06-11-2008, 08:15 PM
<b>India wakes up to plan for busting Chinese satellites </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Realising the need to protect its satellites and space assets in the wake of China acquiring the capability to shoot down satellites through missiles, the Government on Tuesday announced the formation of an Integrated Space Cell.
Unveiling India's steps to meet the new challenge and project the country as a power to reckon with in the arena of space-based defensive and offensive capabilities, Defence Minister AK Antony said the cell would work under the aegis of the Integrated Defence Services Headquarters to counter "the growing threat to our space assets".
Refraining from naming China or any other country to blast out satellites in space, Antony told the two-day unified commanders' conference of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), "Though we want to utilise space for peaceful purposes and remain committed to our policy of non-weaponisation of space, offensive counter space systems like anti-satellite weaponry, new classes of heavy-lift and small boosters and an improved array of military space systems have emerged in our neighbourhood."
He said the cell would act as a single window for integration among armed forces, the Department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Incidentally, the ISRO recently launched an array of satellites, including military-specific units, and was scheduled to launch some more sophisticated satellites in the near future.
The Integrated Space Cell, sources said, would act as a precursor to the proposed Aerospace Command comprising the three services. On the anvil for the last four or five years, the Government recently asked the three armed forces to jointly come up with a detailed plan.
The Aerospace Command would protect the assets in space through network-centric weapon systems, advanced sensors capable of tracking down missiles and take evasive action and in some cases adopt offensive posture, they said. The Integrated Space Cell would do the groundwork by conceptualising the defensive systems for space assets, resources needed for extensive array of weapons and other devices and platforms to deliver the systems, they said.
Meanwhile, Antony gave the go-ahead for setting up of a defence informatics centre on the lines of the National Informatics Centre. It will cater to the e-governance needs of the Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry and other associated organisations.
He also announced the establishment of a Defence Information Technology Consultative Committee (DITCC), comprising eminent personalities from the Defence Ministry, the three Services, the Ministry of Communications and IT, academia and the industry. "DITCC has evolved a roadmap and a common approach for the integration of information technology in our Armed Forces," he added.
The two-day conference is focusing on various issues pertaining to ongoing process of jointness among the three Services, higher defence management and a conceptual way forward. Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal FH Major, Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Chief of Integrated Service Command Lt Gen HS Lidder, commanders and senior officers from the Service Headquarters and the Defence Ministry attended the meeting.
<i>For any comments, queries or feedback, kindly mail us at pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in </i>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Realising the need to protect its satellites and space assets in the wake of China acquiring the capability to shoot down satellites through missiles, the Government on Tuesday announced the formation of an Integrated Space Cell.
Unveiling India's steps to meet the new challenge and project the country as a power to reckon with in the arena of space-based defensive and offensive capabilities, Defence Minister AK Antony said the cell would work under the aegis of the Integrated Defence Services Headquarters to counter "the growing threat to our space assets".
Refraining from naming China or any other country to blast out satellites in space, Antony told the two-day unified commanders' conference of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), "Though we want to utilise space for peaceful purposes and remain committed to our policy of non-weaponisation of space, offensive counter space systems like anti-satellite weaponry, new classes of heavy-lift and small boosters and an improved array of military space systems have emerged in our neighbourhood."
He said the cell would act as a single window for integration among armed forces, the Department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Incidentally, the ISRO recently launched an array of satellites, including military-specific units, and was scheduled to launch some more sophisticated satellites in the near future.
The Integrated Space Cell, sources said, would act as a precursor to the proposed Aerospace Command comprising the three services. On the anvil for the last four or five years, the Government recently asked the three armed forces to jointly come up with a detailed plan.
The Aerospace Command would protect the assets in space through network-centric weapon systems, advanced sensors capable of tracking down missiles and take evasive action and in some cases adopt offensive posture, they said. The Integrated Space Cell would do the groundwork by conceptualising the defensive systems for space assets, resources needed for extensive array of weapons and other devices and platforms to deliver the systems, they said.
Meanwhile, Antony gave the go-ahead for setting up of a defence informatics centre on the lines of the National Informatics Centre. It will cater to the e-governance needs of the Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry and other associated organisations.
He also announced the establishment of a Defence Information Technology Consultative Committee (DITCC), comprising eminent personalities from the Defence Ministry, the three Services, the Ministry of Communications and IT, academia and the industry. "DITCC has evolved a roadmap and a common approach for the integration of information technology in our Armed Forces," he added.
The two-day conference is focusing on various issues pertaining to ongoing process of jointness among the three Services, higher defence management and a conceptual way forward. Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal FH Major, Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Chief of Integrated Service Command Lt Gen HS Lidder, commanders and senior officers from the Service Headquarters and the Defence Ministry attended the meeting.
<i>For any comments, queries or feedback, kindly mail us at pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in </i>