Why India should go in for space militarisation

For India, the ‘dynamics and fall-outs’ of a space war scenario were brought home when China conducted an anti-satellite test in early 2007. In a stunning demonstration of its prowess in the area of space defence, China destroyed its ageing weather watch satellite Feng Yun-1C located at an altitude of 537-kms from the surface of the earth by firing a ground-based intermediate range ballistic missile. This test also added substantially to the fast growing dump-yard of space debris in the near-earth orbit. Of course, for hitting and destroying spacecraft meant for communications and navigation that are normally placed in higher orbit, China would need to refine and augment its anti satellite system. In the immediate aftermath of this anti-satellite test, the then head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G. Madhavan Nair had observed that though it was well within the capability of the Indian space agency to deploy an anti-satellite weapon, India’s concern was to keep outer space a zone of peace and tranquillity.

 

Indeed at the international forums including the UN (United Nations), India has consistently opposed the weaponisation of outer space stating that out space should be utilised for peaceful, civilian uses. And the stated objective of ISRO is to harness the potential of space technology for speeding up pace of national development. Against such a posture, how India would be in a position to initiate the groundwork for anti-satellite system and related space war devices, no one is sure as yet. Perhaps India can take a leaf out of Japanese experience which has wriggled out of its constitutional commitment to keep its space programme a 100% peaceful enterprise. In the context of the perceived threat from China and North Korea, Japan has started harnessing the potentials of its satellite systems in pursuit of “self defence.” All said and done, Japan has not yet thought of developing anti-satellite systems and related space war devices.

 

A section of Indian strategic analysts are of the view that by exploiting the advances made by the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) in developing the missile defence shield and the strides registered by ISRO in building a range of satellites and launch vehicles, it would be possible to create a blueprint for India’s space war strategy. But here a political decision alone can deliver goods. The US state administration which has  always been suspicious about the “motives and goals” of the Indian space programme could very well exert pressure if India starts putting in place the building blocks of space war. This implies that the political leadership of the country should have the gumption to withstand the possible US intimidation.

 

Clearly and apparently, China’s advances in space war cannot but be a matter of concern for India’s defence establishment. While addressing the United Commanders Conference in New Delhi in mid-2008, Defence Minister A K Antony had highlighted India’s unease over the “emergence of anti-satellite weaponry, a new class of heavy lift-off boosters and improved array of military space devices in our neighbourhood”. Antony also wondered as to how long India would “remain committed to the policy of non-weaponisation of space even as counter space systems are emerging in our neighbourhood”. Against this backdrop, Indian warfare experts have stressed on the need to safeguard Indian “space assets from the looming threat of rogue satellites”. Significantly, a detailed analysis of China’s strategic ambitions by the Pentagon makes ample references to China’s advances in mastering the techniques of attacking satellites towards refining its space warfare strategy.

 

For quite sometime now, DRDO chief Dr V K Sarswat has been projecting the need for India to protect its space assets. In this context, he stated that DRDO would initiate work on realising the building blocks of an anti-satellite system to safeguard Indian satellites from the threat of “rogue satellites” Rightly and appropriately, DRDO feels the need to protect Indian space assets that are critical to every aspect of military operations on the ground, in the air and on the sea. In all probability, the Indian anti-satellite system is expected to be a ‘kinetic energy’ weapon equipped to slam a projectile into the target. In the absence of an officially approved Indian anti-satellite project, the actual status of such a project is fuzzy.

 

Saraswat is clear in his perception that India should not leave anything to chance in so far as protecting its space assets is concerned. According to him, space security entails the creation of capabilities which includes protection of satellites, especially those meant for communications and navigation and the denial to the enemy of use of their own space systems. Saraswat has also spoken of laser sensors and exo-atmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) that DRDO plans to develop. Of course, it is clear that space based defensive and offensive devices would be deployed only if India is left without any other option. Yet another concept projected by DRDO to protect Indian space assets is the creation of a constellation of small satellites with warheads that can be activated in the event of an enemy attack.

 

In fact, the tests carried out by Soviets in 1967 for a ‘hunter killer’ satellite signalled the possibility of outer space becoming a theatre of war. This was engineered to chase a target satellite before blowing it up in mid-air. In response, Americans too started perfecting the technology of killer satellite devices .After mid-1980s, both Soviets and Americans seem to have drawn a curtain on their respective space war efforts. But then now both Russia and USA have left none in doubt that if the situation demands they would revive and refine their space war efforts. And with China joining the race to harness outer space to realise its long term strategic goals, can India afford to lag behind?