India’s GPS problem: Why the armed forces need NavIC to work

In the very early hours of February 26, 2019, the cold, crisp air of a fading winter gave way to a heated phase of India-Pakistan tensions as a formation of Indian Air Force (IAF) Mirage-2000s hit terror targets inside Pakistan. This air attack in response to the Pulwama terror attack, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel, was carried out using GPS-guided weapons.These bombs gave the Indian aircraft enough separation from their target so as to safely extricate themselves after deploying their munitions.A little over six years ago, key terror targets in Pakistan, which included the headquarters of both Lashkar-e-Taiba, located in Muridke, and the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, in Bahawalpur, were struck with pinpoint accuracy in response to the killing of tourists in Pulwama in Kashmir. Both these strikes were carried out using weapons guided by a constellation of satellites.Satellite navigation is increasingly gaining importance for advanced militaries.