India’s defence, space leaders call for sovereign, resilient space architecture at IDS 2026

By Aroonim Bhuyan

New Delhi, April 23. India’s top military and space leadership on April 23 stressed the urgent need to build resilient, sovereign and integrated space capabilities as the Indian Space Association opened the Indian DefSpace (IDS) Symposium 2026 in the national capital.

Set against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and the growing centrality of space in modern warfare, the two-day symposium brought together officials from the Ministry of Defence, the armed forces, the Defence Space Agency, policymakers, public sector undertakings, startups and industry leaders to strengthen coordination between India’s defence and space ecosystems.

The inaugural session featured a virtual address by Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, alongside participation from Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria (Retd), former Chief of the Air Staff, Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Lt Gen Zubin A Minwalla, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations), Rahul Vatts, Chief Regulatory Officer at Bharti Airtel and Vice Chairman of ISpA, and Lt Gen AK Bhatt, Director General of ISpA.

In his address, Gen Chauhan called for the development of distributed and resilient space architectures supported by redundancy, inter-satellite links and rapid replenishment capabilities. He underlined that future space capability must be co-developed with industry and startups, moving beyond a programme-based approach to treating space as a continuous operational asset. Emphasising strategic autonomy, he said India must build space systems that are AI-enabled, quantum-secure, cyber-hardened and unquestionably sovereign.

The first day’s theme, ‘Commercial Space Operations: Navigating Threats and Military Employment’, focused on the evolving threat environment, the role of commercial space in military operations, and the use of space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in contested scenarios. Discussions also examined strategic communications and network-centric warfare in modern conflicts.

Three key publications were released on the sidelines. A joint report by OrbitAID and ISpA highlighted opportunities for India in In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM). Another report by SatSure and ISpA explored how AI-driven geospatial foundation models can unlock scalable intelligence from Earth observation data. A third document by Amity University summarised key takeaways from the ISpA India International Space Conclave 2025, outlining priorities across policy, industry growth, technology and global partnerships.

Kamat noted that space is emerging as the decisive domain in future conflicts and called for a “whole-of-nation” approach to bridge technological gaps. He highlighted the need to substantially increase India’s R&D spending, which currently stands at 0.65 percent of GDP and about 5 percent of the defence budget.

Lt Gen Minwalla said India must pursue speed, agility and intelligent integration of private industry rather than depend on a single agency. He noted that the Defence Space Agency has articulated a joint military space doctrine under Defence Vision 2047 and is evolving towards becoming a full-fledged space command, while flagging existing dependencies in critical technologies.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria stressed the need for technological sovereignty in systems vital for military operations and warned against relying on legacy processes to develop space capabilities. He said India must rethink its approach if it wants to achieve meaningful outcomes within tight timelines.

Rahul Vatts highlighted the growing importance of satellite communications for both defence and economic growth, noting that India is on the cusp of rolling out satcom services. He stressed the need for reliable, secure and indigenous satellite communication systems to support national requirements.

Lt Gen Bhatt said the symposium has emerged as an important platform to bring operational communities, policymakers and industry together. He emphasised the role of the private sector in building indigenous capabilities and reducing critical import dependencies.

Over the next two days, the IDS 2026 will host panel discussions, industry showcases and dedicated forums for interaction between the armed forces and private sector, with participation from global stakeholders to explore emerging trends and collaboration opportunities in defence space.