• UGI USER
  • Feb 03, 2023
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Space Militarism

Space as military domain

Space as a military domain is a well-accepted fact. Space is as much recognized as a military domain as land, water, air and cyber.

Efforts by different countries in the area

1.India

  • In India, historically, space has remained the sole jurisdiction of its civilian space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  • However, the successful demonstration (dubbed Mission Shakti) of an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test in 2019 changed things forever.
  • The same year, India conducted its first ever simulated space warfare exercise (IndSpaceX) with an eye on Chinese threats.
  • Furthermore, the launch of the tri-service Defence Space Agency (DSA) has permanently taken the military away from the shadows of civil space.
  • The government has also set up the Defence Space Research Agency (DSRA) to help develop space-based weapons for the DSA.

2.USA

  • In 2019, the U.S. stood up its space force as a branch under the department of the Air Force. At the time, it became the world’s only independent space force.

3.France

  • France conducted its first space military exercise, ASTERX, in 2021.

4.China

  • China is marching ahead to the Cis-Lunar space (region beyond the geosynchronous orbit) with an ambition to establish a permanent presence on the Moon by 2024.

Why Space Security is Important

 Space has assets that form the bedrock of the modern economy.

GPS (PNT — position navigation timing), telecom networks, early warning systems for missiles and weather forecasts all are enabled by our satellites in GEO or LEO orbits

Should India-U.S. collaborate on the issue

  • First, this single act will push India’s defence partnership into a new orbit.
  • Second, it will send a strong message to a common adversary, China.
  • Third, it will have other ripple effects for the wider Quad.
  • Space has been singled out as a critical area of cooperation in the recent Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) meeting between India and the U.S.
  • It will have actionable spill overs for the Quad, transform the moribund DTTI from a talk shop and send the right message to the adversary.

 

 

What are the constraints and threats?

  • First, it will provoke our eastern neighbours and compel them to draw a new redline.
  • Second, our eastern Neighbour will use our western neighbour as a proxy state.
  • Third, it will derail the ongoing Core Commanders dialogue in Ladakh.
  • Fourth, it will fastback militarization for space.

Way Forward

  • The lowest hanging fruit would be a joint anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test.
  • It is essentially a missile launched from the Earth’s surface to destroy a satellite passing overhead.
  • The test would be against a simulated orbital target as that does not create space debris and is not included in the wording of the U.S. moratorium.
  • Eventually, this will lead to other space military collaborations such as directed energy weapons, rendezvous and proximity operations (RPOs), co-orbital ASATs (in space micro satellites as a kinetic kill option), etc.

Changing times now require us to innovate on doctrines, technologies and deterrence. China is on its way to building a “world-class” Chinese military by 2049. If India is to become a space power and if the Indo-U.S. partnership is to become the alliance of alliances, then imaginative steps will be needed. It is time for the India-U.S. military collaboration to get bolder and travel from mountains to outer heavens

Practice Question

What are the threats and benefits associated with space militarism?