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With NavIC setback, India unable to use satellite system for security purposes: experts

March 25, 2026 4 min read Science & Technology Internal Security GS3 (Science & Technology Internal Security)
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What Happened

  • The last functioning atomic clock aboard IRNSS-1F stopped working on March 10, 2026, just days after the satellite completed its 10-year design life (launched March 2016).
  • IRNSS-1F had already lost two of its three rubidium atomic clocks in earlier years and was operating on its final backup clock.
  • With this failure, India's NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) system is left with only three fully operational satellites — IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1L, and NVS-01 — well below the minimum four satellites needed for reliable regional coverage.
  • Defence and security experts have raised concerns about the armed forces' increased dependence on foreign navigation systems for logistics, mapping, and operational planning.
  • The Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad has developed an indigenous rubidium atomic clock (iRAFS) for the next-generation NVS satellite series to reduce future dependence on imported clocks.

Static Topic Bridges

NavIC, developed by ISRO, is India's independent satellite navigation system designed to provide accurate positioning over India and up to 1,500 km around its borders. The system was conceived after the 1999 Kargil War, when the United States denied India access to GPS precision data critical for military operations — a vulnerability that directly motivated the creation of an indigenous system. NavIC is designed as a constellation of seven satellites: three in geostationary orbit (GEO) at 32.5°E, 83°E, and 131.5°E, and four in geosynchronous inclined orbits. It offers two levels of service — Standard Positioning Service (SPS) open to civilians, and a Restricted Service (RS) with encrypted signals for authorised (including military) users.

  • Coverage area: India and up to 1,500 km surrounding region (Indian Ocean Region)
  • Accuracy: Better than 20 m over the Indian Ocean Region; below 10 m over India
  • Signal bands: L1 (1575.42 MHz), L5 (1176.45 MHz), and S-Band (2498.028 MHz)
  • Applications: Train tracking, disaster management, fisheries navigation, military operations
  • Each satellite carries three rubidium atomic clocks — critical for timing precision in navigation

Connection to this news: With only three satellites currently operational — below the four-satellite minimum threshold — NavIC cannot reliably provide its promised regional coverage, forcing a temporary dependence on GPS (US) or other GNSS, recreating the strategic vulnerability that originally motivated NavIC's development.

Atomic Clocks and GNSS Navigation

An atomic clock measures time by monitoring the oscillations of atoms (typically rubidium or caesium). Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) rely on atomic clocks because accurate positioning requires extremely precise time measurements — an error of one microsecond translates to roughly 300 metres of positioning error. NavIC's first-generation satellites used imported rubidium atomic clocks, many of which failed prematurely. This over-reliance on imported critical components created a single-point vulnerability across the constellation.

  • Atomic clocks aboard GNSS satellites are accurate to nanoseconds
  • NavIC's first-generation failures were largely attributed to defective imported atomic clocks
  • India's response: SAC developed the indigenous Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (iRAFS) for NVS-series satellites
  • NVS-01, launched in 2023, is the first satellite to carry an indigenous atomic clock

Connection to this news: The repeated clock failures across the NavIC constellation highlight the strategic risk of dependence on imported precision components for critical national infrastructure, validating the shift towards indigenisation under Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The denial of GPS selective availability to India during the 1999 Kargil conflict is a landmark case study in the strategic importance of independent navigation infrastructure. Modern militaries depend on satellite navigation for precision strikes, troop movement coordination, UAV operations, and maritime navigation. Dependence on a foreign GNSS creates a potential chokepoint that adversaries or the provider nation could exploit during conflict. This is why major powers — the US (GPS), Russia (GLONASS), EU (Galileo), China (BeiDou), and India (NavIC) — have invested in their own systems.

  • The 1999 Kargil GPS denial incident is the primary policy motivation for NavIC
  • China's BeiDou became fully operational globally in 2020; Russia's GLONASS covers the globe
  • India's NVS-02 and subsequent satellites are planned to restore and expand the NavIC constellation
  • NavIC is also critical for civilian applications: disaster warning systems, fishermen navigation alerts

Connection to this news: With NavIC below minimum operational capacity, India's armed forces must currently rely on foreign GNSS, recreating the very strategic vulnerability that Kargil exposed — reinforcing the urgency of launching replacement NVS satellites.

Key Facts & Data

  • NavIC original design: 7 satellites (3 GEO + 4 GSO)
  • Current operational satellites: 3 (IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1L, NVS-01)
  • Minimum required for reliable regional coverage: 4 satellites
  • IRNSS-1F launched: March 2016; design life: 10 years; failed: March 2026
  • Indigenous atomic clock for NavIC: iRAFS, developed by Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad
  • NavIC accuracy: <10 m over India, <20 m over Indian Ocean Region (1,500 km radius)
  • Other GNSS systems: GPS (USA, 31 satellites), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), BeiDou (China)