PANJIM: The recent conflicts, especially the ongoing Russia-Ukraine one, have brought to the fore certain key indicators that have enabled the Indian Army to appreciate the “contemporary character of war” and the relevance of firepower in accruing a decisive advantage in the battlefield, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the inaugural Gen S F Rodrigues Memorial Lecture at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, which was attended by many former chiefs of the Indian Army and former IAF chief N C Suri, among others. He said that the “primacy of technology in the modern battlefield” has been “amply demonstrated” in this conflict.
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The Army Chief in his address touched upon the lessons that continue to emerge from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“The recent conflicts, and especially the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, have brought to fore certain key indicators, which have enabled us to appreciate the contemporary character of war, and also the relevance of firepower in accruing a decisive advantage in the battlefield,” Gen Pande said.
He said, “What should be a realistic assessment of the duration of war from a planning perspective? Does the hypothesis of a short and swift war, in our case, still hold good?”The answer to that has ramifications on the army’s selection of objectives, operational plans, and also on the stocking levels that the force wishes to have, he said.
The next issue is the “primacy of technology in the modern battlefield, which has been amply demonstrated in this conflict. A natural fallout therefore points towards infusing these technologies into our war-fighting system,” Gen Pande added.
In his address, he also said that the Army’s indigenous pursuit includes the procurement of 100 K-9 Vajra self-propelled medium artillery guns, of which “additional 100 we plan to procure”.
The army chief said Gen Rodrigues was an “accomplished soldier-statesman” and his contribution went far beyond his career in the olive greens, having served in the National Security Advisory Board and asPunjab Governor.
As the Army Chief, he ensured that many key initiatives were taken forward to fruition during his time. These endeavours have had a very “profound impact” on the Indian Army, Gen Pande added.
First, as has been said before, the induction of women officers in the Army in streams other than the medical corps, which commenced with the first batch that was commissioned way back in 1992, he said.
