The Indian Navy’s new GSAT-7 communications satellite, declared operational in 2013, is making an important contribution to fleet operations.
The satellite recently made the news after it assisted communications between Indian Navy combatants and shore installations following the fleet’s detection of a People’s Liberation Army Navy ‘Type-093A/Yuan’ class conventional hunter-killer submarine in the Indian Ocean.
The Ultra High Frequency (240 megahertz/MHz to 270MHz), C-band (5.925 gigahertz/GHz to 6.425 GHz uplink/3.7GHz to 4.2GHz downlink) and Ku-band (14GHz uplink/10.9GHz to 12.75GHz downlink) satellite provides real-time communications between surface combatants, submarines, aircraft and land-based installations.
The GSAT-7 is helping the Indian Navy to strengthen its network centric warfare capabilities. However, it is also being used by the Indian Army and will also soon be used by the Indian Air Force. According to retired Rear Admiral Sushil Ramsay, an expert on maritime issues: “A satellite-based network-centric approach helps derive advantages in terms of the ability to stay ahead of an opponent and dictate the dynamics of engagement.”
