New Delhi: In its eternal vigil against external aggression and internal security situations, the Indian Army will very soon get a new game-changing weapon in the form of a satellite dedicated to catering just to the Army's needs. It is expected to be launched soon.
"The satellite with the ability to capture high-resolution imagery will be a huge force multiplier for the Indian Army and is expected to be launched soon," a source familiar with the development told ETV Bharat.
"Its main job is to cater to the Army's communication, remote sensing, surveillance needs and intelligence gathering. It will also ease cutting-edge military drone operations," the source added on condition of anonymity.
The Army will, therefore, have its own exclusive communication network over a maximum secure network where secrecy will be a priority. It will be handled by the Signals Directorate.
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The satellite's remote sensing ability and surveillance to be the "eye in the sky" will aid the Army in combating terrorists who want to sneak in across the Line of Control with Pakistan besides monitoring troop movements, deployments and military positions in other places along the frontier.
Besides the borders, the satellite will also keep a watch over important military installations and other sensitive places.
Of India's 55 satellites, about 8-10 serve military aims. It is expected that more military satellites will be launched in the near future.
Till now ISRO has launched 327 satellites belonging to 34 countries, a major landmark being the PSLV-C37 mission that launched a record 104 satellites on February 15, 2017.
India's satellite Cartosat-3, launched in November 2019, has the ability to distinguish objects as small as 25 cm from its position 500 km above. That is the best resolution achieved by an Indian satellite.
In April 2019, India's ISRO had launched the EMISAT satellite which can zero in on electronic signals transmitted on the ground, which means concealed enemy communication equipment and installations including radars would not remain hidden from India's eyes. Another satellite Microsat R can capture images at night.
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The Indian Navy already has 'Rukmini', its own dedicated satellite launched in August 2013, while the IAF has 'GSAT-7A' that was launched in December 2018.
Interestingly, the Union home ministry is also mulling over a proposal to launch its own dedicated satellite that will cater primarily to the paramilitary forces like the CRPF and the BSF, lead forces in combating terrorism, militancy and Left-wing extremism.
"The home ministry is acting on the recommendations of an internal study that recommends a dedicated satellite in the long run," the source added.
The dedicated military and security satellites will work in tandem with India's ambitious Rs 24,600 crore Network for Spectrum (NFS) project which has as its prime objective the safeguarding of sensitive intelligence information and maintaining maximum secrecy in intra and inter organizational communications among the various wings of India's armed forces.
Besides voice, video and data exchanges, NFS will easily blend with all next-generation networks that will incorporate applications from the field of big data analytics and artificial intelligence.
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