India Has The Tech To Develop Orbital Weapon For Space Warfare

June 12, 2011 defencenews.in

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation has the technology to develop & place weapons into space. If that is so, then India will be capable of putting it's most advance weapon systems into earth's orbit and then use them to strike targets in Space or on Earth.

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation has the technology to develop & place weapons into space. If that is so, then India will be capable of putting it's most advance weapon systems into earth's orbit and then use them to strike targets in Space or on Earth. Such orbital weapon will also lessen the chance of detection or interception by enemy forces before actual strike.

The DRDO has the technology and building blocks to develop these advance Orbital Weapons. Sources in DRDO have said that, "If we can place a satellite into earth orbit then we can also place weapon into Earth's orbit. But DRDO will not be developing any such weapon, as India is against the weaponisation of space.

Officials at DRDO have said that in the longer term, it is necessary to have that capability but stressed that the Indian programme, if any would be purely defensive in nature.

Last year in February 2010, India's renowned defence scientist and DRDO chief Dr V. K. Saraswat confirmed that India possesses anti satellite technology and that India's Agni-III missile has propulsion system, which can be used to propel a kill vehicle in the orbit.

Space treaty prohibits placing nuclear weapon or weapons of mass destruction in space but it is not against putting weapons into space. The Peoples Republic of China has already violated the treaty by actually killing a satellite in space on 11 January 2007.

So the next step for DRDO is to develop orbital weapons, which could stay in space as long as required while orbiting Earth or Moon and the same can be activated and delivered whenever required.

India is developing a very robust Ballistic Missile Defence System. DRDO's Hyderabad Lab Research Centre Imarat (RCI) has won this year's much coveted 'Silicon Trophy'. The DRDO claims that any nation having Ballistic missile defence system technology should have the technology building blocks to build orbital weapons as well.

Weaponsiation of space is different from militarization of space. India is not against militarization of space. Like many developed countries, who have their military satellites, India is also to launch military satellites in space. This year Indian Navy's Naval Communication Satellites will also go up. Then, a satellite for IAF will be placed in orbit followed by a satellite for the Indian Army. Protecting assets in space will be a great challenge in coming years and that's when the question of Orbital Weapons will arise.