Advocating for self-reliance in defence capabilities, the minister called for the development of a resilient and indigenous defence technological and manufacturing ecosystem.
Tamil Nadu: Defence minister Rajnath Singh emphasised the need to bolster India's military capabilities to counter both conventional and non-traditional threats during the Convocation Ceremony of the 80th Staff Course at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington.
He said technology was driving geopolitics and national security like never before and observed that traditional notions of warfare are being rewritten. Singh warned that the era of Grey Zone and Hybrid warfare — marked by cyber-attacks, disinformation, and economic sabotage — requires India to remain perpetually vigilant, especially considering persistent border threats and challenges posed by proxy wars and terrorism.
“Technology today is driving geopolitics and national security like never before. AI and the emerging basket of technologiesrobotics, military autonomy, dronery, quantum, block chain, space, cyber, electronics, additive manufacturing and the like, are revolutionising deterrence and war fighting in critical ways. Warfare is moving rapidly, beyond the traditional domains of land, sea, and air, to space, cyber, the undersea and newer domains of creative endeavor,” he said.
“Dronery, for instance, has emerged in Ukraine-Russia conflict, virtually 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. Space capacities in the Low Earth Orbit, similarly, are transforming military intelligence, persistent surveillance, positioning, targeting and communications thus taking combat to a new high. The power of technological innovation in combat theatres is breathtaking indeed,” Singh said.
He urged military officers to thoroughly study these trends to maintain a strategic edge over emerging military challenges. “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,” he added.
He also noted the broader geopolitical implications of conflicts in West Asia and tensions in the Indo-Pacific, along with non-traditional security threats like natural disasters and climate change.
Advocating for self-reliance in defence capabilities, the minister called for the development of a resilient and indigenous defence technological and manufacturing ecosystem. “Building a future-ready defence infrastructure with low-cost, high-tech solutions is not an option but a strategic necessity,” he said. He emphasised that the Indian Armed Forces must not only adapt to technological changes but also lead them.
