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The Indian Navy will soon have a dedicated satellite for the Sea Force which is being developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Satellite over Sea will have a 600 to 1000 nautical mile footprint over the Indian Ocean region and will be ready for launch in 2010.
The proposed satellite will allow the Indian Navy to communicate with all its submarines aircraft and warships, with operational hubs on shore via high-speed data-links.
The decision to create a dedicated Satellite over Sea is part of the ambitious Network Centric System program for the Indian Navy under which most of the assets in sea will be networked through the dedicated satellite. The dedicated military satellite will be a geo-stationary satellite. The satellite will enable Indian naval warships, submarines and aircraft to communicate on real time basis and provide a digital tactical battle space view of the dispersed fleet formations, aircraft locations and even submarine deployments.
The Network Centric Operation (NCO) system which will get linked to the Satellite above Sea is being developed by the Indian Navy at a cost of around $1 billion. This system is expected to get ready in the next couple of years.
According to Indian Navy planners, the main hardware of the NCO system would comprise of the following:
1) Interface Unit capable of receiving data from combat management system (CMS) of warships and submarines through platform on-board radar and sonar systems.
2) Track Fusion Unit which will generate fused tracks from the inputs from the CMS and other information sources and will provide the navy with a Network Tactical Situation Picture.
3) Data Link Units to provide a seamless communication channel through V/UHF, SATCOM systems.
4) NCO Core to carry out threat evaluation, mission planning and execute both defensive and offensive missions. By providing fastest speed of command to reduce the sensor to shooter time to the minimum and achieve maximum hit and destruction capability. This system provides reliable, accurate tracking and identification on neutral and hostile elements, activities, platforms and individuals. All information will be on a real-time basis.
The Indian Navy will ultimately link even the long range missiles, radars, air defence systems on all the sea based assets to a central control room which will take another six to seven years.
Currently the Indian defence forces do not have a dedicated military satellite and have to depend on 1-meter resolution Technology Experiment Satellite (TES) launched in 2001 for military purposes. Once the dedicated satellite comes up and the Indian Navy networks its assets through it, the exchange of surface and air operational picture in real-time will be possible.
The Indian Navy now also has an added responsibility of the entire maritime security of the country. It leads a 14 department establishment concerning with various aspects of maritime security. Hence it must have space programmes for missile early-warning, delivery of precision-guided munitions through satellite signals and jamming enemy networks, among other capabilities.
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