Army chief emphasizes technology as new strategic arena of competition

Advances in technology are having an impact on warfare, but when technological advantages are removed from the larger strategic context and seen as the “sole driving force” for war success, they are reduced to a mere tactical level. Army Chief of Staff Manoj Pande said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a seminar here, he also said that technology is emerging in new and uncharted territory, “revolutionizing many fields and establishing a 'new normal.'”

Additionally, General Pande said technology is “emerging as a new arena of strategic competition, driving geopolitical power plays and being used to weaponize many areas, from information to supply chains.” Ta.

The Army Chief was speaking at a gathering during a seminar on 'The Year of Technology Absorption: Empowering Soldiers' organized by the Defense Think Tank at Manekshaw Center in Delhi Cantonment.

Technology from a warfare perspective has evolved significantly over the centuries and “has had a profound impact on warfare,” he said.

General Pande cited the examples of rifles, railways, telegraph machines, and ironclads from 19th century warfare. Machine guns, tanks, planes, aircraft carriers, and nuclear weapons in 20th century warfare. Even niche technologies that have penetrated the military field today.

They all “highlight examples of how technology is changing the face of warfare and influencing its outcomes,” he said.

He stressed that history has shown that militaries that successfully adopt and integrate new technologies have gained advantage and success on the battlefield.

During World War II, Allied infusions of technology such as computers, radar, code-breaking, and aircraft manufacturing helped ensure Allied victory, but early in the war, the industry and Germany and Japan were the countries that took advantage of the technology. It has the ability to “gain scale advantages” over the Allies, the Army chief added.

“Technological superiority, on the other hand, can be reduced to a purely tactical level when removed from the larger strategic context and seen as the sole driver of war success.” Vietnam And Afghanistan is a similar example,” he claimed.

“Therefore, understanding new technology, exploiting its potential, and gaining strategic advantage is the essence of leveraging technology from a warfighting perspective,” the Army chief said.

The Indian military considers 2024 as the “year of technology absorption”.

The Army Chief highlighted the spirit of 'Atmanirbharta' which the force strives to strengthen and further achieve in line with the government's vision of self-reliance in defense.

“Technologies continue to evolve. They are emerging in new and uncharted territory, revolutionizing and establishing a “new normal” in various fields, becoming interconnected in various fields, and It's commercially available,” he said.

Today's military technology landscape is witnessing a “significant increase in the lethality and precision of athletic equipment and increased penetration of technologies” such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, 3D printing, and nanotechnology, the Army says. the chief said.

He reiterated that emerging technologies are no longer superpower-centric, and even non-state actors are gaining access to modern technologies and using them for military applications and “asymmetric influence in conflicts.”

He noted that recent conflicts have highlighted important insights into how destructive, dual-use technologies and their proliferation on an unprecedented scale are changing the nature of modern warfare. Mentioned.

A range of digital technologies, including electronic warfare, microelectronics, unmanned aerial vehicles, precision strike systems, loitering weapons, and Starlink terminals, are “challenging traditional means of force augmentation,” he added.

“The swarm contends with the rushing waves, surveillance and precision are valued above firepower and maneuver, the light and the small prevailing over the large and the heavy.” Once upon a time in the scale of military power and superiority The traditional force ratio that was there has slowed down today,” General Pande added.

He argued that the battlefield impacts posed by disruptive technology-driven systems require new predictive models to assess potential combat advantages.

War has expanded into new areas such as space, cyber, the electromagnetic spectrum, and information. The scope of gray zone warfare has also been “expanded'' due to technological advances.

As a result of these developments, the battlespace has become “more complex, contested, and deadly, and will continue to be so in the future,” the Army secretary said.

He said the effects of external dependence on critical components, supply chain disruptions and “weaponization of denial regimes” have surfaced during the pandemic and from lessons from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. .

“Even if we import some combat systems, we need to realize that no country can share the latest, advanced and critical technology. , with the risk of being left one technology cycle behind in a niche area,” the Army chief said.

Therefore, the need to make combat platforms and systems self-reliant and achieve self-sufficiency in critical technologies through indigenous research and development is “imperative,” he added.

Adaptation of doctrine as technology is adopted is essential. We need to align our principles and strategies to the prevailing operational paradigm. “Refining operational philosophies, operational concepts, and tactics commensurate with the combat effectiveness resulting from new technologies is critical to maximizing the battlefield potential of modern weapon systems,” he said.

This will continue to be an ongoing process, he added.