by Ganesh Sahathevan
Times Of India and others have reported:
India and Singapore announced a new road map for their comprehensive strategic partnership aimed at advancing cooperation in a range of areas like economic cooperation, skill development, digitalisation, connectivity, sustainability, healthcare, people-to-people contacts and defence and security, as PM Narendra Modi held talks with his visiting counterpart Lawrence Wong.
According to the joint statement, Singapore acknowledged with appreciation India's interest in the Malacca Straits Patrol, a maritime security initiative involving Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
In that regard it is interesting to note that India's GSAT -7 covers the Indian Ocean and Strait Of Malacca while Singapore's TeLEOS -1 and TeLEOS-2 (developed jointly and launched by India's ISRO) offers SAR coverage of South East Asia, including SEA's shipping lanes.
Australia on the other hand has two brand new Airbus Arrow satellites which can be incorporated into a India-Singapore joint surveillance initiative, but are still mothballed. Australia could join with India and Singapore ( Japan and the EU) to build a comprehensive East and South East Asia satellite surveillance network. However, the current Australian Government's aversion to anything that might even mildly offend China is likely to be an insurmountable obstacle.
TO BE READ WITh
Sunday, July 13, 2025
Australia can join Japan and the EU in building a large scale satelite network by simply contributing the two mothballed Arrows- An obvious use of expensive assets , unless Albanese and Wong are afraid of angering China
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Japan and the European Union (EU) will jointly build a large-scale satellite network.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and EU Council President António Costa will hold a summit in Tokyo on the 23rd to discuss the policy, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on the 13th.
he two sides plan to jointly build a 'satellite constellation' that simultaneously launches a number of small communication satellites and integrates them. Using satellite constellation technology, which means a group of satellites, one large satellite can perform difficult high-precision observations more often and accurately. Almost real-time intercommunication is also possible.
As previously reported here Australia has two multi-million dollar Airbus Arrow satellites in storage and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's AUKUS in space proposal can be activated immediately by putting the Arrows into service
Australia can join Japan and the EU in building a large scale satelite network by simply contributing the two Arrows, putting to use two assets that have already been paid for. The data downloand and analysis infrastrcuture ought to be considered vital additions to the Australian civilian and defence infrastructure.
All this may well anger China, but that should not matter.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Australia has two multi-million dollar Airbus Arrow satellites in storage -Scott Morrison's AUKUS in space proposal can be activated immediately by putting the Arrows into service
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, who initiated AUKUS, has called for the alliance to expand its activities to include space. AUKUS Pillar 2 -Advanced Capabilities includes a Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability programme which will “provide 24-hour continuous, all weather global coverage to detect, track and identify objects in deep space and increase space domain awareness.”
The first radar site will be in Western Australia and is planned to be operational in 2026, with two radar sites in the US and UK “in service by the end of the decade.” Grant Shapps, then Defence Secretary, identified Cawdor Barracks in South-West Wales as the preferred host site in the UK, subject to planning permission.
Meanwhile, the Labor Government has mothballed two Airbus Arrow satellites that have already been built and paid for. This writer has noted that China's Tasman Sea adventures are a demonstration of why the two Airbus Arrow satellites mothballed by Ed Husic MP must be put into service.
The Pentagon has a fleet of Arrows and so Australian owned and operated watching over the South China Sea and surrounds will be more than complimentary to the Pentagon fleet.
END
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