NEW DELHI: Even while pushing for the fast track mode of military acquisitions, Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said the armed forces, in the present complex environment, should be well prepared for conventional warfare along the country’s borders. After last September’s surgical strikes, the Ministry of Defence has put several defence acquisitions on the fast track mode.
At an event in the national capital, the Army chief maintained that in the present environment, technology is imbibed by the armed forces in a manner that will rapidly keep pace with the changing systems before they become obsolete.
“But for that to happen it is important that we are able to identify the correct type of technology and equipment that is to be inducted into the armed forces,” he stated.
Gen. Rawat further emphasised that the Army has to keep pace with the digitised world and ensure that most of its systems are digitised as early as possible.
At the same time, it is important to remember that war will be fought on the border and therefore the technology to be incorporated into the Army’s communication system has to be ruggedised and light-weight.
Rawat, while avoiding naming any immediate enemy of the nation, said India will continue to face conventional or non-traditional forms of warfare and the armed forces will have to be ready to deal with any such challenge.
He also said that communication technology for the armed forces must be simple, light-weight and easy to maintain as they will be required for wars on the borders, adding that technology must work in extreme weather conditions.
Referring to social media, the Army chief said “adversaries” appeared to be taking advantage of it. He also talked about the need for having proper encryption mechanism, both for voice and data, in the communication network for armed forces.