In light of the intense race to militarise space, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan made a strong case on Tuesday for developing dual-use platforms with a special emphasis on incorporating cutting-edge technology in the space domain. Inaugurating the three-day Indian DefSpace Symposium organized by the Indian Space Association (ISpA), Gen Chauhan stated that the steady traffic towards space weaponization has led to the possibility of a space war.
CDS Anil Chauhan on Space Warfare
“Space is a domain that is improving the capabilities of other domains such as land, sea, air, and even cyber. We cannot separate the military application of space from the dominant discourse “He stated. The CDS highlighted Russia’s and China’s anti-satellite tests, emphasizing the importance of India developing offensive and defensive space capabilities.
“In terms of India, the current and future challenges are that India should transition from space support to space enhancement. The goal for all of us should be to create dual-use platforms with a special emphasis on incorporating cutting-edge technology “General Chauhan stated. He stated that India should increase the size of the NavIC constellation, provide agile space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and ensure secure satellite-assisted communications. “We also need to investigate the field of satellite miniaturization and reusable launch platforms to mitigate cost challenges and accelerate the pace of augmenting our space-based capabilities,” Gen Chauhan said.
The populating of the space domain, as well as the emergence of a dynamic threat environment to space assets, necessitated that India improves its space situational awareness capability, he said, adding that ISRO’s Project Netra was a step in that direction.
According to Gen Chauhan, the invasion of the space domain by commercial enterprises, such as SpaceX and Maxar during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has opened up a new front in the war on convergence. “This, combined with the intense race towards militarization of space,” the CDS said, “has resulted in the battlespace expanding and the very nature of warfare on the verge of transformation.”
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