In a major announcement, PM Modi has stated that India has emerged as a major space power. In a significant achievement, India has shot down a live satellite 300 km away in the low earth orbit. Anti-satellite weapon, A-Sat was used for this mission. In a mega leap in India’s space power, Codenamed “Mission Shakti”, the mission has emerged as a big success. India has, therefore, announced the success of its Anti-Satellite Missile system. PM Modi stated that this mission was achieved in only 3 minutes. This is a big leap in India’s National Security and Interest.
He made it clear that India is only the fourth country in the world to reach this position after the US, China and Russia. PM Modi made it clear that India has not violated any rule of International Law and that this step has been taken keeping in mind the security and welfare of the 130 crore citizens of the country.
According to a story by The Diplomat in 2016, doubts had been raised about India’s ASAT (Anti-Satellite) weapons capability in the past. The report stated, “The statements (about India’s ASAT weapons potential) by V.K. Saraswat, former DRDO chief created ripples all over, at home his statements were dismissed by certain scholars as an exaggeration. Questioning India’s “purported” capabilities, scholars like Michael Listner and Victoria Samson have pointed out that without conducting a test and demonstrating its ASAT capability explicitly, India will only be seen as a “paper tiger” by the arms control and intelligence community. Listner pointed out that the acknowledgement by Saraswat about India developing and bringing together the basic technologies to create a system that could be used against enemy satellites, and the decision to adapt India’s ABM technology for an ASAT role was “doubtless encouraged by the ancillary capability demonstrated by the United States when it adapted its ABM system to deorbit USA 193 in 2008.” But should such ancillary capability be taken as an evidence of full ASAT capability?” However, now that India has been able to achieve has cleared all doubts about India’s capability.
It is clear that India has been able to achieve an amazing milestone by entering the elite club of countries that boast of the cutting edge ASAT (Anti-Satellite) weapon technology. The brains behind this Mission deserve to be applauded for achieving this huge milestone.