India's Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Weapons

[Indx TechStyle]

Use this thread to discuss about Indian ASAT capability (via rockets, missiles, DEWs, or Railguns etc..),
Does India has capability, should it demonstrate or not, if yes advantages and consequences, when must be done.
For discussion DEWs,
We have a separate thread as well.
Indian Laser and Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) Thread
For EMWs(something like Railgun),
Indian Navy has planned some new techs in next 15 years which includes railguns and railguns can be used as an ASAT asset.
India's navy wants 100 technologies by 2031 including railguns, hypersonic weapons and lasers
I'm kicking it off with a fresh article from The Diplomat Magazine.
@HariPrasad-1 @LETHALFORCE @sayareakd
@Kunal Biswas
@Gessler

 

[Indx TechStyle]

A surface-to-surface Agni V missile is launched from Wheeler Island off the eastern Indian state of Odisha April 19, 2012.

Image Credit: REUTERS/Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation/DRDO/Handout
India's Anti-Satellite Weapons

Does India truly have the ability to target enemy satellites in war?

The utility of space as a medium for war has grown exponentially since the days of the Cold War Space Race. The military potential of satellites is manifold: communications, navigation, early-warning systems, reconnaissance, and signal intelligence. Any state that manages to get the upper hand in this frontier can be expected to dominate the outcome of any war. A state with command over space-based assets can jam enemy satellites or destroy them, and stop the enemy from communicating with troops or accessing vital information about troop movements or incoming missiles. It is in this context that the events in India’s neighborhood have caused anxiety and have led to calls for a new space policy aimed at countering the growing might of China’s space military program.

Threats From China’s Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Program

According to some reports, Beijing conducted its latest anti-satellite missile test in 2013, when it launched its new ASAT (anti-satellite) missile, the Dong Neng-2 or DN-2. A U.S. defense official familiar with military intelligence, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the DN-2 as a “ground-based, high earth-orbit attack missile.” Further, a report by the Secure World Foundation stated that “while there is no conclusive proof, the available evidence strongly suggests that China’s May 2013 launch was the test of the rocket component of a new direct ascent ASAT weapons system derived from a road-mobile ballistic missile.”

This was not the first time Beijing tested its ASAT program. A more prominent test occurred in January 2007, when the Chinese military launched a KT-1 rocket that successfully destroyed a redundant Chinese Feng Yun 1-C weather satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), approximately 800 kilometers above the Earth. The test left behind approximately 2,500 to 3,000 pieces of dangerous debris in LEO, where reconnaissance and weather satellites and manned space missions are vulnerable to space debris. In May 2013, a Russian satellite was struck and destroyed, reportedly by one such piece of debris.

Hazardous space debris aside, the test also confirmed China’s capability to attack and destroy enemy satellites in the event of war, sabotaging the enemy’s military operations.

Such developments have not gone unnoticed in New Delhi’s defense establishment. Security experts and scholars have called for a rethink of India’s space policy, augmenting India’s ASAT weapons capability. Following China’s 2007 ASAT weapons test, the then-chief of army staff of the Indian Army, General Deepak Kapoor, was quoted in a Times of India report saying that China’s space program was expanding at an “exponentially rapid” pace in both offensive and defensive capabilities, and that space was becoming the “ultimate military high ground” to dominate in the wars of the future. Then-Integrated Defense Staff Chief Lt. General H S Lidder was also quoted as saying, “with time, we will get sucked into the military race to protect space assets and inevitably there will be a military contest in space. In a life-and-death scenario, space will provide the advantage.”

A breakthrough emerged in 2012 when V.K. Saraswat, then the chief of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India’s premier defense R&D organization, announced that India has all the building blocks in place to integrate an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in low earth and polar orbits. In an interview, Saraswat suggested that India’s anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense program could be utilized as an ASAT weapon, along with its Agni series of missiles. This wascorroborated by DRDO, which said that the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program can incorporate anti-satellite weapon development.

It should also be remembered that with the recent successes of its Mars mission and the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-D5), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) now has the capability to launch satellites weighing in excess of two tons, an important prerequisite for the deployment of any weapons system. And while existing space treatiesprohibit placing weapons of mass destruction in space, they do not explicitly prohibit the placing of other types of weapons. For DRDO then, the next goal would likely be to develop orbital weapons, which could remain in space for as long as required while orbiting Earth or the Moon.

Does India Really Have an ASAT Weapons Capability?

While the statements by V.K. Saraswat created ripples all over, at home his statements were dismissed by certain scholars as an exaggeration. Questioning India’s “purported” capabilities, scholars like Michael Listner and Victoria Samson have pointed out that without conducting a test and demonstrating its ASAT capability explicitly, India will only be seen as a “paper tiger” by the arms control and intelligence community. Listner pointed out that the acknowledgement by Saraswat about India developing and bringing together the basic technologies to create a system that could be used against enemy satellites, and the decision to adapt India’s ABM technology for an ASAT role was “doubtless encouraged by the ancillary capability demonstrated by the United States when it adapted its ABM system to deorbit USA 193 in 2008.” But should such ancillary capability be taken as a evidence of full ASAT capability?

Expressing perplexity over contradictory statements from Indian officials, and their refusal to clear the air about India’s ASAT program, Listner states that public statements about India’s purported ASAT capability seem to “fit neither an active program to develop an ASAT or an ancillary capability to ballistic missile defense.”

However, in 2011, Bharath Gopalaswamy, who was then a researcher in the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, claimed that India’s scientific community is open to an ASAT test, if it was done with caution. Rajeswari Rajagopalan, senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi based think tank, said that “India might do an ASAT test in the next five to 10 years.” While these statements are illuminating as to the going-ons in India’s academic and scientific circles, actually testing India’s purported ASAT capacity is easier said than done. As pointed out by Arvind Kumar, professor of Geopolitics and International Relations at Manipal University, ASAT capabilities require a number of technologies related to space-based sensors, synthetic aperture radars, electronics, a sound navigation system, guidance and control, and global positioning systems. A number of different types of sensors, including infrared sensors, optical sensors, electronic-optical sensors, and magnetic sensors are vital to monitor, detect, and help in sensing the events. Whether India has the ability to acquire or build these technologies is doubtful.

The Case for ASAT Weapons Demonstration

The questions raised over India’s ASAT weapons capacity are doubtless important. Even if New Delhi does have an anti-satellite weapons capability, it will only be acknowledged if it comes out in the open with a successful test. But such a demonstration will come with its own costs. What would be the consequences if New Delhi decided to demonstrate its purported ASAT capability?

It should be remembered that along with causing grave insecurity, and possibly a space-weaponization race in the region, such a test will also lead to the creation of hazardous space debris, which could doubtless elicit international opprobrium, and possibly even sanctions. Burgeoning relations with the United States — which even led to the signing of the 2005 India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement and made India the first country with nuclear weapons which is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce with a nuclear weapons state — could end in jeopardy if India unilaterally tests ASAT weapons.

Further, at a time when India is looking at the indigenization of its defense industry to cut the costs of importing weapons (India is the world’s largest arms importer) and hoping to garner international investments in its defense and manufacturing industry, such a move could stall such developments as investors would see the tests as a sign of aggression and defiance of international norms. Additionally, for India to establish its defense-industrial base, it needs the transfer of technology from technologically advanced nations. If New Delhi decides to go ahead with ASAT tests, it will possibly be looking at sanctions, not tech transfers.

It would also also be incongruous with India’s own conduct if New Delhi decides to test ASAT weapons. India is a member of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), and has contributed significantly to crafting that organization’s mitigation guidelines. A successful test of an ASAT weapon by India and the resulting debris would seriously erode its credibility in this arena. Security analysts and scholars advocating the demonstration of ASAT weapons should not be under any impression that New Delhi will be treated to the same measured response from the international community as Beijing was after 2007.

However, a new treaty banning space weaponization could inhibit India from demonstrating its ability in the future. After the 2007 test conducted by China, there has been renewed talk of a restrictive treaty banning space-weaponization. Much like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that forced restrictions on the non-nuclear weapons states of the time (including India), a new restrictive regime on space-weaponization could foreclose India’s options, giving the United States, China, and Russia ASAT-weapons-state status a la NPT, while keeping India out of the club. This could again lead to discrimination against India in case it decides to conduct a test to display its existing ability. It would also put New Delhi at a serious disadvantage, as it would then only be able to negotiate on such a new treaty as an “outsider” rather than an “insider” with ASAT weapons capability. If India shies away from demonstrating its ASAT weapons capability before a restrictive treaty is enforced, it will be repeating a historic mistake.

For policymakers in New Delhi the situation is tricky. There are both pros and cons for demonstrating India’s ASAT weapons capability. In this scenario, it is important to look for a middle ground where India can test its ASAT weapons without creating any hazardous atmosphere in outer space due to debris. One possibility would be to test anti-satellite weapons at a low altitude, where the resulting debris would enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up without causing any damage. At a lower altitude, the atmospheric drag results in orbital decay that reduces the altitude of space debris. It eventually enters Earth’s atmosphere and usually burns up on re-entry.

Yet another way to demonstrate ASAT capability without causing debris would be to do a fly-by test, where the ground-based direct ascent missile will fly by the targeted satellite without destroying it. Lastly, New Delhi could also test its ability to sabotage satellites by jamming satellites using space-based lasers. This method falls under the category of “soft-kill” methods and does not create debris.

Whether a fly-by test or jamming a satellite, both would require technological superiority to conduct the test and also to satisfactorily gauge the results. Whether DRDO and ISRO have such technological capability is not known.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

From Wikipedia,

In a televised press briefing during the 97th Indian Science Congress in Thiruvananthapuram, the Defence Research and Development Organisation Director General Rupesh announced that India was developing the necessary technology that could be combined to produce a weapon to destroy enemy satellites in orbit. On February 10, 2010, Defence Research and Development Organisation Director-General and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, Dr VK Saraswat stated that India had "all the building blocks necessary" to integrate an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in low earth and polar orbits.India is known to have been developing an exo-atmospheric kill vehicle that can be integrated with the missile to engage satellites.

From references:
http://www.defencenow.com/news/343/...egration-with-agni-iii-ballistic-missile.html

 

[Gessler]

A few slides regarding developments/plans in this field, from a DRDO presentation by former chairman VK Saraswat;

 

[HariPrasad-1]

When asked about the space security of protecting the satellite, Avinash chander said that it has many dimension. One is satellite carrying decoy to decept incoming satellite killer. Another is smart satellite which will change the direction while seeing killer warhead coming in.

Another dimension is capability exist in the form of deterrence. He said that that capability exists.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

When asked about the space security of protecting the satellite, Avinash chander said that it has many dimension. One is satellite carrying decoy to decept incoming satellite killer. Another is smart satellite which will change the direction while seeing killer warhead coming in.

Another dimension is capability exist in the form of deterrence. He said that that capability exists.

I agree with The Diplomat's article. We must try at least a flyby.
Off topic:
We're going by launch 22 SATs in a single shot on 22nd June.

 

[HariPrasad-1]

I agree with The Diplomat's article. We must try at least a flyby.
Off topic:
We're going by launch 22 SATs in a single shot on 22nd June.

Please elaborate. ..............................................

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Any IRBM has the potential to be used as an anti satellite weapon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sayareakd]

We have all the building block for ASAT, its high time that should test it. Hope Modi give green signal to DRDO to test it. Just to show off Indian capabilities.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Please elaborate. ..............................................

I meant not directly shooting satellite but making the projectile or missile fly from very near.
This will demonstrate our capability without creating debris.
No debris means no international objections and pressure. Other suggestion is soft kill which I don't think possible before 2025(operationalization of DEWs Systems).

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Any IRBM has the potential to be used as an anti satellite weapon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Others method is to put another satellite in the same orbit as that of target to make them collide and destroy each other.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Others method is to put another satellite in the same orbit as that of target to make them collide and destroy each other.

These methods are doe LEO satellites most military satellites are GEO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sayareakd]

I meant not directly shooting satellite but making the projectile or missile fly from very near.
This will demonstrate our capability without creating debris.
No debris means no international objections and pressure. Other suggestion is soft kill which I don't think possible before 2025(operationalization of DEWs Systems).

Even better idea is to send RLV with cargo bay and robotic arm to capture satellite and bring it back.......

 

[porky_kicker]

i have a idea
how about packing in nano satellites into a regular communication /remote sensing satellite.
if we need to knock out a satellite, the mother satellite will release the nano satellite killer which will be then maneuvered to close proximity of the target ie on to a collision course with the target.
in fact the nano killers can be pre-programmed with the necessary coordinates and flight path of prospective enemy satellites within its designated area of operation .

so no need of contact with the ground stations except for the release command which can be easily hidden with the usual commands.
nobody will be wise as to who did it and blame can be put on the space debris.

especially good for covert satellite kills.

 

[porky_kicker]

indian has the capability to design killer nano bots(satellites).
isro has made ion thrusters , we just need to miniaturize them.
high performance lithium ion batteries we need to work more on this.
and a lot of coding and trajectory calculations, we r great in this.

size of the killer nano bots(satellites) will be less than a football, and depending on our R&D skill equal to the size of a tennis ball.
titanium or tungsten alloys can be used to increase the density and the kinetic energy plus gravity will ensure a 100% kill probability on successful hit/impact.

plus killer nano bots(satellites) can be shaped like any regular space debris , aerodynamics is not a concern in space.

also nobody will be wise to the fact as visual appearance / behavior will be like any space debris.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

i have a idea
how about packing in nano satellites into a regular communication /remote sensing satellite.
if we need to knock out a satellite, the mother satellite will release the nano satellite killer which will be then maneuvered to close proximity of the target ie on to a collision course with the target.
in fact the nano killers can be pre-programmed with the necessary coordinates and flight path of prospective enemy satellites within its designated area of operation .

so no need of contact with the ground stations except for the release command which can be easily hidden with the usual commands.
nobody will be wise as to who did it and blame can be put on the space debris.

especially good for covert satellite kills.

indian has the capability to design killer nano bots(satellites).
isro has made ion thrusters , we just need to miniaturize them.
high performance lithium ion batteries we need to work more on this.
and a lot of coding and trajectory calculations, we r great in this.

size of the killer nano bots(satellites) will be less than a football, and depending on our R&D skill equal to the size of a tennis ball.
titanium or tungsten alloys can be used to increase the density and the kinetic energy plus gravity will ensure a 100% kill probability on successful hit/impact.

plus killer nano bots(satellites) can be shaped like any regular space debris , aerodynamics is not a concern in space.

also nobody will be wise to the fact as visual appearance / behavior will be like any space debris.

Easy to say, but only can be done but high end technologies (beyond the Japan).
Otherwise, US, Russia and China would have done it before.
BTW, ISRO has a project for Robotic Space Mission to demonstrate human spaceflight before sending humans in space.
So, it could give us some experience to handle robots at least.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Eklavya is the possible name. Thanks Tarun.

Ekalavya anti-sat missile, coming soon. Chatter in Hyderabad.

 

[Adioz]

i have a idea
how about packing in nano satellites into a regular communication /remote sensing satellite.
if we need to knock out a satellite, the mother satellite will release the nano satellite killer which will be then maneuvered to close proximity of the target ie on to a collision course with the target.
in fact the nano killers can be pre-programmed with the necessary coordinates and flight path of prospective enemy satellites within its designated area of operation .

so no need of contact with the ground stations except for the release command which can be easily hidden with the usual commands.
nobody will be wise as to who did it and blame can be put on the space debris.

especially good for covert satellite kills.

indian has the capability to design killer nano bots(satellites).
isro has made ion thrusters , we just need to miniaturize them.
high performance lithium ion batteries we need to work more on this.
and a lot of coding and trajectory calculations, we r great in this.

size of the killer nano bots(satellites) will be less than a football, and depending on our R&D skill equal to the size of a tennis ball.
titanium or tungsten alloys can be used to increase the density and the kinetic energy plus gravity will ensure a 100% kill probability on successful hit/impact.

plus killer nano bots(satellites) can be shaped like any regular space debris , aerodynamics is not a concern in space.

also nobody will be wise to the fact as visual appearance / behavior will be like any space debris.

Good ideas. I think we need to improve upon it though. Possible shortcomings:-

• AFAIK, space debris is parked in a separate orbit. So I don't think your debris collision theory will sell. Therefore the minute we initiate this operation, Chinese will realize something is amiss.
• Ground stations would need to send tracking data of target satellite to the nano satellite so that it knows where to go. Without that, its incredibly difficult. Understand that these objects are flying at speeds of the order of 7km/s. Not sure if the mother satellite could provide a track.

I think we could use your idea in conjunction with one of mine:-
We could use space based "mirrors" as an array. These could redirect solar radiation in the infra-red spectrum to heat up and destroy any enemy satellite that is in a fixed orbit. We could mount these on our usual satellites clandestinely.

But here we are taking about space age weapons, everything comes into play:-

• Ground based jammers, dazzlers and other soft-kill measures.
• Anti satellite missiles, Railguns, DEW and other hard-kill measures.
• Surge launch capacity using ballistic missiles, reusable SSTO spacecraft and reusable rockets.
• High altitude N-EMP.
• Ground-based telemetry and tracking stations will be targeted.
• Future satellites of all countries will carry countermeasures on-board as space weapons become more widespread and apparent.
• And the swarm tactics using nano satellites that you suggested.
• And maybe the space based DEW array I suggested.

Like all other dimensions of war, space warfare is going to be a race where national will, economy, ingenuity and experience will play a commanding role.

But before all that, that article @Indx TechStyle posted is right. We need to demonstrate ASAT capability before an exclusive club forms and we are locked out of it again. This time however, we should have some relief, as US might not try to deny us a chance at space weapons, or it would not have any ally in that exclusive club of US, Russia and China. The only problem is that such tests cannot be clandestine (unless we get creative).


IMHO, space war could go in two completely separate directions in the future:-

1. We see a trend where we tend to make bigger and bigger satellites (due to the need to incorporate countermeasures on-board). Much like the current trend in navies to build large capital ships.
2. Swarm tactics-based nano satellites. This will require immense advances in electronics miniaturization and networking.

In all this, private satellites would be like merchant ships. This looks much like modern naval warfare.

 

[Akask kumar]

I meant not directly shooting satellite but making the projectile or missile fly from very near.
This will demonstrate our capability without creating debris.
No debris means no international objections and pressure. Other suggestion is soft kill which I don't think possible before 2025(operationalization of DEWs Systems).

i read it somewhere cant recall..it said spraying paints overs the satellite ..not ordinary paint .a special type of paint which absorb incoming sunrays and heats up the satelllite,thus destroying it silently without any trace.

or a simple paint sprayed over solar panel will turn satellite useless.

just flying a paint box near the sat and spraying the paint.. no debris created..

or in future we can set up a big paint tank in orbit that can alter its path and can shoot the special paint on any sat of our liking.. he he.. it will also serve as deterence..

 

[IndianHawk]

The only problem is that such tests cannot be clandestine (unless we get creative).

No need to be clandestine about it.
Chinese did it twice openly. USA had to suck it up. We must simply explode few satellites.

I am against debris in space but to teach chinese a lesson it is imperative that we go reckless.

The only problem of our strategic program historically has been that we are way too practical and restrained.

At least now with this can we please be a little reckless.

Then we can organize a world congregation towards peaceful use of space .:blah: