New Delhi: Asserting that the Army must lead in embracing technology, Army chief General Bipin Rawat Monday said non-contact warfare will help in gaining advantage over the adversary in future.
Addressing a defence seminar here, he said necessity was no longer the need for invention and innovations were driving technological advancement.
The Indian Army has to remain at the forefront of technological embrace, he said.
“Non-contact warfare is gaining relevance in future wars. That is not to say that the man on the ground…with a rifle in his hand will no longer remain relevant. They will remain relevant all through the ages,” he said.
“Non-contact warfare will help us in gaining advantage over the adversary in future. Therefore, it is important to understand the context in which we need to move forward in this direction,” General Rawat said.
Quantum technology, cyberspace and above all artificial intelligence, all these need to be leveraged, he said.
The seminar on the theme ‘Technologies for Non Contact Warfare’ at Manekshaw Centre here was attended by Rawat, Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India K Vijay Raghavan, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General MM Naravane, President Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers Jayant Patil along with other dignitaries from the Ministry of Defence, three Services, the DRDO, leading academic institutions and industry.
The seminar brought the military, academia and industry together on a single platform to provide an in depth perspective on the available and emerging technologies, which could have an impact on war fighting in the non contact domain.
Rawat also stressed on the need of dual use technologies for the future. Towards this, the Indian Army has endeavoured to be more open towards the industry and has converted stringent military specifications for a number of its equipment into commercial grade specifications, he said.
Four achievers from varied background were facilitated during the seminar for the exceptional work in their fields of excellence.
The Chief of the Army Staff also released the Compendium of Problem Definition Statements.
The seminar also provided a platform to the selected start ups to put forward their research work and achievements.
Think tanks from varied fields in industry, academia, subject matter experts, users and policy makers also expressed their views during the seminar.
A display showcasing select military innovations developed by the Army, DRDO, academia and industry was also organised as part of the ARTECH Seminar.
Also read: Thoroughbred infantryman, soft-spoken, firm: How officers describe next Army Chief Naravane
Our army chief should learn from Israel. More actions and no talk.