Space — The Centre of Gravity

Columnist Lt Col (Retd) ZAMAN MALIK analyses the new frontiers of mankind.

Space is on economic centre of gravity. The domination of space by US and the former USSR ended with the fall of Berlin Wall. Today, the international community has more than 7 hundred active satellites in orbit. Pakistan too has planned to have one by the end of 2002. US owns and operates more than 5 hundred. About 52 countries and 14 international Consortiums have some fora of space industry and space programmes. During the next 10 years, approximately 1,000 more satellites will be added. The world space industry had more than one million employees working in 20,000 companies and it is expected to grow by 15 percent in the near future. In fact, entire new industries have been created around space applications. For example, the global positioning system industry alone generated more than 20 billion dollars in revenues last year. ‘Direct Broadcast Satellites’ services such as direct TV and Dish network drove the industry and its revenues jumped upto unprecedented heights in 2001.

The explosive growth of information technology has profoundly affected all sectors of modern society. The information revolution has fuelled amazing economic growth, dramatically improved communications and allowed business to compete more effectively than ever before. Information availability and integrity have become critical to the operational readiness of today’s military forces. Like space, Cyberspace, is equally important for conducting successful military operations. Space is a military Centre of Gravity. US and its well-known natural allies, have recognized the importance of space in Combat Operations, and training. With precision-guided munitions, they can strike any target in any weather. They have almost the same capability which has been demonstrated by US in operations against the

Al-Qaeda/Taliban. Their early warning systems have achieved near perfection levels. The US is in its fifth decade of space technology. Its armed forces realize, however, two things:

First, it has energized the information age, reduced time and space, and enabled instantaneous information. Second, still US efforts seem to have created a new set of weakly defended targets, which if destroyed or damaged, would drastically reduce the United State’s ability to conduct diplomatic, economic, and military operations.

Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up in 1962. The first sound rocket was launched on Nov 21, 1963. India’s Civilian Space programme has two important components: the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT) and the National Natural Resources Management (NNRMS). The INSAT seeks to provide uninterrupted services for telecommunication, meteorological observation (including disaster warning) and data relay, nationwide direct satellite television broadcasting to augment community TV programmes distribution for broadcasting, through terrestrial transmitters. The NNRMS is aimed at optimum utilization of country’s natural resources by a systematic inventory of resource availability, using remote sensing data reception, processing, and interpretation systems, and integrating the satellite- based remotely sensed data with conventional data, for resource management.                                  

Russia provided ISRO headquarters in Bangalore, the first of the seven Cayogenic engines developed at the Krunichev space construction centre near Moscow — on 25 September 1998.  Much before that, in early 90s, US had lifted bans on India. Israel is providing India with the state of the art weapons/equipment and technologies — AWACS and space satellites technologies, and has been working in close cooperation in the realm of Information media propaganda fabrication programmes. After the US, the EU has become India’s largest trading partner and lender of institutional finance, as well as export destination for Indian products. India is feverishly seeking permanent seat in the UN Security Council. India is actively redressing, to enhance adherence to the obligations undertaken by joining the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Strategic dominance critically depends on global information, the free flow of information to and from own forces, while denying the same to the enemy. Space systems provide critical force multiplier needed to conduct successful multi-dimensional operations. The armed forces need communications satellites, and reconnaissance, intelligence, and target acquisition satellites. Achievement of space superiority to protect space systems is of paramount importance. The armed forces professionals must expand their space knowledge and procedurally integrate apace into the intelligence preparation of battle zone. Space, as a dimension of battlefield must be included in the Doctrine. 

Throughout history, technological advances have complicated intelligence preparation of the opposite aide. Military professionals must grasp the impact of new technologies on military operations. Pakistanis must learn new technologies and institutionalize and normalize them, by incorporating them into systems and procedures, to attain, at least, corresponding capability vis-a-vis Indo-Israeli nexus. Since December 2001, after escalation, Indo-Israeli nexus has speeded up Muslims’ genocide and destruction in their respective regions. They have synchronized watches to do so soon enough, with the help of their mutually coordinated programme. Vajpayee will not de-escalate until Israel does.