New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has said he believes that space is already an established domain of warfare and it will “cast its influence” on air, maritime and land domains.
In a recorded video address that was played at the inaugural session of the three-day Indian Defence Space Symposium in Delhi on Thursday, General Chauhan also said that “space diplomacy” will soon become a reality.
Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Samir V Kamat and other senior officers of the armed forces attended the event held at the Manekshaw Centre here.
In his address, General Chauhan underlined the role of space evolving in future warfare.
“I will touch upon where we are and where we need to go,” he said.
“Space is called the final frontier. Space is infinite in its expanse and is also expanding. Like all other frontiers, it is difficult to define its edges very clearly. Mankind has a long way to go to unravel the mystery of space. India wants to be part of that journey,” the CDS said.
He also spoke about the four “cosmonauts under training” as part of India’s “Gaganyaan” programme.
“Space is also referred to as an emerging domain of warfare. I believe that it is already an established domain of warfare. My belief is premised on the fast-paced development occurring in this particular domain,” he said.
General Chauhan said the history of warfare has “taught us that in any war, the … contest generally occurs in a new domain”.
The new domain also influences the battles in older domains, he added.
“Initially, the naval power was able to influence battles on land. Later, air power influenced war at land and seas. It is my belief that now, space will cast its influence on air, maritime and land domains,” General Chauhan said in his video address.
Terming space a “global commons”, he said there can be “no concept of sovereignty in space”.
The CDS also said, “Space diplomacy will soon become a reality”.
One does not have to be a neighbour to extend cooperation in space to friendly nations. In fact, distances and geopolitical separations might be of “advantage in defence space cooperation”, he said.
Gen Chauhan added that space capability development will help military-to-military cooperation and international and regional diplomacy.
The gains in this segment, are again, “limitless”, he said.
“Currently, activities in space are controlled from land, and this makes the exploitation of space an interesting phenomenon. It’s an uncharted territory and the concepts of combat are yet to evolve and mature… I believe that the day is not far when India will become a net provider for such services to other nations,” he said.
The CDS called upon the DRDO to deeply engage with Indian start-up communities in partnership with Indian space industries to “develop cutting-edge solutions which would help reduce our technology gap, vis-a-vis our adversaries”.
Domain experts and senior officials from the armed forces are taking part in the symposium that is being held here from April 18 to April 20.
Navy Chief Admiral Kumar delivered the keynote address during the event.
Despite countless challenges and denial of technology, Indian space scientists have shown the world that India has the “will, wisdom and wherewithal” to be an “ace in space”, he said.
In his address at the inaugural session, he also said it is not rocket science to realise that in “Amrit Kaal”, India is “leading the charge at escape velocity” in the space sector.
He drew a parallel between the domain of seas and space, both being limitless and global commons.
“It is this indomitable spirit to challenge the unknown, astride our ships in spaceships that probably binds us seafarers with space explorers as one. This ubiquity and similarity of the seas and space calls for credible capability and pioneering initiatives in harnessing their true potential,” the Navy chief said.
“I believe the Indian Navy’s endeavours as well as affirmative actions at sea, we have been seeing and ISRO’s accomplishments in space we have been seeing in the past few years, have ensured that Bharat today occupies the high table in the global order,” Admiral Kumar asserted.
He said India’s space programme plays a “critical role” in its national development as well as security.
DRDO chairman Kamat, in his brief address, said space, now is “becoming a domain of warfare, which is becoming increasingly more important”.
It is now the “right time” for India to exploit the capabilities that have been built over the years for the civilian space programme to “leapfrog and acquire technologies which will enable our services at cutting-edge… Unless we develop our capabilities, we won’t be able to fight our next war,” he said.
