Procuring advanced surveillance systems is Indian armed forces' topmost priority: CDS Bipin Rawat

NEW DELHI: Procuring advanced surveillance systems that can help India keep an eye on its land borders and oceans is the topmost priority of the armed forces right now, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat said on Thursday.

He also said that after surveillance capabilities, India needs to focus on boosting its cyber capabilities.

"Our first and foremost priority is surveillance. We need anything that can help is in maintaining surveillance on our land borders and on our oceans. This is our fist priority," he said at a defence conclave here when asked what are Indian armed forces' requirements that should be the focus of private industry.

"We want to jump the cyber from lower priority to higher priority because we find that our adversary is developing cyber capabilities at a very fast pace," he also said.

If you are not able to match the adversary, then no matter how good or sophisticated your systems are, if they are going to be affected through cyber attacks, they will be no use to us, he asserted.

Gen Rawat said a very rapid transformation is taking place in the international domain.

"And accordingly, our own region is also undergoing rapid changes and we can see the way the dynamics of international relations in our own vicinity is taking shape," he added.

"It is both a major advantage to us in the manner in which there is collaboration taking place amongst like-minded nations, and it will also pose a big challenge in the future," he said.