The mighty blue-water fleets of the Cholas that made their mark in Southeast Asia from the 10th to the 12th century, the Kalingas that spread their maritime fame to as far as Indonesia, the Vijayanagara empire that maintained coastal patrol forces for the first time, and the Gujarat Sultanate that protected the Arabian sea route, are testament to India’s history of defence and security on sea dating back centuries.
On November 2, yet another historical milestone was added to it when the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) launched the multiband Communication Satellite-03 (CMS-03), the heaviest-ever communication satellite carried by an Indian rocket from the country into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The satellite launch, mainly aimed at boosting the Indian Navy's space-based communication network and maritime domain awareness capabilities, has strengthened the country's “strategic autonomy” in the sector.
Weighing 4,410 kilograms, the CMS-03 satellite, also called Geosynchronous Satellite-7R (GSAT-7R), was lifted on India's warhorse rocket Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), also known as “Bahubal’’, in its fifth operational flight. Regarded as the heaviest launcher of Isro, the LVM3 has had all seven of its flights successful in placing the satellites in orbits. It was also the launch vehicle for both Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3, and communication satellites GSAT-19 and GSAT-29.
‘Blue-water’ ambitions
This GSAT-7R is the most modernised communication satellite for the Indian Navy so far. The indigenously developed satellite has many state-of-the-art components produced specifically to meet the Navy’s operational requirements.
It will provide robust telecommunication coverage across the Indian Ocean region, including the Indian landmass, and is developed to be in service for at least 15 years. Its payload includes transponders with the ability to assist voice, data, and video links over various communication bands. This satellite is expected to improve connectivity with high-capacity bandwidth, enabling seamless and secure communication links between ships, aircraft, submarines, and maritime operations centres of the Navy.
Interestingly, this is a replacement for Isro’s maiden dedicated military communication satellite for the Indian Navy, called GSAT-7 or Rukmini, which was launched on August 30, 2013, from an Ariane 5 ECA rocket at Kourou in French Guiana. Rukmini was providing a communication backbone for the Navy, and also to other services to a limited extent, said Lieutenant General A K Bhatt (retired), director general, Indian Space Association. “The new satellite, which is multiband, provides more capacity, larger bandwidth and more power in comparison to the previous satellite,” he added.
Before the launch in November, India had another dedicated military satellite besides Rukmini, the GSAT-7A or “Angry Bird”, which was launched for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Later, clearance for GSAT-7B for the Indian Army was given in 2023, and it is awaiting takeoff in the next one to two years.
Rukmini was dispatched at a cost of ₹480 crore to minimise reliance on foreign satellites for communication and intelligence. It helped the Navy to cover a wide area starting from the Strait of Malacca in the east to the Strait of Hormuz in the west, securing communication stability across 2,000 nautical miles.
Before Rukmini, Navy communication was dependent on high frequency, very high frequency, and ultra high frequency bands, which borrowed limited bandwidth from the general-purpose Indian National Satellite System, and information from foreign satellites. However, after 2013, India started having real-time encrypted communications between its numerous warships, aircraft, submarines, and land-based communication systems.
Space technology
The latest GSAT-7A is reportedly focused on boosting the connectivity between the ground radar stations, airbases and the airborne early warning and control aircraft of the IAF, and has 10 channels in the Ku frequency band.
A fellow in the Security Studies programme at the think-tank Carnegie India noted that the country’s previous space programme was largely civil-centric for a long time, and it has neither ventured into the low earth orbit domain nor aggressively on the military front so far. Change has ensued in the last few years, with a focus on military satellites as space technology became a critical factor in defence, which was further underscored by Operation Sindoor through precision strikes and valid intelligence.
The reason for the current replacement of Rukmini is that it was reportedly designed with a mission life of seven years and is now approaching the end of its service after being operational for almost 12 years. Hence, a replacement was necessary.
“For the Indian Navy, CMS-03 is the backbone of network-centric operations, which is seamless communication between ships or platforms, ground-based assets, and fleet or command headquarters,” said Bhatt. This is produced to expand secure, multi-band communications for the Navy’s growing blue-water operations. According to media reports, it has multi-band frequencies — C, extended C, and Ku bands — that enable secure, high-capacity voice, data, and video transmissions between warships, submarines, aircraft, and shore-based command centres. This will expand India’s warfare prowess too in a wide oceanic and terrestrial region.
Although this is used for communication purposes, it is crucial to know about how the ocean traffic works. Vessels in oceans are broadly classified into white, grey, and dark (or black), depending on their maritime identity and data sharing framework. White ships are commercial, non-military vessels that reveal their identity. Grey fleet normally reveal their identity minimally due to multiple reasons, including military ones, moves to avoid sanctions, ownership issues, and some to conduct semi-legitimate operations. On the other hand, dark ships are those that deliberately conceal their identity, location, or cargo to conduct illegal activities.
“Marine domain awareness, which requires total information of all ships — military and commercial — in the area of interest is based on ship-based sensors, satellites, aircraft, and drones. This ability to identify and differentiate between white, grey, and dark requires a synthesised data picture to be shared with all, which again is essentially done by satellite communication. The satellites used for marine domain awareness or for electronic intelligence are separate, and this capacity is also being developed by our armed forces,” Bhatt added. Feather in Isro's cap
Industry experts believed that the advantage of CMS-03 and Rukmini is that it is encrypted for only naval usage. “It is only for ship-to-ship connectivity and is highly encrypted and highly sophisticated. This is of paramount importance. Almost all the developed countries have such capabilities, and China also has gone deeper into such capabilities,” said Krishanu Acharya, chief executive officer and cofounder, Suhora Technologies, which is a leading private sector company in space data analytics, transforming near real-time earth observation data into mission-ready intelligence.
Indian private sector companies, which got a major boost after the sector was opened up in 2020, may also play a vital role in the future, the Carnegie India fellow added. For the time being, the recent launch is yet another feather in Isro’s hat in uplifting the country's security.
Amid numerous complex security issues, the new satellite is a testament to the Navy's commitment to safeguard the country’s maritime interests by utilising modern space and naval technology through aatmanirbharta (self-reliance).
The takeoff showcasing the ability of the LVM3 rocket to manage four-tonne-plus satellites to GTO, signals lowering reliance on foreign launchers for heavy communications satellites. It also contributes to Isro’s preparations for Gaganyaan, its first human spaceflight programme, slated for the first quarter of 2027, after an uncrewed Gaganyaan-1 trial scheduled for this month, which intends to use an evolved LVM3 version.
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 "Space-based shield for the country's Navy")
