Indian Army Chief says relevance of ‘hard power’ reaffirmed with Ukraine war

“Our transformation has as its edifice, five pillars – one of which is Modernisation and Technology Infusion”

India’s army chief Manoj Pande on Wednesday talked about the lessons learnt by Indian forces from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and also highlighted why it is extremely important to be self-reliant in the defence sector. Pande also called for the infusion of technology into warfighting systems.

While speaking at Def-Tech India Conference in New Delhi, he discussed important aspects of ‘India’s Territorial Capabilities and Technology Requirements’.

He said, “Our transformation has as its edifice, five pillars – one of which is Modernisation and Technology Infusion. Under this endeavour, major initiatives are underway to transform ourselves into a modern, technology-driven, Atmanirbhar and battle-worthy force, so that we can execute our operational mandate, more effectively.”

The Amy Chief said that Grey Zone aggression is increasingly becoming a preferred strategy of conflict prosecution with its “scope enhanced by technological advancements”.

He noted that there’s a need for capabilities to not just negate or mitigate such attacks, but instead “keep the adversary in a reactive mode perpetually”.

Talking about the grey-zone conflict, he said that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war also provides valuable pointers and stressed hard power, duration of the war, precision fires, information operations and grey-zone aggression.

In India’s context, he said that the nation has a legacy challenge of unsettled borders continues and it is important to recognise that infirmities in border management can lead to a wider conflict.

“These entail all aspects under the ambit of security and not just exclusive to the military domain,” he said.