..:: India Strategic ::.. Space: Indian Navy eyes ‘Gagan’ to achieve network centricity
Indian Navy eyes 'Gagan' to achieve network centricity
Literally translating to 'sky', Gagan is an acronym for GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System and is a programme for Indian Regional Navigational System.
For centuries, navigators, surveyors and explorers used the sextant and celestial bodies to locate their navigational position with some accuracy to avoid tragedy, and to arrive at their intended destinations. This all changed on 26th June 26, 1993 when the US Department of Defence launched the 24th Navstar satellite into orbit, completing a network of satellites costing around $ 12 billion and creating what is now known as the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Today with a GPS receiver that costs less than a few hundred dollars, one can instantly get one's location in latitude, longitude and even altitude to within a few meters.
A combination of minimum four satellites continuously transmitting signals all over the world can be fed in to a computerised receiver to give an accurate fix which is updated every few minutes. It has changed the way one navigates a ship, drives a car, locates a tagged container or a mobile phone etc, but more significantly it has changed military systems, targeting and intelligence with the incorporation of GPS in most applications, including missiles and bombs on way to their targets.
In the 1990s, the Indian Navy was the first Service to introduce the Magnavox receivers on major ships and soon the Indian Air Force and Army followed. The tiny computer box with its small antenna was fondly referred to as 'Commander Magnavox' in the Navy and when commanding officers wanted to test navigational skills of their officers, Cdr Magnavox was purposely switched off; they were back to the sextant and astro tables.
The applications of GPS has changed most civil and military applications that need accuracy of navigation and is today invariably linked into systems including internet and is very widely used in military operations and surveys, intelligence and missile and weapon control and direction. Technological fantasies and programming possibilities abound in what GPS can do just like the internet which itself was a military innovation, has galloped and all such advances of technology in warfare are referred to as the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA).
The GPS system provides a novel, unique, and instantly available location for every square metre on the surface of the earth and new international standard for locations and distances, for system providers. Naval and military grids of positions can be pin pointed and the location of targets stored in operational plans including nuclear response linked to decision assist systems for use in an instant.
With GPS, the military has been given a technology of unbounded promise, but it needs noting the GPS system most commonly used is controlled by USA's Department of Defense, with a C/A transmission code with 15 metres accuracy and can be switched off or fiddled with to mislead some intended recepients.
The US military and its allies have access to the secure P code and the Wide Area Augmentation System (WASS) which is more accurate. The US operators can, at their will, introduce errors in satellites, just switch them off. That is why the Russians have gone in for the GLONASS system, where India is a partner. The Chinese have made the Biedou system regionally operational with ambitions of a larger Compass system and the EU has gone in for the Galileo.
India is not lagging.
Its major space programmes include the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)-GAGAN and ship-borne internet communications linked system with an ISRO launched satellite that would fructify in the coming two years. The second programme will assist the Indian Navy become an advanced network centric warfare (NCW) capable war-fighting arm.
The IRNSS will be an autonomous regional GPS navigational system developed by ISRO under total control of the Indian Government since other GPS systems are not guaranteed in hostile situations. The government approved the project in May 2006, to be completed and implemented by 2012. A goal of complete Indian control has been articulated, with the space segment, ground segment and user receivers all being built in India with source codes.
It is unclear whether the Russian GLONASS will be linked to the IRNSS project or feed additional technical support to enable its completion.
The proposed IRNSS system consists of a constellation of seven satellites and a ground support segment. Three of the satellites in the constellation will be placed in geostationary orbit over the Indian Ocean located at an apogee of 24,000 km with atomic clocks and electronic equipment to generate the navigation signals.
The IRNSS signals will consist of a special positioning precision service being carried on L5 (1176.45 MHz) and S band (2492.08 MHz) and broadcast through a phased array antenna to maintain continuous coverage and signal strength. The satellites would weigh approximately 1,330 kg each and their solar panels will be capable of generating 1,400 watts, with 20 meters accuracy throughout India and extending further to 2000km.
The ground segment of IRNSS constellation would consist of a Master Control Center (MCC), ground stations to track and estimate the satellites' orbits and ensure the integrity of the network (IRIM), and additional ground stations to monitor the health of the satellites with the capability of issuing radio commands to the satellites. The control centre would estimate and predict the position of all IRNSS satellites, calculate integrity, make necessary ionospheric and clock corrections and run the navigation software. In pursuit of a highly independent system, an Indian standard time infrastructure would also be established by 2012.
THE GAGAN AIR NAVIGATION SYSTEM LINKED TO USA'S GPS
Gagan is being progressively installed at an estimated cost of Rs 774 crores (USD 163.516 million approximately). It is a Satellite Based System (SBAS) over the Indian air space being implemented by ISRO and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) with two down links for seamless navigation and control of air traffic, with Raytheon of USA as the contactor.
It will be linked globally with other systems like WAAS of USA, EGNOS of Europe and MSNAS of Japan.
Gagan involves development of indigenous technology in frontier areas with numerous benefits to the aviation sector and would enable aircraft to navigate on a straight path/ route instead of navigating in zig-zag path over land based stations.
This system would also provide coverage of oceanic areas, which is not possible by terrestrial systems; improve airport and airspace access in all weather conditions; enhance reliability and reduce delays; provide uniform and accurate navigation performance over the entire airspace; provide fuel efficient air corridors and provide CAT-I approach without ground element support.
Additionally the project would result in fuel savings/efficiency for airlines and enable higher air traffic within the limited airspace, and the military could use it for identification of aircraft and protection of India's air spaces.
INDIAN NAVY FROM LINK II TO INTERNET WITH ISRO'S MILTARY SATELLITE C4ISR
On 23rd September 2009, ISRO in a landmark event launched an ocean-monitoring satellite OCEANSAT 2 and six European nano satellites aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's Southeastern coast.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a statement congratulated the ISRO on the successful launch of OCEANSAT-2, which he said "will herald a new beginning in our understanding of the oceans". The ocean monitoring satellite was placed into its intended 720-kilometer sun synchronous polar orbit. The 1,000-kilogram satellite is the second in a series of ISRO remote sensing satellites dedicated to ocean research. It is dedicated to data collection that began with OCEANSAT-1 launched in 1999 and is nearing the end of its operational life.
A third satellite OCEANSAT-3 is planned for launch in 2012. OCEANSAT-2 is being used for weather tracking and forecasting and the identification of potential fishing zones, ocean condition forecasting, coastal zone studies and providing inputs for weather forecasting and climate studies. The Indian Navy has access to the data and bathymetric studies assist Anti Submarine Warfare among other military uses.
The Indian Navy has not been lacking in the field of its efforts to augment its C4ISR (concept of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities.
The Navy has placed a futuristic order worth $ 2.1 billion for eight of the latest Boeing P-8I long range maritime reconnaissance 737s with the latest C4ISR equipment, which will roll out in 2011, and soon ISRO will launch a Navy dedicated communications satellite for which terminals are being installed on all ships to enterprise area wide network.
On 20th April 2009 ISRO launched RISAT-2, India's first synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite built by Israel, similar to Israel's TECSAR for imagery at sea and along the coast. RISAT-1 is being prepared for launch by ISRO along with newer OCEANSAT series.
In all this, the role of the Weapons Engineering Electronics Systems Establishment Weapons (WESEE) needs to be advertised as the unsung heroes in many technology endeavors of the Indian Navy. The latest and very significant is the Link II internet-based digital transmission system, making sure the Indian Navy stays ahead marching towards network centricity.
WESEE is the Navy's own in-house research and development agency which began as small unit under Ministry of Defence to harness technologies for improved communications and amalgamation of the Soviet weapon systems with Western supplied systems. WEESE was also assigned to assist in the Navy-wide communications network, mid-life upgrades of ships for fitment of new weapon systems on the platforms being refitted and constructed in India. These tasks began in earnest with the improved Leanders of the Vindhyagiri and Godavari class.
Thanks to WEESE in the field of communications and transmission of digital data the Indian Navy had already made advances by imbibing a lot from the US Navy in the eleven Malabar exercises it has taken part in, when the US CENTRIX M system for digital internet communications and protocols was provided to the participating ships.
The Indian Navy has always attempted to leap-frog by continual modernisation of its fleet to meet its tactical requirements in the Indian Ocean Region and has always upgraded its communications, command and control systems. With a WEESE led home made LINK 2 internet the Navy swiftly moved to become a net-enabled digital Navy, as a first step towards network-centricity.
The excellent pioneering work was accomplished by the Navy's young tech-savvy officers.
The Navy worked closely with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Defence Research and Development Organisation and Tata Consultancy Ltd and a firm in Chennai which makes modems, to achieve high standards of operational network centricity. BEL made the Link II details public which is an internet modem-linked ARINC 249 protocol system for ships at sea.
So far, the Indian Navy was receiving low bit-rate transmission and reception on HF/VHF and INMARSAT commercial usage which has been very costly.
The Indian Navy and ISRO have announced that a military communications geo stationary satellite dedicated to the military will be launched soon over the Indian Ocean which will give the Indian Navy ships full internet secure digital transmission of data, intelligence, maps, situation reports and internet for social welfare of ship's crews in real time with better bit rate.
The exchange between ships and headquarters will be in real time, so essential when India enters the nuclear deterrence phase form the seas. The result will be that the Indian Navy will be marching towards full net centricity very soon.
The ship based dual offset Gregorian terminals in 45 inch radomes for transmission and reception are to be supplied by Orbit Technology Group of Israel and installed on the Indian Navy ships.
Orbit claims it has worldwide acceptance in the US, UK and Singapore. The UAV control radomes fitted in the Indian Navy ships INS Taragiri and Vindhyagiri in a revolutionary move are also supplied by the same company.
The internet terminals linked to the ships CIC computers, compass and other sensors will be able to cater for appropriate roll, pitch and yaw.
India's march towards modern, safe and secure global positioning, navigation and data transmission in the Indian Ocean has begun and India believes in cooperation with the littoral states and to provide facilities in the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries.