Space warfare: India is building an integrated satellite communication grid
What's the story
India's defense forces are planning to build an integrated satellite communication grid.
The ambitious project will involve spacecraft in different orbits and data relay systems, as space emerges as a new domain of warfare.
The announcement was made at the DefSat Conference by Air Vice Marshal Pawan Kumar, the Director General of the Defence Space Agency.
Strategic partnerships
Defense forces to collaborate with industry
The defense forces are also looking at teaming up with the industry to fulfill their requirements and get an edge in this new area.
"When you talk of communication, I think the technology that we are focusing on is integrated satellite communication grid," Kumar said at the DefSat conference.
He stressed that they want to avoid over-reliance on any single satellite.
Technological exploration
Exploring different satellite constellations for communication grid
The defense forces are looking at a combination of satellite constellations for their communication grid.
These could be medium earth orbit-geostationary orbit (MEO-GEO) or low earth orbit (LEO)-MEO-GEO combinations.
"We are also looking at tracking and data relay satellite systems primarily because it reduces demand to delivery time as far as Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loop is concerned," Kumar added.
Advanced strategies
Quantum communications and sensor networks under consideration
The defense forces are also looking at quantum communications for its capability of keeping things secret.
Kumar emphasized the requirement of space and ground-based sensors, such as telescopes and radars.
These would be integrated into a complete network to assist commanders in taking informed decisions at different levels - military, operational or tactical.