New Delhi, May 15 -- On Friday, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh spoke about the experience that India faced with threats from the sky, adding that India had done well since it had a coordinated structure and a system that had been integrated into the military operations.
He reiterated that in order to tackle the threat of unmanned aerial vehicles, it was essential to have centralised command, domain awareness and integration across all branches of the armed forces.
Further, he stressed the importance of unmanned aircraft in modern wars while stating that the need for humans in decision-making processes on battlefields will still be required in the coming years.
Speaking at an event attended by senior veterans, defence forces, academics and private industries in the national capital, the Air Chief Marshal mentioned that unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are an "extension of air power" and that all rules that apply to air power apply to UAS as well. While discussing the evolution of modern warfare, he said that "there are no more empty skies" and that recent wars around the globe have proved that UAVs and other autonomous systems play a key role in modern wars.
Regarding counter-drone operations, Singh said that the art of warfare had now become a continuous struggle between offensive and defensive technologies.
He pointed out that every new technological advancement, by its very nature, was followed by the creation of counter-technological devices. In his view, this trend guaranteed that one side would not have an upper hand for too long.
Singh further highlighted the increasingly contentious issue surrounding the cost-effectiveness of drones and the costly systems used to combat them. Although he did concede that there were worries about "cheap attacks and costly defences", he insisted that the actual cost involved was not only the cost of the weapon but rather the extent of damage it could cause. Consequently, he believed that nations should have a practical and cost-effective solution in place.
Speaking about the possibility of the war being fought only through manned or unmanned means, Singh was optimistic that the future would see a partnership between manned and unmanned systems. In his view, it was difficult to imagine that there would ever come a time when man would have nothing to do in wars as far as the next couple of decades were concerned.
In reference to global military advancements, he emphasised the point that nations were still spending millions on developing manned combat systems despite rapid progress in the development of unmanned systems. The Air Chief Marshal pointed out that survivability was one of the critical challenges facing unmanned combat platforms during wartime situations. Though these systems can play a useful role in peacetime for surveillance purposes, many were vulnerable to attacks in wartime.
Expanding on his earlier comments about airpower, Air Chief Marshal Singh further explained that autonomous systems are also being introduced into maritime and terrestrial battlefields. The use of unmanned surface vehicles, robotic combat technology, and many other advanced systems that are revolutionising the conduct of warfare all around the world was cited by him as an example. But at the same time, he cautioned that the lack of regulatory measures might pose significant operational problems.
In order to expedite the process of innovation and manufacturing of weapons systems, there is a need for cooperation between the armed forces, industry, academia, and research institutes.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.