Space-based assets crucial for defence, lot of technology being developed: ISRO chief

Developing technology and applications for the defence sector – a critical requirement for future warfare — is one of the important mandates for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and a roadmap in this regard has been developed.

“One of our responsibilities is to ensure that tomorrow the entire thing will be controlled by the space sector. Without proper satellites and other related technology, communication, navigation, earth observation technology, we cannot fight anything,” ISRO Chairman, Dr V Narayanan, told The Tribune on Monday.

“So towards that, one of our responsibilities is to ensure the required satellites are available for the safety and security of every citizen and we are working towards that,” he said. “There is a clear road map, but to be frank, because it involves the country’s security, I don’t want to talk much at this point of time, but I can only assure you that we are working in all directions, including the safety and security aspects, he added.

“Right now, we have 57 satellites in space and we are going to increase these numbers to three times. A lot of new technology is being developed, including AI-based technology, new propulsion systems, new inertial systems and new payloads,” Dr Narayanan, who was here to attend the India International Science Festival said.

The ISRO chief said that the agency operates 50 space applications in earth observation, satellite communications, navigation, disaster warning and mitigation, and weather forecasting, ensuring safety and security of the common man.

“In Operation Sindoor, the satellites worked perfectly. Now towards that, a lot of technology development has taken place in the area of launch vehicle, satellite, applications and other important scientific missions,” he said.

“When we started our space programme, the resolution of the cameras used to be 1km. Today, we have 28cm resolution cameras, and a lot of technology developments are taking place, including electric propulsion and nuclear propulsion,” he said.

In July, ISRO launched the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), a highly advanced earth imaging satellite developed in collaboration with the US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In November, ISRO’s Launch Vehicle Mark-3 was placed into geosynchronous orbit, the CMS-03 communication satellite, a multi-band communication spacecraft that primarily has military applications and provides services over a wide oceanic region, including the Indian landmass.

CMS-03 satellite will significantly enhance connectivity, provide sharper and higher-capacity bandwidth and improve digital access to remote territories, facilitating both civilian agencies and strategic applications.

It will also help upgrade defence communications by providing secure and reliable voice, data and video transmission across different regions as well as enable secure communication links between naval ships, aircraft and shore based-installations.

Use of satellites received an impetus after the 1999 Kargil conflict, when the lack of indigenous capability was severely felt and India was saddled with outdated imagery of the war zone provided by certain foreign countries.

India presently operates nine satellites for defence purposes. Among them, two GSAT-7 and GSAT-7A are dedicated military satellites, while the rest like HySIS, CartoSat, EMISAT, RISAT and EOS, are dual purpose satellites. Six more satellites will have military applications planned for launch soon.

After the retirement of the Soviet-era MiG-25R tri-sonic high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that the IAF operated from 1981 to 2006, India depends upon satellites for strategic reconnaissance and imagery. The satellites are supplemented at the tactical level by unmanned aerial vehicles and fighter aircraft equipped with externally mounted camera pods.

In India, the Defence Space Agency (DSA), a tri-services agency under the Integrated Defence Staff headquartered at Bengaluru, is responsible for operating satellites and conducting space-warfare, including research, threat assessment, anti-satellite programmes and doctrinal aspects.

India’s foray into using outer space for military purposes began with the ‘Space Based Surveillance Phase-I’ project, which was approved by the Vajpayee government in 2001. As a part of this, four satellites — Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, EROS-B and RISAT-2 — were launched. Space Based Surveillance Phase-II was approved in 2013, which saw six satellites — Cartosat-2C, Cartosat-2D, Cartosat-3A, Cartosat-3B, Microsat-TD, RISAT-2A — being put in space, according to reports.

In October 2024, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved a proposal for the development, construction and launch of at least 52 satellites as a part of Space Based Surveillance Phase-III for round the clock, all weather reconnaissance and surveillance from space across land and sea domains, as well as enhance secure communications capability.

The project, estimated to be worth Rs 26,968 crore, will be supervised by the National Security Council Secretariat along with the DSA. ISRO will construct 21 satellites while the remaining 31 will be built by the private sector.