Delhi: The Indian Armed Forces and the defence establishment need to work closely with startups and other players in the private industry to stay in the reckoning in the fast-emerging new battlefield of outer space, the country’s highest-ranked military official has said.
“Space is also referred to as the emerging domain of warfare but I believe it is already an established domain of warfare. My belief is premised on the far-space developments occurring in this particular domain,” General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) at the second edition of the Indian Defspace Symposium in New Delhi on Thursday.
Addressing delegates virtually at the second edition of the meet organised by the apex Indian Space Association (ISpA), the CDS said in the history of warfare, the initial contest usually occurred in a new domain, which then impacted the outcome in other domains.
“The naval power was able to influence the battles on land. Later, airpower influenced war on the land and the seas. It is my belief that space will now cast its influence on battles in the maritime, land and air,” he elucidated.
He said that even as the country was working towards becoming a major space power with proven capabilities, there was a need to step up on building synergies with private sector players such as startups. He, therefore, urged the defence services and the Ministry of Defence to work closely with the private industry to identify facilities needed for testing, validating and certifying products developed by the latter.
“It is important for users to deeply engage with the startups to facilitate and handhold the technology development process so that the delivered products can meet the expectations of our [armed] services. This is critical for the space industry and needs to be given the highest priority.”
He added the country’s military research and development agency, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) had an important role to play in this regard.
“I would further call upon DRDO to deeply engage with the Indian startup community in partnership with the Indian space industry to develop cutting-edge solutions that would help reduce our technology gap vis-à-vis our adversaries.”
The CDS said that simultaneously reworking legal and academic frameworks, updating the requisite doctrines to integrate elements of outer space and cyberspace at strategic, operational and tactical levels, and ensuring the interoperability of current and future equipment was also important.
India has a Defence Space Agency (DSA) to protect the country’s interests in outer space as well as develop strategies for space warfare. Besides, other than Russia, China and the US, it is currently among the only four nations to have successfully tested anti-satellite weapons.
Leveraging Dual-Use Technologies, Indigenisation
Samir V Kamat, Chairman of DRDO felt the time was ripe to equip the armed forces with new technologies by leveraging capabilities developed for the civilian space programme.
“Now is the right time to exploit capabilities that we have built over the years for our civilian space programme to leapfrog and acquire technologies to enable our services with cutting-edge [technologies] for the next battle.”
He added that it was equally important for everyone in the industry to collaborate on the development of new solutions such as Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Launch on Demand. He said DRDO had not only commenced working with private industry but was also providing up to Rs 50 crore in funding to new projects through its Technology Development Fund (TDF).
Most recently, the DRDO’s initiatives led to the high-performance Rudra green propulsion system developed by the Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace getting successfully tested on the national space agency the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)’s X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) mission. The system seeks to replace the hazardous hydrazine – a chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen that is the most commonly used rocket fuel today – with a non-toxic, environmentally friendly, high-performance proprietary propellant.
Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff said the space tech ecosystem could perhaps learn a few things from the indigenisation drive being currently undertaken by the Indian Navy. The Navy was working with a clutch of MSMEs, startups, academia, students and innovators through the three-tier Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) to seamlessly merge the elements of innovation, indigenisation and aatmanirbharta (self-reliance).
“This has resulted in the Navy showcasing 75 prototypes under seven categories, including several global firsts, game changers and force multipliers last year. We have more than 100 challenges under the iDEX (Innovation for Defence Excellence), with 15 solutions worth about Rs 1,500 crores being granted Acceptance of Necessity,” informed Admiral Kumar.
Additionally, the MoU inked between the Navy and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in February last year led to proposals from a large number of MSMEs and startups being approved for loans.
Also Read: Manipur: MLA suspended by BJP joins Congress