Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday urged the armed forces to draw appropriate lessons from the Ukraine conflict for preparedness and exhorted IAF to become an aerospace force to protect the country from the challenges of the future.
Delivering the keynote address for the 37th Air Chief Marshal P C Lal Memorial Lecture here, Rajnath also called for technology evolution, gaining expertise and human resource management to defend the country against space-guided attacks and protect the space assets.
“Change is the law of nature. It is eternal. This law is applicable to war as well. As students of military affairs and geopolitics, it is our duty to keep anticipating the nature of future wars. Steps are being taken by our adversaries towards military use of space. This is likely to have an adverse effect on our interests. We, therefore, need to identify and be fully prepared for the evolving security challenges,” he said.
The minister added that the nature of future wars can be assessed through a closer look at the situation in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and the recent Ukrainian conflict. “Although these trends are suggestive, but we can gain a deeper understanding by correlating them with our local threats,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of technology in wars, Rajnath said, the use of technology has seen an unprecedented increase in recent times. He, however, stated that expensive platforms and weapon systems do not alone ensure victory; it is their employment which gives an edge in wars.
He paid glowing tributes to Air Chief Marshal PC Lal who was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff during the 1965 war and had served as the 7thChief of the Air Staff during the 1971 war.
Describing him as a visionary, Rajnath said, Air Chief Marshal Lal’s outstanding leadership proved to be a decisive factor for India’s victory and for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.
The defence minister shared glimpses of the life of Air Chief Marshal PC Lal, especially his invaluable contributions during the 1965 and 1971 wars. He said, these reflected the way IAF had paved the way to victory in the last few decades despite challenges and difficult operating conditions. It also symbolised the importance of integration and jointness.
Rajnath asserted that through the process of integration structures can be built for bringing together the forces and greater synergy can be established between them through joint vision, training, planning and execution of operations.
Sharing his views on the need to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, Rajnath described self-reliance as essential for not only building the domestic capacity, but also for safeguarding the sovereignty of the country.
Rajnath stressed that achieving self-reliance in defence will have middle and long-term benefits as it will help in building the foundation of a robust industrial base not only in the defence sector, but in every sphere of the industry.