How Navy will boost maritime surveillance with new GSAT 7R communication satellite

The Indian Navy is set for a major upgrade in maritime operations with the launch of GSAT 7R, an advanced communication satellite by ISRO on Sunday evening.

The satellite will strengthen the Navy’s ability to track hostile warships and pirates, and enable secure, real-time communication between warships, submarines, aircraft, UAVs, and helicopters, providing commanders with enhanced situational awareness and faster decision-making at sea.

Named by ISRO as CMS-03, GSAT 7R is the most advanced communication satellite developed for the Navy to date. It will significantly bolster space-based communications and maritime domain awareness while improving real-time data exchange between naval ships and shore-based stations.

With faster, secure communication links and higher-resolution imagery and video, commanders will gain improved situational awareness to make critical operational decisions.

Since 2013, the Navy has relied on its dedicated GSAT 7 satellite, also known as ‘Rukmini’. Over the past decade, technological advancements necessitated an upgrade, which GSAT 7R is designed to provide.

Navy officials explained that GSAT 7R will offer high-capacity bandwidth, ensuring seamless, secure communication links between ships, submarines, aircraft, and Maritime Operations Centres.

Weighing approximately 4,400 kg, it is India’s heaviest communication satellite to date and incorporates multiple indigenous, state-of-the-art components tailored to the Navy’s operational requirements.

The satellite’s payload includes transponders capable of supporting voice, data, and video links across multiple communication bands, providing robust telecommunication coverage throughout the Indian Ocean Region.

GSAT 7R will be launched from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, further cementing India’s capabilities in naval communication and maritime surveillance.

Its predecessor, GSAT-7, was launched on August 30, 2013, from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana via an Ariane-5 E rocket, marking India’s first dedicated military communication satellite mission.

With GSAT 7R, the Indian Navy aims to bridge technological gaps and achieve real-time operational superiority across its fleet in the Indian Ocean and beyond.