New Delhi | Strategic experts, policymakers and entrepreneurs will hold a three-day brainstorming session on the use of space technology in defence next month.

The fourth edition of the DefSat-2026 conference will take place from February 24 to 26 at the Manekshaw Centre here. The theme of the conference is "Space at the Core of National Security".

"DefSat 2026 seeks to anchor a necessary shift in thinking: recognising space as critical infrastructure alongside articulating a coherent space-military doctrine," Subbarao Pavuluri, President, SIA-India, said in a statement.

"In today's security environment, resilience is built not by avoiding disruption, but by designing systems that can function and adapt even under pressure," Pavuluri said.

The conference will convene more than 1,000 stakeholders from the armed forces, government, industry, academia and the diplomatic community, including global defence attaches, to deliberate on a forward-looking roadmap for India's defence-space doctrine.

SIA-India has recently constituted the Strategic Defence Space Group (SSG), spearheaded by retired Lieutenant General P J S Pannu, as a high-level, multi-stakeholder body to steer India's long-term military space preparedness and institutionalise space as a warfighting and security domain.

It will also guide the design of escalation dynamics and contested-space scenarios for IndSpaceX 4.0, India's first industry-led defence-space wargame tabletop exercise.

"The Strategic Defence Space Group institutionalises a mechanism to translate strategic cooperation and global dialogue into doctrine, capability and operational readiness," Anil Prakash, Director General, SIA-India, said.

Dedicated DefSat sessions on internal security, homeland security and civil defence operations will examine how integrated, space-enabled frameworks can strengthen coordination, decision-making and operational continuity across these domains.