NavIC is as much a strategic asset as a technological one. Examine its significance for India's national security, and discuss the challenges in keeping the constellation working.

NavIC (formerly IRNSS) is ISRO's regional navigation system. It was designed as 7 satellites (3 GEO + 4 IGSO) covering India and about 1,500 km beyond its boundary [1]. Its main value is strategic rather than technical: it gives India Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) that no foreign operator controls. That value holds only while the constellation actually works.

Significance for national security

• Military PNT that cannot be denied: the encrypted Restricted Service (RS) serves strategic users. No foreign operator can switch it off or degrade it [1].
• Regional strategic footprint: its coverage extends over the neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean approaches [1].
• Timing for critical infrastructure: in July 2026 only 3 satellites were working, yet the timing service kept running [3]. Power grids, telecom and banking networks depend on precise timing.
• Autonomy without isolation: the civilian SPS works alongside GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou. This cuts dependence on any one of them while keeping compatibility [1].
• Indigenous supply chain: NVS-01 (2023) carried the first indigenous atomic clock [2]. NVS satellites fly on GSLV's indigenous cryogenic stage [1].

Challenges in keeping the constellation working

• Below the minimum: in July 2026 only IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01 were providing PNT. Standalone positioning needs at least 4 [3].
• Ageing satellites and clock failures: IRNSS-1F's procured atomic clock failed in March 2026, three days after it completed its 10-year design life. It now only broadcasts messages [4].
• Backup systems with the same flaw: NVS-02 (2025) is stuck in transfer orbit. The Apex Committee traced the likely cause to a loose connector contact in both the main and redundant paths [5].
• Programme management: CAG Report No. 2 of 2018 said NavIC was not yet fully operational. It cited delays in carrying out contracts and weak monitoring [6].
• Thin margin: NVS-03 was launched in October 2026 [1]. If it is commissioned, the count reaches only four. One more failure would end standalone positioning again.

NavIC's security value therefore depends on how many satellites keep working, not on how many have been launched. ISRO should keep one of NVS-04/05 [1] as a quick-launch spare and test backup paths for faults they share with the main path. It should also use only indigenous clocks and report constellation health to Parliament regularly. These steps would make NavIC a reliable sovereign asset, in line with the space-sovereignty goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat.