It is quite common for militaries of different countries to assess and evaluate their war doctrines and strategies in light of fast-evolving defence technologies and geopolitics across the world. India is no exception. But when India’s Defence Space Agency (DSA) of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff conducted the closed-door (for obvious reasons) table-top exercise “Antariksha Abhyas-2024” from November 11 to 13, it stood out for a different reason. For the first time, the Indian Armed Forces dealt with the domain of space warfare in order to test its space-based operational capabilities, enhancing tri-services integration for space security and integrating the capability of space technology in military operations.

According to the Defence Ministry, key components of the exercise included discussions on emerging space technologies, space situational awareness and India’s space programmes.  The discussions covered protecting critical assets and maintaining situational awareness in the increasingly contested space environment. Throughout the three-day event, participants engaged in scenario-based exercises, facilitated by subject experts from various ministries and departments besides military, scientific and academia. The experts provided valuable insights into the present and future landscape of military space capabilities and technologies, elucidating specific challenges faced in defence space operations and also the evolving nature of space safety, security, and international space laws. The DSA and Defence Research Organization are collaborating to enhance India’s defence and offence prowess of India’s space-related assets.

The Defence Ministry’s readout quoted Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan in his opening remarks as saying that “space, once considered the final frontier, is now the critical enabler of India’s defence and security apparatus. With its rich legacy of space exploration and growing military capabilities, India is well-positioned to navigate the challenges posed to space-based capabilities”. He underlined that space was becoming increasingly congested, contested, competitive and commercial. The Space Exercise aimed at providing an understanding of operational dependency on the space segment between stakeholders and also identifying vulnerabilities in the conduct of operations in the event of denial or disruptions of space-based services. Among the participants in the exercise were Defence Space Agency and its allied units along with personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, specialist branches under Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff namely Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Intelligence Agency and Strategic Forces Command.

Key outcomes of the exercise included refined strategies for operational preparedness, a robust framework for future collaboration and a clear road map for advancing India’s space doctrine and capabilities in line with national security objectives. Such an exercise should perhaps have come much earlier. In 2007, China successfully shot down its satellite and in 2008 the US brought down its non-functional satellite. It was only in March 2019 that India also successfully tested its anti-satellite weapon to take down its own satellite. All three incidents amplify the development of anti-satellite weapons.

India’s space assets are estimated to be over 40 billion USD and Indian Space Research Agency operates one of the largest fleets of satellites to support communication and broadcast, navigation and remote sensing, covering many crucial sectors of the country’s economy.

Recent years have seen the escalation of a new race for space between the United States and China. During his campaign for the American presidential elections, Donald Trump invoked this race. Chinese President Xi Jinping has said becoming “a space power is our eternal dream.” If the Cold War years saw the US and the then Soviet Union bid to outdo each other in achieving political, technological, military and ideological dominance on the earth, that competition has expanded to outer space in the last two decades, sparking concerns over “space colonization.”

The expeditions to the moon are not just for scientific reasons. According to experts, the search for potential minerals, including rocket fuel, rare earth material for manufacturing electronic products and a rare non-radioactive isotope, helium-3, for nuclear power, is also driving these efforts. Like the arms race on the earth, there is always the concern that the space race may give rise to new conflicts.

The question being asked is: has a new “space bloc” competition taking shape? There is the US-led NASA Artemis Accords on the one hand and a China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in collaboration with Russia on the other. In June 2023, India signed the Artemis Accord, a non-binding agreement with no financial commitments to establish a common vision using a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space.

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The writer is a veteran Indian journalist