Space Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities are becoming critically essential for national development, economic well-being, commerce, and everyday life, besides assuming a crucial component of successful military operations.
Space ISR is promising as a military and economic centre of gravity for our information-reliant, society. Space-based assets and systems can accumulate varied military, political, or economic information that can be valued while planning and executing a range of military operations.
More specifically, information can be collected, processed, exploited, and disseminated on such diverse subjects as indications and warning, targeting analysis, friendly course of action, development, adversary capability assessment, battle damage assessment (BDA), or battlespace characterization.
Evolution of Space ISR
Over the past two decades, the importance of Space ISR in national techno-economic, social-commercial and military strategic life has critically emerged. This in itself enhances the exposure against any aggressive and antagonistic action that might seek to harm, degrade or deny space potential so meticulously built up over the decades at great cost against great odds.
India’s dependence on space for vital economic purposes has been growing rapidly during the past decade or so. Space ISR has developed as a specialized field of practice within the broader profession of intelligence that encompasses all activities such as planning, collection, processing, analysis, exploitation and dissemination of spatial information to gain intelligence about the operational environment, visually depict the inputs and fuse the acquired inputs with other information through analysis and visualization processes for better assimilation and thus aiding in the faster decision-making process.
The exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth acts as the fulcrum for varied military operations. Space ISR consists of geospatial information and imagery intelligence that collectively provide innovative, versatile solutions fulfilling intelligence requirements and predicting future threat environments.
Space-based intelligence collection synchronizes and integrates sensors, assets and systems for gathering data and information on an object or in an area of interest on a persistent, event or scheduled basis. This includes early warning, targeting analysis, threat capability assessment, coverage of denied areas, situational awareness and battle damage assessment.
Resultantly, information superiority is expanded which is the degree of dominance in space that permits the conduct of operations at a given time and place without prohibitive interference from space-based threats.
Reshaping Modern Military
The Space ISR domain touches nearly every facet of warfare as it is essential to maintain technological superiority and strategic dominance over adversaries. Satellite technology enables Global Positioning Systems (GPS), early warning systems, and guidance for precision munitions.
Furthermore, we need tactical integrated multi-domain Space ISR at the front line for an effective domain Anti Access and Aerial Denial (A2AD) strategy. Space ISR is a key enabling capability to achieve information superiority over potential adversaries.
Space ISR is also a key process in air operational planning in which information from satellites will play a key role in collecting data as well as supporting conventional and unconventional activities. Traditional military missions for land, sea and air are migrating to space with significant military applications and exploitation of Space ISR as affecting the tactical battle area, operational and strategic depth.
Space ISR assists in the Observe, Orient, Decide & Act (OODA) loop which enables military commanders to execute the observation, orientation, decision and action phases of the process in an optimized manner.
Space ISR further augments the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Information, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4I2SR) system which allows the fusion of data from multiple sources to be able to produce a Common Operational Intelligence Picture (COIP) dealing with all aspects of information.
Augmenting Commander’s Capabilities
Space ISR capabilities allow commanders to collect information to aid them in planning and decision-making. Intelligence is the production consequential to the collection, processing, integration, corroboration, analysis, and interpretation of accessible data.
Space-based systems contribute to the progressive growth of intelligence through surveillance and reconnaissance actions. Space systems offer commanders continuous observation of space, air, surface areas, places, persons, or things by visual, electronic, photographic, or other means that provide situational awareness within a given area.
Surveillance from space does not infer that a single satellite or “system” must be continuously collecting. Satellites that can provide a snapshot in time can be augmented by additional systems collecting in the same or even different areas of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Military – Space ISR Integration
Space superiority is the degree of supremacy in space of one force over another that permits the conduct of operations at a given time and place, without prohibitive interference from space-based threats. In the congested space environment, the theory makes available a framework in which air, sea, space, and ground-based components are used to monitor or support activities in space, enabling various capabilities to maintain an awareness of space.
Space-based control influences differently from other forms of military power due to its global perspective, responsiveness, and persistence. Through space capabilities, simultaneous operations affecting multiple theatres can be integrated, unlike surface forces that typically divide the battlefield into individual and geographically based theatres.
Because space-related effects and targeting can be global, the application of space power is inherently poised to accomplish an effects-based approach to space operations, based on functional capabilities rather than geographic limitations.
The space-based domain offers a unique degree of persistence concerning military actions. The challenge for space warriors is to ensure the close-knit integration of space operations with the scheme of manoeuvre across all levels of war. While this is no different than any other form of military capability, space operations usually occur over great distances and are conducted by units far from the battlefield, so the challenge is significant.
Historically, space operations had a strategic focus, however, it leads the charge to integrate space capabilities at the operational and tactical levels of military operations.
The Way Forward
The future success of ground forces will be critically dependent upon the effective utilization of space assets and capabilities across the spectrum of conflict. The advent of Space ISR has added a fourth dimension to modern warfare and the exploitation of Space ISR must be done concurrently at appropriate levels, to achieve the desired operational capabilities in a compressed time frame.
The sphere of influence of Space ISR has further grown to interplanetary travel, commercial space flights, space telescopes, surveillance of near-earth objects, asteroid mining, lunar colonization, permanent occupation of space stations and not limited to new habitats for life and settlements.
Space has emerged as a new medium and highlighted the urgent need to enhance awareness regarding specific space issues. Military applications of space and technological advances with increasing integration of space capabilities in security and warfighting doctrines have changed the nature of warfare.
The ability to utilize multiple forms of intelligence and channel it to an automated common point of reference with minimum human interference will be critical for dominance resulting in victory on the future battlefield and enabling decision-makers to arrive at the most viable course of action.
To modernise India’s military and develop effective Space ISR, rigorous training and continuous evolvement of space assets is crucial to maintain proficiency thus, a dedicated branch is the need of the hour.
