India will have to acquire space weaponisation capability: Minister

Bangalore, Feb 14 (UNI) Though India oppose weaponisation of space as a policy, it will be 'foolish' not to acquire the capability in the wake of geo-political situation, Union Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said today.

Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the International Flight Test Seminar organised by Aircraft and System Testing Establishment (ASTE) here, he said, "India, as a policy, is against weaponisation of the space. However, going by the geo-political situation it will be foolish if we do not build the capability. It doesn't mean that we are going to use it." He said what China was doing in the Space was not really a concern to India but the country should take note of what it (China) was capable of doing in Space, as it was in the same geographical neighbourhood.

Earlier, speaking at the seminar, Mr Raju said one of the great challenges facing the Indian Air Force is transforming itself into an aerospace power.

Space systems had become an integral part of the overall military capability of a nation and satellites played an important role in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications, he said.

"India has adequate capability in Space technology, which is being exploited efficiently for civil application. However, to meet geo-political challenges we should develop the capabilities of exploiting space for military applications as well," he said.

MORE UNI RS MSP GM1438