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To extend Indian Army’s capacity, the Government of India comes up with new plans and missions. It has been announced that the Army will now have its own advanced communication satellite like Indian Air Force and Navy already have their own spacecraft to carry out major operations in the interest of various global goals.
On March 29, 2023 (Wednesday) the Defence Ministry inked a Rs 3,000-crore contract with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). NSIL is a commercial branch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
A contract, worth Rs 3,000 crore, was also signed with NewSpace India Limited for an Advanced Communication Satellite for Indian Army. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/fkT3iLYXVt
— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD)
March 29, 2023
‘GSAT 7B’ – Advanced Communication Satellite
The massive deal signed between two of the higher-level departments aims at providing the Armed Forces with beyond-visible-horizon communication commands in their crucial missions. This will help the troops detect different ranges of spectrum over broad regions.
The Satellite that has been titled ‘GSAT 7B’ is for the Army of India which will provide for its continuing requirements, as stated by the senior government officials. The Army is focused on a committed satellite as the Indian Air Force and the Navy departments acquired.
Moreover, the GSAT 7B satellite will be launched by 2026 to improve the communication system of the Indian Army by assisting in laying out the weapon and airborne undertakings. The geostationary satellite is the first-ever in the five-tonne category that will be designed indigenously by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
Talking about the inspirational vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Yojna or Self Reliant India Campaign, several divisions and systems will receive procurement of indigenous manufacturing services. It includes MSMEs and start-ups for the boost of the private Indian space industry.
In addition to this, the project will also generate employment of about 3 lakhs of workdays for a long time period of three and a half years. The Minister of Defence asserted that the satellite will provide mission-critical beyond line-of-sight communication to soldiers along with weapon and airborne platforms.
Indigenous Satellite Use & Purpose
The domestic satellite will be solely designed by ISRO Space Agency and is expected to be delivered to the Indian Army up to the year 2026. With strong security features, this latest built model will support the tactical communication needs of the deployed troops on the ground and remotely piloted aircraft, air defence weapons and all other mission-critical as well as fire support platforms, as claimed by the officials.
Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies stated that air-centric capabilities will be enhanced through this project of a significant Rs 3,000 crore finalised with NSIL.
Defence Missions
It came to light that during the Russia-Ukraine War, the army conducted a detailed study of cyber and electromagnetic warfare systems. Also, it effectively raised a proposal for a reliable satellite communication system which will cater for high-speed internet services in remote areas.
India’s defence acquisition council (DAC), the government’s highest decision-making body cleared the army proposal for a GSAT-7B satellite in March 2022. This was put forth with the objective of upgrading its operations. This will provide strong communication across oceans.
Other Contracts of the Ministry
Two other contracts were signed by the Defence Ministry of Rs 2,400 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the Army’s operational capabilities. One of these worth Rs 1,982 crore is put forward to implement ‘Project Akashteer’ an automated air defence control and reporting system to give access to the army’s air defence units to function in an integrated manner.
Project Akshateer
The government has taken up ‘Project Akashteer’ which intends to record low-level airspace over the battlefields of the Indian Army. This will regulate the ground-based air defence weapon systems. The Defence Ministry highlights the second contract worth Rs 412 crore with BEL for Sarang electronic support measure systems to benefit the Indian Navy helicopters.
All 3 recently initiated projects are to accelerate the self-reliance campaign of the Modi Govt. It comes under the most important category of acquisition in the defence procurement policy or the Indian IDDM. IDDM refers to the indigenously designed, developed and manufactured.
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