India to launch 52 surveillance satellites: Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan

Stepping up its efforts to harness the outer space for military use, India is set to launch 52 dedicated satellites for gathering intelligence and surveillance.

In addition, a military space doctrine, which would serve as a policy for the armed forces, was expected to be finalised within the next three months, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said today in his address at the Indian DefSpace Symposium here.

“We are looking at launching 52 satellites for the purpose of intelligence gathering, reconnaissance and surveillance. This will be done by the Indian Space Research Organisation in association with the private industry,” he said. The symposium was organised by the Indian Space Association at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses here.

Apart from the military space doctrine, the government was also working on a national military space policy, said General Chauhan. The doctrine, he said, would define space for the military in terms of low and medium earth orbit constellations.

“With space emerging as a new domain that will dominate warfare, the tri-services need to have their own space warfare school for training in the near future,” he said.

The General listed how militaries were using space for observation, communication and targeting. “This will form the basic building block for future wars,” he said.

The CDS said the nation needed to have a space culture that fostered new ideas and capabilities in warfare. “This culture should include seminal research, original doctrines and strategies. It's not just about creating startups, but we also need to have journals and institutes to ideate on the subject,” he said.

Former Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari (retd) said, “Satellites are shrinking in size but growing in capability. We are witnessing a strategic shift from large satellites to proliferated and resilient constellations across multiple orbits.”

On the private sector’s emergence in the space sector, Indian Space Association Chairman Jayant Patil said, “The Indian industry has already delivered technologies such as surveillance and communication satellites, jammers and tracking radars”. The symposium was aimed at exploring the latest trends, opportunities and challenges in the defence and space sectors, said Patil.