To date the LTTE has been found using these satellite services mainly for the purpose of propaganda through their television programmes, both for the local population as well as for non-resident Tamils. They have been able to collect funds and procure arms by tapping a large Tamil population overseas. The uplinking of transmission was probably done from a secret location, believed close to Vavuniya, in northern Sri Lanka.

Today, terrorist organisations are using various mediums for their ‘information warfare’ through the Internet. So there is nothing particularly unusual for the LTTE to use space as a medium for the same purpose. But when viewed against the backdrop of its recent successes in carrying out airborne attacks, it definitely raises many concerns.

In comparison with any airforce of any developing nation, the LTTE’s so-called air power is extremely rudimentary. What is important to note, however, is its intent in investing in such activities. Trained manpower, technology and huge infrastructure are pre-requisites of any airforce. But that may not be the case with space technologies. The LTTE has shown that it is possible to use commercially available space technologies for ‘military’ purposes. Today, it is easy to purchase even sub-metre resolution imagery through commercial satellite constellations, use GPS for target identification and transmit both video and voice information on a real-time basis. Also the use of satellite communication for terrorism purposes is found to be common with many terrorist organisations.

With commercial satellite networks it is possible for “strong and forward looking” terrorist organisations like the LTTE to gather at least some information in terms of intelligence and reconnaissance. Most modern states do this through their aerospace forces. The real danger is if the LTTE is already making use of all these facilities to augment whatever form of air power it has, then this two-decade-old unresolved conflict is only going to get messier.

... contd.