India’s first dedicated military satellite GSAT-7 or “Rukmini”, which will be launched by Arianespace from French Guiana on Friday, will provide the Navy with an almost 2,000 nautical mile footprint over the critical Indian Ocean region (IOR).
Essentially a geo-stationary communication satellite to enable real-time networking of all Indian warships, submarines and aircraft with operational centres ashore, the 2,625 kg Rukmini will also help the Navy keep a hawk-eye over both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. “From Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait, it will help cover almost 70% of the IOR,” said asource.
The “over-the-sea use” Rukmini, with UHF, S, Ku and C-band transponders, is to be followed by GSAT-7A with the IAF and Army sharing its “over-the-land use” bandwidth. The Navy has been clamouring for such a satellite for close to a decade now to shorten its “sensor-to-shooter loop” — the ability to swiftly detect and tackle a threat — but the delay in the indigenous GSLV rocket to carry satellites and other factors have been the stumbling blocks.
India, of course, has been a late entrant into the military space arena despite having a robust civilian programme for decades. Without dedicated satellites of their own, the Armed forces were relegated to using “dual use” Cartosat satellites or the Technology Experimental Satellite launched in 2001, apart from leasing foreign satellite transponders for surveillance, navigation and communication purposes.
China, in sharp contrast, has taken huge strides in the military space arena, testing even ASAT (anti-satellite) weapons against “low-earth orbit” satellites since January 2007. “With counter-space being a top priority, China has been testing its ‘direct-ascent kinetic kill’ capabilities. It also has programmes for kinetic and directed-energy laser weapons as well as nano-satellites. By 2020, it hopes to have a space station with military applications,” said a source.
Incidentally, around 300 dedicated or dual-use military satellites are orbiting around the earth, with the US owning 50% of them, followed by Russia and China. But India has lagged far behind in utilisation of the final frontier of space for military purposes.
Dedicated military satellites like Rukmini will help India keep real-time tabs over the rapidly-militarizing IOR, where China is increasingly expanding its strategic footprint across land borders.
Essentially a geo-stationary communication satellite to enable real-time networking of all Indian warships, submarines and aircraft with operational centres ashore, the 2,625 kg Rukmini will also help the Navy keep a hawk-eye over both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. “From Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait, it will help cover almost 70% of the IOR,” said asource.
The “over-the-sea use” Rukmini, with UHF, S, Ku and C-band transponders, is to be followed by GSAT-7A with the IAF and Army sharing its “over-the-land use” bandwidth. The Navy has been clamouring for such a satellite for close to a decade now to shorten its “sensor-to-shooter loop” — the ability to swiftly detect and tackle a threat — but the delay in the indigenous GSLV rocket to carry satellites and other factors have been the stumbling blocks.
India, of course, has been a late entrant into the military space arena despite having a robust civilian programme for decades. Without dedicated satellites of their own, the Armed forces were relegated to using “dual use” Cartosat satellites or the Technology Experimental Satellite launched in 2001, apart from leasing foreign satellite transponders for surveillance, navigation and communication purposes.
China, in sharp contrast, has taken huge strides in the military space arena, testing even ASAT (anti-satellite) weapons against “low-earth orbit” satellites since January 2007. “With counter-space being a top priority, China has been testing its ‘direct-ascent kinetic kill’ capabilities. It also has programmes for kinetic and directed-energy laser weapons as well as nano-satellites. By 2020, it hopes to have a space station with military applications,” said a source.
Incidentally, around 300 dedicated or dual-use military satellites are orbiting around the earth, with the US owning 50% of them, followed by Russia and China. But India has lagged far behind in utilisation of the final frontier of space for military purposes.
Dedicated military satellites like Rukmini will help India keep real-time tabs over the rapidly-militarizing IOR, where China is increasingly expanding its strategic footprint across land borders.
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