Satellite killer, attack using rays, disable all space stations and systems, how prepared India is for next generation warfare with China?
New Delhi: In recent years, China has expanded its technology to such an extent that countering it will be quite challenging for any country. Now, it will not be easy for America to fight a war with China either. But how prepared is India, which shares a border with China and has seen several skirmishes in the past, for a devastating war against the dragon? This question arises because there are concerns that during a war, China's arsenal of lasers, jammers, and cyberattacks could incapacitate India's satellites, making the battlefield unfavourable even before a single shot is fired. A report claims that the next war with China may not begin with a deafening explosion, but with a terrifying blackout.
The Swarajya report states that China's laser weaponry and cyberattack capabilities have become so strong that it can win a war without firing a single bullet. It can disable enemy satellites, plunge imaging systems into darkness, destroy encrypted communication networks, and disrupt navigation signals. All this can be done without using explosives. That means no explosions, no debris, no warnings, but a darkness in which an entire nation can be paralyzed. Is India prepared for the next generation of warfare against China?
If a country's satellite network is disrupted, it becomes very difficult to carry out networking. Working on ground systems becomes extremely challenging, and command systems weaken. This can lead to a breakdown in coordination. These attacks are surgical in nature. They create chaos and weave a web of confusion that becomes almost impossible to break. This is how next generation warfare will be fought and India is not yet fully prepared for this scenario. However, it is not that India is unaware of these forces from China. India's Mission Shakti
India conducted an anti-satellite (ASAT) test and developed the capability to intercept targets in low Earth orbit. The ASAT attack was a direct message to Beijing that India can combat threats in space. India established a Defence Space Agency in 2018, and a military space doctrine is now operational. Operating at an altitude of 1200 kilometers, it is capable of striking targets at speeds of over 10 kilometers per second. India's ASAT test demonstrated not only the capability to strike in space but also control over one of the most challenging aspects of modern military technology. Nevertheless, it cannot yet be considered a credible space deterrent.
The most common way to demonstrate the ability to shoot down satellites is by using missiles, known as direct-ascent kinetic-kill weapons. China did this in 2007, while the United States tested it in 2008, and India joined this club in 2019. However, India carried out its test 282 kilometers above the Earth's lower orbit, while China destroyed a satellite at an altitude of 865 kilometers, resulting in over 3,000 fragments, many of which are still orbiting the Earth. It is believed that the Chinese test alone increased the number of objects in orbit by 20 percent. Like India, the United States also conducted its ASAT test at a lower altitude in 2008, approximately 247 kilometers, to prevent debris from spreading in space.
China's soft-kill technology, ranging from lasers to cyberattacks, provides Beijing with a strategic advantage, allowing it to undermine India's space-based monitoring, communication, and navigation systems without any open conflict.
China is advancing high-power microwave (HPM) weapons that emit electromagnetic pulses to destroy satellite electronics. They can interfere with onboard electronics, corrupt memory data, force the system to reboot, or if the energy level is sufficiently high, cause permanent damage to circuits and processors. These can be deployed from directed energy weapons (DEWs), ground stations, or future co-orbital platforms, giving China the capability to potentially harm Indian satellites.
To give a befitting reply to China, India will also need to enhance its capabilities. It will have to respond to Chinese attacks on its satellites using non-kinetic means, such as lasers, jammers, cyberattacks, or co-orbital manipulation, which can discreetly neutralize crucial assets like China's Cartosat-3, RISAT-2B, or GSAT-32 without creating debris.
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