'Operation Sindoor'.
Credit: PTI Photo
A wide range of space assets, both domestic and international, were used by the Indian armed forces to carry out Operation Sindoor. The military strikes were carried out under Operation Sindoor two weeks after 26 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
TOI report quoting a senior official from ISRO, said, “All of our strategic assets were put to use in different ways by our armed forces for Operation Sindoor. Our teams have been working round the clock and we are proud that ISRO could help our forces in missions important for the country.”
Besides the domestic assets directly available with the Indian armed forces (India has 9-11 military satellites), ISRO provided "repeatable" data from a commercial global operator, the publication added quoting another official.
The senior official said, “While data from our satellites from the Cartosat series and others were also used for planning, images were procured from Maxar.”
Maxar, is a US-based satellite imagery provider that supplies images to many governments, non-government entities across the world. However, it is not clear whether Pakistan used its services during the current conflict, the report stated, adding that Pakistan also has access to the extensive military space assets of China.
The report mentioned that the data from Sentinel from Europe, as well as another commercial operator from the US is accessible to the Indian armed forces.
The publication quoting the official stated “Indian satellites provide periodic data - with downloads of specific areas possible about once in 14 days. This data was made use of, while they used commercial data that’s available once a day too.”
A key asset in India’s military intelligence toolkit has been the Cartosat family of satellites, which provide high-resolution imagery and dual-use (image & video) capabilities.
First launched in 2005 and progressively upgraded by satellites such as the Cartosat-2C (for military), these satellites have been essential in providing vital images for operations.
For instance, Cartosat-2C provides images with a resolution of 0.65 meters, which is better than earlier versions. It has proved essential for surveillance operations and reconnaissance, the report stated.
Cartosat’s high-quality resolution helps in capturing the images of the areas of interest (AOI) with incredible clarity, thereby helping the commanders to make accurate decisions based on the intelligence from space. These satellites were used for the 2016 Surgical Strike, the report further mentioned.
In addition to Cartosat, the Gsat family of satellites were used for communication purposes, and the Risat family of satellites would have provided radar images used to track movement.
The publication further quoting the official said, “In all, a variety of Indian space assets have been useful and efforts are on to increase support to the armed forces in the years to come.”
Along with other global GPS systems, India’s NavIC also aided in operations.
“There would have been extensive use of space assets for imagery, sat-com (satellite communication) and PNT (positioning, navigation and timing). Space technology is an integral part of modern warfare,” Indian Space Association (ISpA) director-general Lt Gen (retd) AK Bhat, said.
ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said that 10 satellites are continuously working for a strategic purpose to ensure the safety and security of the country's citizens.
India would add another 100-150 satellites to cover the entire country over the next three years as part of enhancing border security and coastal surveillance, Narayanan said.
The publication quoting the ISRO chief said, “We will be launching another important satellite on May 18, the EOS-09 or Risat-1B, which will add teeth to our armed forces.”
“The satellite features an advanced C-band synthetic aperture radar system that delivers high-resolution Earth surface imagery in all weather conditions. This capability significantly enhances India’s surveillance capabilities,” he added.
In contrast to conventional optical satellites that are limited by darkness or cloud cover, Risat-1B's radar technology successfully navigates these obstacles.
Earlier, Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) said that India will put in orbit a constellation of 52 satellites over the next five years to step up space-based surveillance capabilities.
(With PTI inputs)