NavIC: India's own eye in the sky, know why it's our future

When we think of national security and using our own technology, one important topic is often forgotten—India’s own satellite navigation system called NavIC. Most of the time, news talks about tanks, missiles, and fighter planes, but real power can also come from something quiet and far away in space. That is what NavIC is. It helps guide India’s future with great accuracy. NavIC is not just a piece of technology—it shows how far India has come. We were once a country that imported foreign technology. Today, we are building world-class systems like NavIC ourselves.

NavIC helps Indian forces carry out very precise actions. In the future, our army could use NavIC to hit exact targets with very little damage to other areas. That is how powerful this system is. For normal people, NavIC gives location accuracy of about 5 to 20 meters. But for military use, with special equipment, NavIC can be accurate up to a few centimeters. That means every important decision and movement by our forces can depend on signals sent from Indian satellites flying 36,000 kilometers above the Earth.

NavIC stands for Navigation with Indian Constellation. The word “NavIC” also means “navigator” in Sanskrit. It is India’s answer to the American GPS system. But NavIC is not just an alternative—it is made to match India’s own geography and national security needs. NavIC uses two radio frequency bands—L5 (1176.45 MHz) and S-band (2492.028 MHz). The use of the S-band makes NavIC special, as very few countries in the world use this band. This gives India a big strategic benefit. Newer second-generation NavIC satellites, such as NVS-01 launched in May 2023, also send signals on the L1 frequency (1575.42 MHz). This is the same frequency used by most GPS-enabled mobile phones. By using different frequencies like L5, S-band, and L1, NavIC can fix signal errors caused by the atmosphere and give better and more accurate location data.

The idea for NavIC came after a difficult lesson during the Kargil War in 1999. At that time, India asked the United States for GPS data to help in the war. But the US said no. That moment showed how risky it is to depend on another country during an emergency. This incident made India realize the importance of having our own navigation system. In May 2006, the Indian government approved the NavIC project. From that day, India began working hard to become fully independent in satellite navigation.

Today, NavIC is growing quickly and is being used in many civilian services as well. NavIC-based trackers are now mandatory in all commercial vehicles in India. The government also wants smartphone companies to include NavIC support in mobile phones. Already, about 8,700 trains in India use NavIC for tracking. The government plans to increase this number to 12,000 trains. NavIC provides two types of services—Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for general users, and Restricted Service (RS) for military and strategic use. Right now, NavIC covers India and an area around it of about 1,500 kilometers. But ISRO has plans to expand NavIC to cover the whole world. To do this, ISRO wants to place twelve satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). If this is done, India will join the big group of global navigation system providers like the United States (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), China (BeiDou), and Europe (Galileo).

However, NavIC is facing some challenges today. So far, eleven satellites have been launched for the system. Out of these, only four satellites are now providing full Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services. Four others are working for one-way message broadcasting. One satellite has been decommissioned, and two more failed to reach the correct orbit. This means that India needs to replace and add new satellites soon. ISRO is already working on this. It plans to launch NVS-03 by the end of 2025, followed by NVS-04 and NVS-05 with a gap of about six months each. These new second-generation satellites will have improved atomic clocks. Some of the clocks will be made in India. This is very important because earlier satellites had problems due to clock failures.

NavIC is not just a technical system. It is a proud symbol of India’s strategic independence. It shows the world that India can build and manage advanced systems on its own—without having to depend on any other country. From the pain of being denied help during the Kargil war to the power of launching our own navigation satellites, NavIC tells the story of India’s progress. It shows that India has moved from being a country that borrowed technology to becoming one that builds it—and shares it with the world. In today's world, where accurate information is power, NavIC is India’s eye in the sky—and it belongs only to India.

(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)   

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA)