Abstract
National security is shifting from the traditional domain of land, sea, and air to safeguarding a domain far away in Space. Space security is heavily dependent on surveillance, decision-making, and real-time action. Ongoing global conflicts have showcased the importance of the advancing operational use of satellite surveillance and intelligence. The global shift from Geostationary (GEO) satellite orbit to a multi-layer orbit spanning GEO, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Low Earth Orbit (LEO), along with emerging technologies, can redefine modern warfare. India’s latest liberalised space policies are expected to sharpen the nation’s network-centric warfare capabilities. This paper argues that this multi-layered shift, paired with AI-enabled decision-making, can shrink the sensor-to-shooter timeline from hours to minutes, ultimately compressing the Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop. Automated cueing and triage of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) imagery can reduce cognitive fatigue and speed up decision-making but risks bypassing human oversight and raises concerns over accountability. The paper identifies five capacity gaps, i.e., surveillance revisit and spectrum limits, ground segment resilience, indigenous navigation, orbital safeguarding and trust in AI. In addition, it recommends NavIC restoration, phase-wise expanding Space-based Surveillance-III (SBS-III) programme, onboard edge computing, GEO relay, and anchoring Explainable AI (XAI) with human-in-the-loop control.
