We’ve all heard about DRDO, but India is now aiming big. In what comes as a potentially radical move to empower India in space, the Modi government has now decided to set up the DSRA, aka, Defense Space Research Agency. The decision was taken during the Cabinet Committee on Security meet.
India, off late, has been taking long strides to secure itself from potential enemy nations, if they decide to engage in space warfare. The setting up of DSRA comes months after India took down a satellite using an ASAT missile, thereby making the world aware that India is now a force to reckon with, even in space.
The primary objective of the DSRA is to develop sophisticated weapon systems and technologies. This bold move was taken, sources say, by PM Modi himself. PM Modi is known to have a keen interest in the space arena, and he very well recognizes the importance that such technologies and weapon systems will have for the country. The agency is still under development, being led by a Joint Secretary level scientist. It will be provided with a team of top-notch scientists who will work in close coordination with the tri-services integrated defense staff officers. But if you thought that’s the end of it, well, there’s more to the story!
While DSRA will develop weapons and technologies for space warfare, another agency, the DSA is being set up in Bengaluru. The tri-services Defense Space Agency is likely to command all the space assets of the three services including the A-SAT capability, which can be used to destroy enemy space-based satellites and other assets. In totality, the DSA would be the ace agency in command during a space war, if the need ever arises. It is not yet clear what sort of assets and capacities the agency would be finally granted.
It can be said without a doubt that India is not shying away from militarizing itself in space, unlike many other nations. Moreover, being faced by an unpredictable nation like China, which itself has space defense technologies, makes it imperative for us to act on the space front. Also, India is preparing to conduct it’s first ever simulated space warfare exercise in July. In a move which is seen to counter China’s aggressive development of space defense technologies, the exercise titled IndSpaceEx will focus of space warfare technologies and strategies to protect the nation during a space war.
“The main aim of the exercise, to be held in the last week of July under the aegis of the Integrated Defence Staff of the defence ministry, is to assess the requisite space and counter-space capabilities that are needed by India to ensure we can protect our national security interests in this final frontier of warfare,” TOI quoted a senior official as saying.
PM Modi is known to look beyond the horizon. Under his previous tenure, India also created a separate agency to deal with cyber warfare, another area which previous governments paid no heed to. Just recently, India also set up the Special Operations Division of the tri-services to carry out special operations (covert or otherwise) both within and outside the country. Now with the formation of DSA and DSRA, it is clear that PM Modi will leave no stone unturned to actually turn India into a superpower very soon. Moreover, the foremost reason why India voted Modi back to power was national security, and now we are beginning to realize why.