New space war plans show India’s defence forces are preparing for modern threats beyond Earth.
It is good news that there has been progress towards India introducing its first military space doctrine, as revealed by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Anil Chauhan. In terms of timing, this might seem strange as the world is preparing right now for a global trade war that is being fought with reciprocal tariffs and has to do with goods and services across boundaries rather than any show of military strength.
The armed forces must perforce march to their own beat, and it is tune with the times that this initiative to set up a comprehensive framework for military operations in space has translated into action on the drawing board and in simulated war games scenarios too, as in the Defence Space Agency’s first ever space exercise held last year in which threats from space-based assets were assessed and responses suggested.
Outcomes in modern warfare will not be dictated by historical trends anymore. Boots on the ground or planes in the air are not the only ways that wars are being fought these days. The Ukraine war may become a serious case study regarding how a war by drones is fought and defended and how much more important instant communications through satellites are dictating the course of engagements.
The world knows China has gone far down the road of expanding its space-based military capabilities. They are also said to be rehearsing “dogfighting” manoeuvres in low earth orbit since wars in space are no more fanciful scenarios. And with AI coming in, there is no gauging who is better prepared in the unlikely event of war breaking out. After all, the Indian army has experienced only skirmishes amid tensions with China on the LAC and this last happened five years ago.
As technology develops at a pace much faster than how Moore’s Law may have defined it in the ’60s, Gen. Chauhan is on the ball in calling out the importance of developing a space culture and in doing it by original thinking. To be prepared is half the battle won and support to the CDS and the forces in modernising the thinking and action on modern warfare methods must be given. More planes and more squadron strength are a necessity in aerial war-dominated scenarios, but smart moves on how to fight space war should help too,
