Archive · 22 Sep 2026
India's Space Force Seen As Inevitable As Space Combat Emerges
Space is becoming important not only for science but also for military operations.
Satellites help countries communicate, navigate and gather information.
Anil Kumar Bhatt says fighting in space has started to appear in limited forms.
He says this could include cyberattacks, jamming and attacks on satellite sensors.
He does not expect movie-like battles between satellites or people fighting on the Moon soon.
India created the Defence Space Agency in 2019 to coordinate military space work.
Bhatt believes it may eventually grow into a Space Command and then a Space Force.
He says all three military services should share responsibility for space.
He also says private companies and the military are working more closely on space technology.
Indian Space Association chief Anil Kumar Bhatt says India will eventually need a Space Force.
Bhatt says space combat is emerging through cyberattacks, satellite interference and sensor jamming.
India established the triservices Defence Space Agency in 2019 as an initial step.
He argues space responsibilities should remain with a separate triservices organization, not one military service.
Bhatt says commercial and military space capabilities are becoming increasingly important in future conflicts.
- Who
- Lieutenant General (Retired) Anil Kumar Bhatt, Director General of the Indian Space Association, and India’s defense organizations.
- What
- Bhatt said India will eventually need a separate triservices Space Force as military activity in space expands.
- When
- The discussion describes changes over the past five years and India’s creation of the Defence Space Agency in 2019.
- Where
- India’s military and space-security planning, with developments also discussed in the context of conflicts abroad.
- Why
- Space-based intelligence, communications, navigation and potential combat capabilities are becoming important to future conflicts.
Separate Triservices Space Force
Integrated Aerospace Force
Organizational control
Separate Triservices Space Force
Bhatt argues that space above the Kármán line is sufficiently different from air operations to require a separate triservices organization.
Integrated Aerospace Force
The Indian Air Force has pushed for an aerospace force that would absorb the roles of the Defence Space Agency or a future space force.
Military-industrial procurement
Separate Triservices Space Force
Industry representatives say startups need consistent orders, and Bhatt supports minimum order quantities so viable prototypes are purchased.
Integrated Aerospace Force
The current system can leave companies developing military-focused products without dependable orders; industry executives say dual-use products may be more practical.
Nature of space conflict
Separate Triservices Space Force
Bhatt says conflict is already beginning to move into space through cyberattacks, satellite interference and sensor jamming.
Integrated Aerospace Force
Bhatt also cautions that highly dramatic scenarios, such as satellites directly attacking one another or humans fighting on the Moon or Mars, remain distant.
- Speaker
- Lieutenant General (Retired) Anil Kumar Bhatt
- Organization
- Indian Space Association
- Existing agency
- India established the Defence Space Agency in 2019.
- Proposed structure
- Bhatt supports an eventual Space Command and Space Force that remain triservices organizations.
- Emerging threats
- Potential space conflict could involve cyberattacks on satellites, sensor jamming and other interference.
- Military uses
- Space assets support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, communications and navigation.
- Industry policy
- Bhatt supports minimum government orders for prototypes developed through defense challenges.