By IANS
New Delhi : After the Indian Air Force (IAF), it is the turn of the Indian Army to eye space-based assets as powerful force-multipliers in an era of network-centric warfare.
Towards this, the Indian Army’s newly developed Space Vision 2020 will be high on the agenda of the five-day Army Commander’s conference being held here Oct 23-27.
“The army realizes the importance of space as a vital arena for future exploitation and has already established a space cell to coordinate space-based applications in a joint services operational environment,” an Indian Army statement said.
The Indian Army’s Corps of Signals commanded by Lt. Gen. Sree Kumar is the nodal agency for the space cell, it is learnt. The overall supervision is in the hands of the Indian Army deputy chief for information systems and training, Lt. Gen. Susheel Gupta.
“The deliberations during the conference will be aimed at ratifying the army’s space philosophy; concept of utilization of space at tactical, operational and strategic levels; desired operational capabilities and related ground and space assets,” the statement added.
“Space applications are expected to enhance functional effectiveness of the army even in non-combat operations through use of space-based communications, weather forecasts, avalanche warnings and navigation.
“Towards this, the issue of consolidation and convergence of networks to cater to appropriate redundancies are also slated to be deliberated upon at length,” the statement said.
Even as it fine-tunes its space vision, the Indian Army will soon commission its first space-based force multiplier in the shape of a satellite based surveillance and reconnaissance (SBS) system.
Riding on the Cartosat satellite, SBS will enable Indian Army commanders keep close tabs on troop movements, missile silos, military installations and airbases of neighbouring countries, as also augment surveillance over Indian airspace.
Apart from the satellite, the SBS will comprise a Defence Imagery Processing and Analysis Centre in Delhi and a satellite control facility in Bhopal.
It is not that the army is new to operating with satellites. In the past, it has utilised transponders on the INSAT series of satellites to monitor operations in Sri Lanka in 1987 when its troops went in to disarm Tamil Tiger rebels.
More recently, satellite imagery was used during the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan.
While it is early days yet, the army’s space vision would eventually be dovetailed into the concept of an Aerospace Command project the IAF has proposed as a joint-services venture.
“We are working independently at the movement but with an eye on eventual integration,” an official said.
A former IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, has gone on record to say he sees the army as the biggest user of outer space in the future as it has the maximum assets.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony has enthusiastically backed the Aerospace Command concept.