THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A geo-intelligence network of 50 satellites will be set up to monitor India's land and sea borders from space and instantly transmit information to the military. All the satellites will be launched within five years at a cost of Rs 29,147 crore.

The aim is to counter China's military moves, Pakistan's intrusion and maritime security threats. Of the 54 satellites India currently has, 17 are for military use. Images and other information from these are sent to the ground center where they are analyzed and the important ones are fed to the forces. In the new system, the data analysis is done on the satellites themselves. It will have ten times the current capacity.

Objectives

Reconnaissance, espionage, communications that cannot be intercepted by the enemy, monitoring of military deployments and constructions along borders and movements at sea, information sharing, and military coordination.

Satellites from Leo to Geo

The satellites range from GEO (geostationary equatorial orbit) at a distance of 36,000 km from Earth to LEO (lower Earth orbit) at a distance of 400 km. There will be self-regulated communication between them. Optical, synthetic aperture and thermal radars for surveillance. Artificial intelligence will be managing the operation. Thousands of kilometers along India's border will be clearly delineated.

The satellite at 36,000 km would have a longer field of view. This satellite will be the first to see the movements in Kashmir and other borders. It will be transmitted to satellites close to Earth. They will collect more detailed information and analyze it themselves and transmit it to the military center on Earth. The satellites themselves will also handle the communication coordination of the military centers. Due to this, hundreds of satellite data can be analyzed and response time can be avoided, and countermeasures can be taken quickly. The operation will start from the deployment of the satellites itself.