READYING OUR ARMED FORCES FOR TOMORROW

Space, cyberspace, AI-enabled systems the fields of future battles are dynamic. To meet its challenges, the indian army has to be ahead of the curve technologically and maintain quality 'boots on ground'

- Gen. (Dr) Manoj Mukund Naravane (retd)

Armies the world over are often accused of always fighting the 'last war'. Yet, when they crystal-gaze into the future, they are accused of watching too much science fiction. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. The sci-fi of yesteryear is today's reality, just as the sci-fi of today may well be the future. Warfare has evolved in time and space, with its character changing so much that a soldier of even just a generation ago will be unable to adjust to the realities of the current battlefield. Similarly, today's generation will be equally perplexed with the battlefield environment as little as 20 years down the line, as the pace of technological change today far exceeds that of the past. Preparing the armed forces of the country to be future-ready calls for harnessing insights of the past, learning from experiences of the present and extrapolating these for the future.

The most important facet is to be able to identify and then occupy or control the proverbial 'high ground', so essential for victory. In the past, the side that dominated the hilltops was decidedly at an advantage, as it not only made their positions more secure, it also enabled them to see what lay on the 'other side of the hill'. This 'high ground' moved on to domination of the air space above the battlefield, no longer remaining a terrestrial construct. Domination of the air became a prerequisite for the conduct of successful ground operations. Where do we further move on to?