“Day not far when India will become provider of services to other nations”: CDS Anil Chauhan

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Thursday said the day is not far when India will emerge as one of the major service providers in the world.

Addressing the Indian Defspace Symposium 2024 here, General Chauhan said that space is called the final frontier.

“India has been the recipient of services in the space sector besides the data related to space situational awareness. I believe that the day is not far when India will become a net provider of services to other nations,” he said.

“Space is called as a final frontier. All other frontiers are difficult to define its edges. Space is also referred to as avoiding the domain of warfare. I believe there is already an established domain of warfare. My belief is premised on the fast-paced development occurring in this particular domain. History of warfare has taught us that in any war, the initial contest generally occurs in a new domain,” General Chauhan added.

Further, the CDS said that today, activities in space are controlled from land which makes it an interesting phenomenon.

“The new domain also influences the battling older domains. I believe that law space and cost its influence on air, maritime and land domains. They, however, have a difference in the traditional domains of warfare, such as peace, and competence. Currently, activities in space are controlled from land. This makes space an interesting phenomenon. It’s an uncharted territory, the concepts of combat are yet to evolve and mature,” he said.

General Chauhan also highlighted that the country has promising startups in the defence and space sector, which was unimaginable some years ago.

“We have several promising startups who are doing some excellent work in the field of defence and space sector, which was unimaginable some years ago. I can see that there is enough space for everyone to grow. I wish all the startups in the space domain to become unicorns and then flourish as global partners in time to come,” he said.

He also said that the different services and the Ministry of Defence needs to work closely with the Indian space industry to identify facilities that will be needed for testing, validating and certifying products.

“I call upon DRDO to deeply engage with the ideas startup community in partnership with the Indian space industry to develop cutting-edge solutions to help reduce our technology gap. We also need to ensure interoperability with current and future equipment capacity building in terms of both subject matter experts and advisors and making a technology-competent workforce so that we are prepared to undertake transformation, which will be inescapable,” he added.

The Indian DefSpace Symposium 2024 is a premier event showcasing the latest advancements in the space industry. The three day long event that begins today is aimed at exploring cutting-edge technologies from leading space companies to highlight domestic defence space capabilities and homegrown cutting-edge technologies.

It is a dynamic forum designed to propel India’s military space capabilities and plans.unites diverse experts across various domains to explore the latest trends and challenges in defense space, network and collaborate with key stakeholders from the defence sector, DRDO, government entities, and industry professionals.

Key Focus Areas include, Strengthening Space Domain Awareness and Satellite Communications- Empowering military operations with robust situational awareness and reliable communication networks; Unlocking Funding and Partnerships- Navigating the financial landscape and forging strategic international collaborations to fuel space ambitions and Crafting a Unified Defence Space Strategy- Aligning military space aspirations with the National Space Strategy for a cohesive and impactful approach.

The symposium covers a wide range of topics, including an overview of government spending on defence space around the world, institutional evolution and modernization of defence establishments from a space perspective, procurement and exposure of demand from Defence Space to local industry, key technologies emerging to make a difference for Defence Space, and lessons and impacts of employment of space power.