Complex global security concerns, exemplified by events like the Hamas attack on Israel, raise demands for a robust network facilitating real-time intelligence and decision-making. To address these challenges, space-based assets have emerged as indispensable tools, providing invaluable capabilities for secure military operations.
India’s nascent, but burgeoning, private sector space players represent a dynamic force inching to contribute to the nation’s defence needs, making it a pivotal player in the unfolding space security strategy.
The framework for this strategy not only encompasses technical aspects but also requires a well-coordinated, whole-of-nation approach, bringing together civil, defence, industry, academia, and think-tanks to ensure that the country’s space security is comprehensive and resilient. In the complex landscape of space operations and formulation of a clear national security perspective for space utilisation, the need for a robust national space security policy has been underlined.
Such a policy will play a pivotal role in shaping India’s stance on secure and peaceful space utilisation for national security. Formulation of this policy will necessitate redefining the strategic security framework and concept of operations to yield the desired results for strategic applications of space. It will lay the groundwork for a coordinated and effective approach to space activities that are critical for India’s defence and maintaining harmony and peaceful coexistence in the realms of outer space.
The Indian Space Policy, unveiled last year, elaborates plans for end-to-end commercial space activities by private enterprises, from launching satellites and rockets into space to operating ground stations. However, it does not cover space security aspects. A national space security policy will redefine the nation’s approach to peaceful space utilisation with unambiguous and firm security considerations.
Enhancing defence space preparedness will subsequently necessitate bolstering space security policy with defence space doctrine and strategy.
In times of crisis, seamless coordination among various stakeholders of space is essential, and this can be achieved through the Union War Book, which should define the roles and responsibilities of various players.
Space is a strategic and limited resource, and its judicious national utilisation must reflect this status. The notion of restricting ownership of space-based assets for the exclusive use of specific organisations ultimately places all users at a disadvantage. India’s current economic climate, characterised by unwavering efforts in nation-building, does not permit the luxury of selective use of space-based assets in departmental silos. Therefore, the concept of segregation and classification of space assets as civil and defence assets results in a suboptimal and detrimental approach. Dual-use assets should be the priority.
The advantages offered by dual-use space assets are not confined to military applications alone; they also positively impact the economy by concurrently meeting the requirements of both civil and commercial sectors. To fortify India’s national defence capabilities in space, the architectural review of the Space Commission, comprising representatives from all stakeholders responsible for planning, designing, developing, executing, and sustaining strategic space requirements from a national security perspective, is essential.
India’s venture into space security, intertwined with defence readiness, necessitates a comprehensive and well-structured national strategy. This strategy should leverage a holistic national approach integrating space for strategic, civil, and commercial purposes.
