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Isro's NVS-03 launch: The Kargil lesson and why India wants its own 'desi GPS'

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The mission aims to lift NavIC back to its four-satellite operating threshold after previous mission failures reduced the constellation to three working craft. Without this critical fourth node, Indian armed forces remain unable to guide precision missiles or coordinate troop and warship movements using domestic networks. NVS-03 carries both homegrown and procured atomic clocks to provide accurate positioning and timing data across the country.

Key points

  • Successfully inserting NVS-03 into orbit restores the minimum four-satellite requirement…: Successfully inserting NVS-03 into orbit restores the minimum four-satellite requirement for India's standalone navigation network.
  • Indian defense forces must currently rely on foreign systems like GPS and GLONASS for com…: Indian defense forces must currently rely on foreign systems like GPS and GLONASS for combat tracking and missile navigation.
  • Establishing an independent navigation system secures India's strategic autonomy by preve…: Establishing an independent navigation system secures India's strategic autonomy by preventing external access restrictions during military conflicts.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

NEW DELHI: Isro’s navigation satellite NVS-03 carries an indigenous atomic clock along with procured atomic clocks and, if successfully placed in the intended orbit on Friday night, it will strengthen India’s indigenous satellite navigation system or desi GPS, known as Navigation with Indian Constellation (

NaVIC).

The scheduled launch of NVS-03 by the GSLV-F18 rocket from Sriharikota at 11.51 pm (IST) on Friday, if successful, will complete the quorum of a minimum of four satellites needed for NavIC to run effectively. Currently, NaVIC is down to three satellites (IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I, and NVS-01).

But as four operational satellites are required for a standalone GPS-style position tracking system to work, NaVIC is currently not being used by the armed forces for the purposes of missile navigation, precise positioning and coordination of warships at sea, and indigenous navigation support for troop movement and combat aircraft. The strategic forces are, therefore, dependent on foreign navigation systems like American GPS and Russian GLONASS.

Relying on foreign-operated navigation systems like GPS creates a critical dependency under which access can be restricted, downgraded or completely cut off…

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