MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. The Indian army will conduct its first simulated space warfare exercise dubbed IndSpaceEx before the end of the week, the Times of India newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing official sources.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the A-Sat test in March was conducted to make India stronger and more secure as well as further peace and harmony. In line with this vision, IndSpaceEx is being conducted to identify key challenges and shortfalls if a conflict escalates to the space dimension," said a senior official, cited by the newspaper. "A leading IIT [Indian Institute of Technology] has also been engaged to work on the potential has also been engaged to work on the potential solutions," he added.

"There is a need to explore effective tactical, operational and strategic exploitation of the final frontier of warfare. We cannot keep twiddling our thumbs while China zooms ahead. We cannot match China but must have capabilities to protect our space assets," another official pointed out.

On March 27, Modi announced that India had successfully tested the Anti-Satellite (A-Sat) missile, shooting down a low-orbit satellite. "India stands tall as a space power. It will make India stronger, even more secure and will further peace and harmony," he emphasized, adding that the test hadn’t been aimed against any country.