India's first military satellite in August

India will launch its first dedicated military satellite in August this year. This would provide it the capability to monitor missile launches in its neighbourhood.

The dedicated military reconnaissance satellite CARTOSAT 2A will be launched by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

CARTOSAT 2A will boast of spatial resolution and will be loaded with cameras capable of advanced imagery.

The launch of the satellite will fulfil a long-standing demand of the armed forces for a dedicated reconnaissance spacecraft.

India plans to launch two more advanced imaging satellites by 2008 to augment the monitoring.

The military satellite will have an Israeli synthetic aperture radar that can take pictures of the earth even through cloud and rain.

With three advanced reconnaissance satellites in orbit, Indian military agencies will have the capability to keep an eye on the airspace over Pakistan and China and also to study the oceans and monitor changes in winds across the seas.

Currently, India has three dual-purpose satellites in orbit""CARTOSAT-I, CARTOSAT-II and Technical Experiment Satellite""that are used by the country's space agency as well as the military.

The launch of CARTOSAT 2A has been timed to coincide with the scheduled delivery of the country's first airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft by Israel. The launch will provide the armed forces a network-centric platform surveillance from the ground to the stratosphere.

However, the supply of the Phalcon AWACS aircraft has been delayed by a few months.

The launch of the military satellite is also being undertaken in tandem with the

Indian Air Force's plan to set up an integrated air command, control and communication system.

The plan envisages the linking of the AWACS, Aerostat balloon-borne radars and low-level transportable radars of the IAF with the dedicated military satellite.