New Delhi: The biggest lesson from the Russia-Ukraine war for the US military is the importance of partners and allies in order to share lessons, build friendships and exercise interoperability, its army chief said Tuesday.
Both US Army chief General Randy George and his Indian counterpart General Manoj Pande also spoke extensively on the importance of the Indo-Pacific region.
At the Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs’ Conclave (IPACC) hosted by India and the US in New Delhi, General George said that there were lessons in command and control to take from the ongoing war.
“We are looking at being leaner, more mobile and lower signature,” he told the press in an interaction along with General Pande.
In recent times, the US Army has been looking at signature management, which is the process through which electromagnetic signature of military assets is studied and then modified to reduce the risk of detection from sensors.
“We are focusing on four areas — warfighting, delivering ready combat formations, continuous transformation and strengthening our profession, meaning that strengthening the trust between leaders and the led, our standards and discipline and our warrior ethos,” General George said about the US Army’s preparations for the future.
Apart from the “importance of long-range fire”, General George highlighted that logistics and transformation also played a major role in the Ukraine war.
Recognising one point as common between India and the US, he said that it was important to take into consideration how we can partner with the commercial industry. “There’s a lot we can do there to make ourselves better on a more rapid scale.”
The US Army chief spoke extensively on the importance of the Indo-Pacific region. “This region is critically important to us, and I think you have seen that with our national defence strategy,” General George said, adding that the region remains a priority for the US Army.
It is because of this fact, he said, that the US concentrates military exercises more in the Pacific as compared to anywhere else.
On India’s role and the army-to-army relations, he said it’s appropriate that India is hosting this event because of its leadership in this region. “The relationship between our militaries is strong and is growing stronger,” he added.
From 25 September to 8 October, Indian and American armies will take part in the 19th edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas in Alaska. In November last year, the two armies had held the exercise near the border with China in Uttarakhand’s Auli.
He stressed that all the participating countries were at IPACC to talk about land power. “Land power not only contributes to shared security, it’s decisive. It is the unity and collective commitment across the region and that unity and commitment are the best deterrent.”
In his interaction, General Pande also elaborated on the importance of the Indo-Pacific region.
“The region is not only a cauldron of cultures, histories, resources and opportunities, but is also a theatre of complexities and challenges. The percentage of global population residing in the region, its share in the world’s GDP, the proportion of merchandise and mercantile to the region, the magnitude of maritime trade, the transit to this area lends this region a pivotal stature in charting the world’s course in the 21st century,” he said
The Indian Army chief added that it was therefore necessary to have a periodic ideation, discussion and collaborative congregation of all coastal partners with core efforts focused on shared responsibility towards achieving and sustaining peace and stability.
The entire initiative was not directed at one country or group of countries, he said, without naming China.
“The Indo-Pacific construct has come to occupy central space in the contemporary geo-strategic canvas in recent years. Its significance is a reflection of the evolving dynamics in the political, security, economic and environmental domains of today’s world,” General Pande said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)