Former US intel officer says India’s 2019 ASAT test blindsided NRO

In a recent podcast interview, former US Air Force and intelligence officer David Grusch revealed that the National Reconnaissance Office was taken by surprise when India carried out its Mission Shakti anti-satellite missile test in March 2019. The test, launched from the Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island complex, intentionally hit a defunct Indian weather satellite in low-Earth orbit, a fact Grusch learned while on duty in the NRO operations centre.

He recalled immediately contacting the US Embassy and urging orbital analysts to calculate the resulting debris field to determine any threat to US reconnaissance satellites. Grusch, then backup director of intelligence at the centre, described the situation as a “big deal” that required rapid assessment and possible satellite maneuvers. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi framed the test as a demonstration of capability, noting that the target was pre-selected and the action was not aimed at any country. The incident added India to the exclusive club of nations—USA, Russia, China—possessing operational ASAT weapons, raising concerns about space debris and strategic stability.