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BBC News's article SpaceCom: Trump launches space warfare command says at the end:

China, Russia and the US have all tested weapons that are capable of taking out a satellite, according to research by the Secure World Foundation, which records military capabilities in space.

The quoted statement does not mention India.

However, India recently destroyed a satellite in orbit (one of their own presumably) using a rocket launched from the ground, as discussed in What did India's recently tested ASAT vehicle really look like? and answers therein.

Is this just an outdated quote, or is there something missing from their test that doesn't yet qualify them for membership in this "elite club"?

uhoh
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1 Answers1

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If you listen patiently to the first video in the answer to your question What did India's recently tested ASAT vehicle really look like?, you'll hear that this was a one-off. It took 2 years of R & D plus integration to produce a single vehicle. This means that India does not, yet, have the capability to produce this vehicle in a series, which argues against India being a full member of the select group of countries possessing integrated and fully developed space warfare capabilities; it is, however, at that club's threshold. Although India does have an equivalent of the USA's Space Command, which had been announced a while ago already, and Jane's Defence very recently reported India stepping up its efforts in this domain, we can remain skeptical until India manages to produce anything in series.

Jan van Oort
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