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What happened
India is integrating space capabilities into national defence through dedicated institutions and dual-use technology. The Defence Space Agency, established under the Integrated Defence Staff, coordinates military space operations. India demonstrated kinetic anti-satellite capability in Mission Shakti (2019), joining a small group of nations with that ability. Policy now pushes indigenous satellite communication, surveillance constellations, and space situational awareness, combining ISRO's civilian infrastructure with military requirements under a sovereign framework.
02 Understand
Why it matters
India's military space programme sits at the intersection of three exam-relevant domains: space technology, defence institutions, and India's strategic autonomy doctrine.
The foundational shift is institutional. The Defence Space Agency (DSA), created in 2019 under the Integrated Defence Staff headquartered in Bengaluru, replaced ad-hoc tri-service arrangements. It works alongside the Defence Space Research Organisation (DSRO), which provides the R&D backbone. This mirrors the civilian ISRO–DOS (Department of Space) structure, but serves purely military requirements.
The technology layer is equally significant. India's GSAT-7 (Rukmini) provides secure communications to the Navy; GSAT-7A serves the Air Force. A dedicated Army satellite is in planning. The EMISAT satellite launched in 2019 performs electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering — mapping adversary radar signatures. These satellites are complementary to NAVIC, India's regional navigation system, which also has strategic utility.
Mission Shakti (27 March 2019) gave India kinetic hard-kill ASAT (anti-satellite) capability, destroying Microsat-R at approximately 300 km altitude in low Earth orbit. This placed India in the club of four nations — USA, Russia, China, and India — with demonstrated ASAT capability.
The policy gap that remains: India still lacks a dedicated Space Warfare doctrine and its national Space Policy (2023) primarily addresses civilian and commercial dimensions, leaving the military framework evolving through executive orders and tri-service arrangements rather than legislation.
The foundational shift is institutional. The Defence Space Agency (DSA), created in 2019 under the Integrated Defence Staff headquartered in Bengaluru, replaced ad-hoc tri-service arrangements. It works alongside the Defence Space Research Organisation (DSRO), which provides the R&D backbone. This mirrors the civilian ISRO–DOS (Department of Space) structure, but serves purely military requirements.
The technology layer is equally significant. India's GSAT-7 (Rukmini) provides secure communications to the Navy; GSAT-7A serves the Air Force. A dedicated Army satellite is in planning. The EMISAT satellite launched in 2019 performs electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering — mapping adversary radar signatures. These satellites are complementary to NAVIC, India's regional navigation system, which also has strategic utility.
Mission Shakti (27 March 2019) gave India kinetic hard-kill ASAT (anti-satellite) capability, destroying Microsat-R at approximately 300 km altitude in low Earth orbit. This placed India in the club of four nations — USA, Russia, China, and India — with demonstrated ASAT capability.
The policy gap that remains: India still lacks a dedicated Space Warfare doctrine and its national Space Policy (2023) primarily addresses civilian and commercial dimensions, leaving the military framework evolving through executive orders and tri-service arrangements rather than legislation.
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