‘Building indigenous future-ready defence ecosystem is strategic necessity’: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh advocated for the development and modernisation of the Armed Forces through self-reliance on Thursday and said that low-cost high-tech solutions and enhanced fighting capability are needed.

While addressing the Armed Forces officers of India and friendly countries during the Convocation Ceremony of the 80th Staff Course of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, Tamil Nadu said that today’s global geopolitics is being redefined by three key metrics.

“Lessons of the ongoing conflicts teach us that building a resilient, indigenous, and future-ready defence technological and manufacturing ecosystem is not an option, but a strategic necessity. There is a need to develop low-cost, high-tech solutions and enhance the fighting capability of the Armed Forces. Our forces must not only keep pace with technological changes but also lead it,” Rajnath Singh said.

He further said that the Armed Forces must operate jointly and remain future-ready in today’s ever-evolving multi-domain environment.

“Armed Forces must operate jointly and remain future-ready in today’s ever-evolving multi-domain environment where cyber, space and information warfare etc. are as potent as conventional operations. A major pivot towards prioritising national security, a technological tsunami sweeping the global landscape, and accelerating innovation,” Singh said.

He urged the officers to study the nuances of these trends in-depth to stay ahead on the strategic-military change curve, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government is leaving no stone unturned to transform the Armed Forces into a technologically-advanced combat-ready force capable of multi-domain integrated operations.

Highlighting that Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies are revolutionising deterrence and war-fighting in critical ways,

Rajnath Singh termed the power of technological innovation in combat theatres as breathtaking.

“In the Ukraine-Russia conflict, drones have virtually emerged as a new arm, if not a transformative science. The majority of losses of soldiers and equipment have been attributed neither to traditional artillery nor to armour but to drones. Similarly, space capacities in the Low Earth Orbit are transforming military intelligence, persistent surveillance, positioning, targeting and communications, thus taking combat to a new high,” he said.

The Defence Minister stressed that the world is in the age of Grey Zone and Hybrid warfare where cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns, and economic warfare have become tools that can achieve politico-military aims without a single shot being fired.

He added that India faces persistent threats along its borders, which are further compounded by the challenge of proxy war and terrorism emanating from its neighbourhood.

Rajnath Singh also spoke of the impact of the conflict in West Asia and the geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific on the overall security calculus, in addition to non-traditional security threats such as natural disasters and climate change.

He stressed on the need to vigorously pursue the transformation of the Armed Forces to remain capable and relevant for future wars, stating that PM Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 rests firmly on two foundational pillars - Surakshit Bharat and Sashakt Bharat. (ANI)

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