Future wars will be won by those who complete OODA loop the fastest: CISC

China's military space program expansion highlighted by CISC, emphasizing deep surveillance for winning future wars quickly.

Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) highlighted China’s notable military space programme expansion, stressing that modern warfare demanded deep surveillance of threats. He said future wars would be won by those who complete the Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loop the fastest.

“China’s military space programme has expanded from operating just 36 satellites in 2010 to over 1,000 by 2024, with more than 360 dedicated to ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance] missions,” he said.

At the inaugural address of Surveillance & Electro-Optics 2025 seminar and exposition, the CISC said the creation of an independent Aerospace Force in April 2024 signalled China’s recognition of space as the ultimate high ground in modern warfare.

“Their satellites have recently demonstrated sophisticated “dogfighting” manoeuvres in LEO [Low Earth Orbit], practising tactics designed to track and potentially disable adversary space assets,” he said.

This Al-driven fusion of surveillance data enables real-time, unified situational awareness across all domains — land, air, sea, cyber, and space, said the CISC.

Stating that modern warfare required surveillance of potential threats when they were still in their staging areas, airfields, and bases, deep within adversary territory, he said the domain had evolved into becoming the very foundation of modern military operations.

“When we look at global conflicts commencing from Armenia-Azerbaijan to Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas and to our own experiences in Operation Sindoor, one truth emerges with crystal clarity: the side that sees first, sees farthest and sees most accurately, prevails,” the CISC said.