Military Application of Space - Special Reference to US Capabilities

Most space endeavours since the launch of the first Russian satellite ‘Sputnik’ in 1957 have been motivated by the national security interests of advanced nations. Continuing technological advances of the past five decades have facilitated the increasing use of outer space for military support functions such as communication, reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance. With the advent of digital electronic networks and the global positioning system (GPS), outer space capabilities are now getting integrated into direct war-fighting doctrines for superior situational awareness and for high-precision guidance of stand-off weapons. Techno-military capabilities in outer space have, thus, emerged as a major force-multiplier and consequently, the superiority as well as the vulnerability of space assets has become critical to the national security calculus of advanced nations.

Fortunately, the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) of 1963 and the Outer Space Treaty (OST) of 1967 have prevented the testing or the deployment of nuclear or any WMD class of weapons in outer space and the scientific or the commercial exploration of outer space has progressed without the influence of military interests. However, R&D efforts for military superiority in outer space have progressed unabated and technological options now exist for the weaponisation of outer space. While the international debate on the definition of ‘space weapons’ and on the ‘Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space’ (PAROS) heats up, recent developments in missile defence technologies and the new class of high-tech weapons for anti-satellite (ASAT) applications have created a new urgency about the security of outer space for all space-faring nations. Given the huge scientific, commercial and military potential of space technology and space assets, several countries are now striving to build their own space capabilities for civilian, defence and security applications. Outer space has, thus, become integral to societal development, economic competitiveness as well as techno-military superiority.

Outer space, ‘the province of all mankind’, is common to satellites, ballistic missiles as well as future missile defence systems and space transportation systems. Both the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union had developed significant capabilities for Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) and ASAT. However the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) ensured the balance of deterrence through limits on the deployment of such technologies. With the abrogation of the ABT in June 2002, the US has raced ahead with the testing and deployment of BMD systems that are a matter of serious concern to Russia and China. It is clear that in the 21st century, space technology capabilities will very likely dictate the strategic balance of deterrence and heavily influence the international power balance equations.

Techno-Military Trends

The United States being the undisputed leader in techno-military capabilities in space today, a fair appreciation of the impact of outer space capabilities on defence and security perspectives of nations can be best achieved through a closer look at US capabilities and future trends. Since the ‘Strategic Defense Initiative’ (SDI) of President Regan in 1983, military capabilities in outer space have made impressive progress and some of these advanced capabilities were demonstrated by the US military in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, it is the US action plan for BMD that has created serious threats to outer space security as they have significant ASAT capabilities.  Specifically, three areas of technology advances are likely to dictate ‘Military Space Superiority’, and herewith is presented an appreciation of these in terms of their impact on security.

A) Kinetic kill interceptors for ground based mid-course BMD - These are mostly 3 stage rocket boosters with burn-out speed of 7-8 km/sec that can have 6000 km vertical range. With the on-board sensors and guidance they can not only track and intercept missiles but also destroy softer targets such as low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, as recently demonstrated by both US and China.
  
B) Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) – US is close to testing and deployment of Air Borne Laser (ABL) that is designed to destroy BM at 600 km range with a directed beam of ‘High Power Laser’ (HPL). Mounted on board a Boing 747 aircraft flying over the cloud level of 10 km altitude with a look-up capability, ABL can easily destroy LEO satellites and even damage sensors on far higher geo-stationary satellites without creating any space debris. Ground based HPL systems can also blind/damage the on-board sensors and electronics of LEO satellites. 

C) Micro Satellites – Using MEMS and Nanotechnology full-function satellites weighing less than 10 kg are becoming practical. These can be launched at 1 percent of the conventional cost and deployed in large numbers as a part of space defence systems. These could be easily programmed to get attached to enemy satellite to explode in suicide mode or simply guided to collide with larger objects in space.

US Space Command’s ‘Strategic Master Plan’ calls for ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ in space by 2010 through integration of space capabilities with information security and defence strategies. US today recognizes that further weaponisation of outer space is a matter of time and comprehensive space control must be achieved by 2010, not only to protect its own space assets but also deny the use of outer space to adversaries, at least in times of conflict. Such denial might be exercised through the direct use of force in space for conflict resolution as well as through technology control regimes in peace time.

Indian Perspective

For a country with established capabilities in civilian space technologies and independent space assets it is imperative for India to remain actively engaged in the international negotiations on the subject of security of outer space. Within the country, there is urgent need for an informed debate on the subject involving policy makers, technologist experts, user services and think tanks. It is very likely that by 2020 security of outer space will become a subject as important as nuclear deterrence is today, because military space capabilities and the new class of space weapons will directly affect the nuclear-missile deterrence value. Space will, thus, become an important new dimension in the calculations for military and economic power. If well thought-out military doctrines as well as defence technology policy guidelines are not evolved now, India may, by default become a reactive party and a follower of other nations instead of taking proactive steps which best suit its national security interests. 
 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views either of the Editorial Committee or the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.