Be it China or Pakistan, India will keep a close watch; Modi government approves plan with 52 satellites

New Delhi: Whether it is to keep an eye on the activities near the border of neighboring countries like China-Pakistan or to expand the facilities inside our country, the role of satellites is continuously increasing. This is the reason why the Government of India is working hard towards setting up modern infrastructure under the Space Based Surveillance Mission (SBSM). Under this, Modi government has taken a big step.

Approval for the third phase of SBS mission

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the third phase of the Space Based Surveillance (SBS) mission. This will further strengthen the surveillance of the country’s land and sea, which will benefit the common people as well as the army. This project is being looked after by the National Security Council Secretariat under the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the Defense Space Agency.

Plan to release 52 satellites

Although the Modi government has not yet said anything about this approval, but according to the news website Hindustan Times, the proposal approved by CCS includes launching at least 52 satellites in low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit for surveillance. Is. The proposal, worth Rs 26,968 crore, involves building and launching 21 satellites from ISRO and the remaining 31 from private companies.

Vajpayee government’s scheme expanded in Modi government

SBS 1 was started in 2001 by the Vajpayee government. Under this, four satellites – Cartosat 2A, Cartosat 2B, Eros B and RISAT 2 – were launched for monitoring. Six satellites – Cartosat 2C, Cartosat 2D, Cartosat 3A, Cartosat 3B, Microsat 1 and RISAT 2A – were launched under SBS 2 in 2013. The now approved SBS 3 shows that India will launch 52 satellites over the next decade. According to sources, the three armies will have different satellites for their land, sea or air based missions.

India-France agreement

The Modi government in January itself signed an MoU with France for joint manufacturing and launch of military satellites. India is focusing on acquiring capabilities that can detect enemy submarines in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as track infrastructure construction by its adversaries along India’s land and maritime borders. .

The role of predator drones will also be important

The SBS 3 mission will also be aided by the acquisition of 31 Predator drones from US-based General Atomics as the platform has powerful surveillance capabilities in addition to its weapons package. On March 29, 2019, India tested its anti-satellite capability by destroying an active satellite with an indigenous missile in a test.