In this age of technological advancements, it is important for India to have proper mechanisms where it can analyse the feasibility and necessity of new technologies, especially their kinetic capabilities. In this age where the battlefield has transcended beyond the conventional realm, space has become one such domain in which India must develop offensive and defensive capabilities. The development of such capabilities shall not remain limited to the military forces and DSA but has to be a comprehensive exercise where civilian entities, especially private ones, can contribute to it, for it will broaden the horizons of the capacities and associated challenges. Further, the developments in the sectors concerning the space-based internet have the potential to promote the use of high-speed internet among the common masses, and with that, the risk of novel cyber-attacks expands as well. The contribution of the private sector will be instrumental not only in countering those attacks but also in spreading general awareness about them. This piece examines why the civil-military fusion in India’s space sector is sine qua non to deal with the challenges of the hybridised environment.
The 21st century is the century of technology. The activities incomprehensible at the onset of this century are not only being performed but also being enhanced because of modern technology. From advanced semiconductor chips to quantum computing and from artificial intelligence to cloud computing, technological advancement is visible throughout every activity in the human sphere. Such advancements also come with their own set of challenges since they allow the battlefield to transcend into public life beyond the conventional realm. One of the domains that has allowed the battlefield to transcend is the space sector.
The genesis of a strategic competition in outer space can be traced back to the era of the Cold War, where the USA and the USSR actively worked in order to develop offensive military capabilities in the space domain. India too, with the establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation in 1969, embarked on its journey of space exploration. But unlike the USA and the USSR, the Indian space programme was primarily limited to civilian use. However, with time, India has realised the potentiality of space as an instrument of ardent military conflict, not just in terms of combat but also in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR). (Directorate of Operations (Space), 2012) (Directorate of Operations, 2022).
Globally, while it was the Russian Federation that established the Russian Space Forces in 1992 as an independent military service, in 2019, the USA became one of the few major powers to officially establish the US Space Force with operational command and control. Then US President Donald Trump officially proclaimed space to be a ‘war-fighting domain’, further reiterating the necessity for the new branch of the U.S. military that would need to dominate ‘the ultimate high ground’ of outer space in modern warfare (Kennedy, 2019) (Garamone, 2019). Recently, in April 2024, the US Space Force unveiled the ‘US Space Force Commercial Space Strategy,’ with the aim of integrating commercial space solutions into the existing space doctrine, strategy, concepts, force designs, acquisitions, and operations. Inter alia, the strategy ought to leverage American industrial strength to counter threats from the adversary in the domain of space (United States Space Force, 2024).
The strategy provides certain guiding principles, an analysis of which, vis-à-vis India’s space sector, can help us augment our limited resources in the right direction with a proper strategy. India’s ambitions in the space sector, both in the civilian and military spheres, are not in oblivion. India aims to have an Indian-built space station in orbit by 2035 (Narendra Modi Home Page, 2024). It has also strengthened its anti-satellite (ASAT) programme by means of DRDO’s Mission Shakti (DRDO, 2020).
While public sector entities are at the heart of this civil-military fusion in India, the role of the private sector will be at the heart of multidomain cooperation in the space sector. Again, the American example shows how the space sector flourishes when public investment, research, and development are supplemented by the efforts of the private sector. In March 2024, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Minister of State for the Prime Minister’s Office, rightly pointed out that “the role of the private sector in advancing India’s space technology and exploration efforts is undeniable,” (Department of Space, 2024).
Indian private entities such as Skyroot Aerospace and AgniKul Cosmos are actively contributing to research and innovation in the space sector. Additionally, major industrial giants Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal are also planning to enter the space domain in order to provide satellite internet service in India, as opposed to Elon Musk’s Starlink (Financial Times, 2024), (Bharti, 2023). The future of internet services, be it 5G or 6G, will have greater ramifications for both civilian and military entities.
While greater penetration of high-speed internet will provide lots of opportunities in the economic and tech sectors, it also opens the doors for greater cyber and other non-kinetic threats. Such threats can be addressed and resolved through a proper doctrinal approach that can be devised by the Defence Space Agency in collaboration with these private and public sector entities.
Sun Tzu is believed to have famously remarked,
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win
Likewise, we must prepare for victory in the event of an all-out war with the adversary. Be it in ISR or in other combat and non-combat operations, developing a space dominance vis-à-vis the adversary can prove pivotal in any battle.
While military forces have their part to play when it comes to space, collaboration with civilian entities, especially the private sector, will further strengthen non-kinetic and defensive and offensive capabilities in the domain of hybrid warfare.
Bibliography
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