China is reported to be looking at an innovative solution. Instead of operating large and sophisticated Elint satellites, China plans to deploy a swarm of mini satellites to serve the same purpose.

Micro-satellites are small satellites generally defined as weighing between 10 and 100 kg, while small satellites range from 100 to 500 kg. Nano-satellites are those that weigh less than 10 kg.

Until now the slogan in space has been, “bigger the better”. As the world began to discover that small might be beautiful, China was quick to focus on the new area.

Since the late 1990s, China has launched a number of small, micro and nano satellites, apparently with a number of military objectives in mind. Beijing could use a constellation of these satellites for in-depth coverage of a particular area, say during a military crisis.

Micro satellites also lighten the load of maritime surveillance that needs to cover vast ocean areas. They could also help disrupt the space-based communications of an adversary.

The writer is professor at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore