense battle, optimising net-centric warfare (NCW) capabilities to multiply the effect by converging at a time and place of ones choosing over long distances. Advantages of SATCOM are being exploited by terrorists too, as is apparent from the large number of Inmarsat and Thuraya radio sets captured in anti-terrorist operations in India.
With flexible operational services and compact ground terminals, SATCOM services offer attractive solutions for military users. Dedicated military satellite networks are augmented by commercial services like demand assigned multiple access (DAMA) controlled networks that offer the user total control of the space link. SATCOM provides terrain-independent communications, flexible networking, and direct link to final destination without reliance on radio relays.
Indigenous satellites
With Apple, INSAT satellite series, ASC Network, etc, India has come a long way from 1981 when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) first experimented with geosynchronous telecommunications relays to now having a number of active spacecraft in geosynchrous earth orbit (GEO). Indian GEO platforms perform the dual functions of communications and earth observation.
The first dedicated military satellite (INSAT-7) is now on the anvil. Despite failure of the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLVD3) in April this year, ISRO has assured that its first dedicated military satellite is on schedule and will be launched within a year. It will have a footprint of around 1,000 nautical miles over the Indian Ocean. The requirement was first projected by the Navy a few years back. Though the Army and the Air Force woke up late, they will get to share the bandwidth of INSAT-7 partially till dedicated Army and Air Force satellites are launched in coming years.
Types of communication satellites
Globally, communication satellites are functioning on C, Ku, Ka, S and L Bands. C Band is widely used and proven, has large bandwidth and no rain attenuation. Ku Band has similar advantages; besides communication on the move (COTM) is possible. However, in both C and Ku Bands, the equipment is not easily portable and is prone to mechanical failure due to size, weight and movement. The sub-assemblies are large and so the installation time is considerable. In the Ka Band, broadband communication is possible, power consumption is low, use of solar panels is possible and feasibility of COTM exists. However, this system is adversely affected by snow, rain and heavy clouds. Space segment in Ka Band is currently limited in India. The S Band is meant only for radar communications and hence has not been discussed further.
L Band is by far more reliable especially under NLOS conditions as accurate pointing is not required between satellite and user terminals. The system is highly portable, and man-portable option is available. It is lightweight with no moving parts, quick to deploy with rapid connectivity, not affected by weather conditions and has low power requirements, lower attenuation, and better range. However, L Band has less bandwidth availability compared to C, Ku, Ka Bands and has interference with terrestrial communications. L Band services include standard IP, flexible bandwidth based on usage, user control and spot beams.
A dispassionate analysis of the various types of satellites would indicate that L Band is most suited for non-terrestrial communications in the tactical battle area (TBA). L Band terminals are truly portable, plug-andplay, reliable on account of integrated design, communications for land, sea and air applications, flexible and have low first time investments. For some inexplicable reason none of the indigenous satellites are L Band, even though the initial investments compared to other satellites is less.
The dedicated military satellite (INSAT-7) to be launched too will not be L Band. Though a number of foreign satellites on L Band have footprints over India, use of a foreign satellite for operational military communications raises legitimate apprehensions of security.
Foreign firms argue that security while using a foreign satellite can be made foolproof if the security gateway is positioned within Indian territory and indigenous security solutions developed by the Centre for Artificial intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) are superimposed. However, this requires thorough analysis. Under our existing regulatory regime, any company even wishing to provide subscription-based television services to customers in India must uplink from Indian territory and must use INSAT or a satellite system approved by the Department of Space (DoS). Approval for using a foreign satellite by a DTH service provider is given rarely for short term (with ISRO approval) until INSAT is able to launch additional capacity.
By Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch
The Army should review its communication philosophy and cater to requisite satellite communications with alacrity, boosting the Indian Armys quest for acquiring true NCW capabilities.
Communications have been important for winning battles since time immemorial. Success or failure continue to be dependent on the ability of the fighting force components to communicate with each other. Future wars will continue to be technology driven and technology is developing speedily. Today, militaries use very high technology communication systems wherein messages can be sent and received instantly through a secured network. The equipment is specially tailored since no compromise in quality is acceptable. Satellite signals are mainly used for radio transmission with high security features to avoid interception and recording by the enemy.
Satellite communications (SATCOM) are increasingly becoming important in the fast moving operations not only for non-line of sight (NLOS) communications, but also where large and varied forces, including strike corps and their various battle groups, are engaged in manoeuvres and intense battle, optimising net-centric warfare (NCW) capabilities to multiply the effect by converging at a time and place of ones choosing over long distances. Advantages of SATCOM are being exploited by terrorists too, as is apparent from the large number of Inmarsat and Thuraya radio sets captured in anti-terrorist operations in India.
With flexible operational services and compact ground terminals, SATCOM services offer attractive solutions for military users. Dedicated military satellite networks are augmented by commercial services like demand assigned multiple access (DAMA) controlled networks that offer the user total control of the space link. SATCOM provides terrain-independent communications, flexible networking, and direct link to final destination without reliance on radio relays.
Indigenous satellites
With Apple, INSAT satellite series, ASC Network, etc, India has come a long way from 1981 when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) first experimented with geosynchronous telecommunications relays to now having a number of active spacecraft in geosynchrous earth orbit (GEO). Indian GEO platforms perform the dual functions of communications and earth observation.
The first dedicated military satellite (INSAT-7) is now on the anvil. Despite failure of the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLVD3) in April this year, ISRO has assured that its first dedicated military satellite is on schedule and will be launched within a year. It will have a footprint of around 1,000 nautical miles over the Indian Ocean. The requirement was first projected by the Navy a few years back. Though the Army and the Air Force woke up late, they will get to share the bandwidth of INSAT-7 partially till dedicated Army and Air Force satellites are launched in coming years.
Types of communication satellites
Globally, communication satellites are functioning on C, Ku, Ka, S and L Bands. C Band is widely used and proven, has large bandwidth and no rain attenuation. Ku Band has similar advantages; besides communication on the move (COTM) is possible. However, in both C and Ku Bands, the equipment is not easily portable and is prone to mechanical failure due to size, weight and movement. The sub-assemblies are large and so the installation time is considerable. In the Ka Band, broadband communication is possible, power consumption is low, use of solar panels is possible and feasibility of COTM exists. However, this system is adversely affected by snow, rain and heavy clouds. Space segment in Ka Band is currently limited in India. The S Band is meant only for radar communications and hence has not been discussed further.
L Band is by far more reliable especially under NLOS conditions as accurate pointing is not required between satellite and user terminals. The system is highly portable, and man-portable option is available. It is lightweight with no moving parts, quick to deploy with rapid connectivity, not affected by weather conditions and has low power requirements, lower attenuation, and better range. However, L Band has less bandwidth availability compared to C, Ku, Ka Bands and has interference with terrestrial communications. L Band services include standard IP, flexible bandwidth based on usage, user control and spot beams.
A dispassionate analysis of the various types of satellites would indicate that L Band is most suited for non-terrestrial communications in the tactical battle area (TBA). L Band terminals are truly portable, plug-andplay, reliable on account of integrated design, communications for land, sea and air applications, flexible and have low first time investments. For some inexplicable reason none of the indigenous satellites are L Band, even though the initial investments compared to other satellites is less.
The dedicated military satellite (INSAT-7) to be launched too will not be L Band. Though a number of foreign satellites on L Band have footprints over India, use of a foreign satellite for operational military communications raises legitimate apprehensions of security.
Foreign firms argue that security while using a foreign satellite can be made foolproof if the security gateway is positioned within Indian territory and indigenous security solutions developed by the Centre for Artificial intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) are superimposed. However, this requires thorough analysis. Under our existing regulatory regime, any company even wishing to provide subscription-based television services to customers in India must uplink from Indian territory and must use INSAT or a satellite system approved by the Department of Space (DoS). Approval for using a foreign satellite by a DTH service provider is given rarely for short term (with ISRO approval) until INSAT is able to launch additional capacity.
