NEW DELHI: In a bid to enhance India’s capabilities to fight wars in space, the government has given a go-ahead to a new agency that will develop sophisticated weapon systems and technologies.
“The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cleared the setting up of this new agency called the Defence Space Research Agency (DSRA), which has been entrusted with the task of creating space warfare weapon systems and technologies,” said Defence Ministry sources.
The agency is said to have a team of scientists which would be working in close coordination with the tri-services headquarter of the Integrated Defence Staff officers. This agency would be providing the research and development support to the newly announced tri-service Defence Space Agency (DSA) created to help the country fight wars in space. It will be comprised of personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force. It is likely to command all the space assets including A-SAT capability.
The space capability building has taken place incrementally as in March this year the country had carried out the Anti-Satellite Test which demonstrated its capability to shoot down satellites in space.
A senior officer, on the condition of anonymity, said, “With the success of A-SAT, India added a dimension of space deterrence to its military policy and has identified space as a strategic domain in its overall security architecture.”
Since 2008, India has had a Military Space Cell, a tri-service organization under the aegis of the Integrated Defence Services (IDS).