Big boost to Indian Army, likely to get its own satellite by 2026

The government on Wednesday signed a Rs 3,000-crore contract with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for an advanced communication satellite, GSAT 7B.

The pact is significant as the Indian army currently does not have a dedicated satellite, unlike the Indian Air Force and the navy. The army is likely to get the satellite in 2026, an official told Hindustan Times.

The GSAT 7B will provide High Throughput Services to the Indian Army at an overall cost of Rs 2,963 crore. All these projects are under Buy {Indian - IDMM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)} category.

"The satellite will considerably enhance the communication capability of the Indian Army by providing mission critical beyond line of sight communication to troops and formations as well as weapon and airborne platforms. The geostationary satellite, being a first-of-its-kind in the five-tonne category, will be developed indigenously by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)," the defence ministry said in a statement.

"Many parts and sub-assemblies and systems will be sourced from indigenous manufacturers, including MSMEs and start-ups, thereby giving a fillip to the private Indian space industry, in line with the Prime Minister's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. The project will generate an employment of approximately three lakh man-days over a period of three and half years," it added.

Last year, the government had cleared the army proposal for a GSAT-7B satellite to sharpen its operational capabilities. The GSAT-7 series of advanced satellites built by ISRO to provide communication capabilities to the Indian armed forces, including the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.

The defence ministry also signed two other contracts worth around Rs 2,400 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to sharpen the air defence capabilities of the armed forces.

The first contract with BEL pertains to procurement of Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System 'Project Akashteer' worth Rs 1,982 crore for the Indian Army. The second contract with BEL relates to acquisition of Sarang Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems along with associated Engineering Support Package from BEL, Hyderabad at an overall cost of Rs 412 crore for the Indian Navy.

Project Akashteer

The Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System 'Project Akashteer' will empower the Air Defence units of the Indian Army with an indigenous, state-of-the-art capability, to effectively operate in an integrated manner. Akashteer will enable monitoring of low level airspace over the battle areas of Indian Army and effectively control the Ground Based Air Defence Weapon Systems.

Sarang systems

Sarang is an advanced Electronic Support Measure system for helicopters of the Indian Navy, designed and developed indigenously by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory, Hyderabad under programme Samudrika. The scheme will generate an employment of approximately two lakh man-days over a period of three years.

Both the projects will encourage participation of Indian Electronics and associated industries, including MSMEs, who are sub vendors of BEL.

All the three projects will bolster the defence capabilities of the country.