‘Antariksha Abhyas – 2024’, a three day Exercise to war-game the growing threats from and to Space Based Assets and Services, is being conducted by the Defence Space Agency of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff from 11 – 13 Nov 24. ‘Antariksha Abhyas’ is a first of its kind exercise being conducted and is expected to help secure national strategic objectives in space and integrate India’s space capability in military operations.
In his opening address, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said, “Space, once considered the final frontier, is now the critical enabler of India’s defence and security apparatus. With its rich legacy of space exploration and growing military capabilities, India is well positioned to navigate the challenges posed to space based capabilities”.
Highlighting that space is becoming increasingly congested, contested, competitive and commercial, the CDS impressed upon the military leadership to secure India in space by fostering innovation and developing cutting edge technologies and state of the art systems in collaboration with DRDO, ISRO and Academia.
According to a press release , the Space Exercise aims to provide enhanced understanding of space based assets and services and to gain understanding of operational dependency on space segments between stakeholders. In addition, it intends to identify vulnerabilities in conduct of operations in the event of denial or disruptions of space based services.
The Defence Space Agency and its allied units along with personnel from the Army, Navy and the Air Force are participating in ‘ Antarishak Abhyas’ . Specialist branches under Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff viz Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Intelligence Agency and Strategic Forces Command are also active participants in conducting the exercise. Representatives from Indian Space Research Organisation and the Defence Research & Development Organisation are also participating as important stakeholders.
