Army chief Naravane: Indian Army determined to lead and shape battle spaces of tomorrow

Army Chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday said the Indian Army is determined to stay abreast of the changing paradigm as also to lead and shape battle spaces of tomorrow.

While addressing an event in Delhi General MM Naravane said, "Even as we strengthen our traditional capacities, we are equally cognizant of changes in the character of war and the impact of new technologies. The Indian Army is determined to stay abreast of the changing paradigm as also to lead and shape the battle spaces of tomorrow." 

The Army Chief said the process of "IBG-isation" is the force's response to the changing character of war.

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Integrated Battle Group (IBG):

IBG will be a little smaller than a division and will integrate the existing elements of infantry, tank regimes, artillery, engineers and signals. It will comprise of six battalions of these elements and will be directly under a Corps. 

The Army Chief pronounced, "The process of IBG-isation, similarly, is our response to the changing character of war. Creation of lean, agile and tailor-made structures to achieve operational objectives in diverse terrain is what IBG-isation is all about."

The Army Chief focused that the Indian Army is weighing on innovation. He further added, "The military leveraging of emerging, disruptive domains are also receiving our concerted attention. Capacities in Space, Cyber and EW, similarly, are being given a boost. We are also looking at tapping Blockchain Technologies, Lasers and Directed Energy Weapons for possible military use."

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He also laid prominence on the usage of Artificial Intelligence during a war. The Army Chief opined that the nature of war remains constant whereas the character keeps evolving and changing due to the usage of technology. 

The Army Chief said since, the nature of war is unchanging, force and violence will not disappear.

He assumed, "They will only manifest in newer forms. Hard power will always be relevant, it will, however, have to constantly discover newer ways of being utilitarian and adapt to the changing strategic context." 

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On Balakot Airstrike:

General Narvane asserted, "The Balakot airstrike saw these short, intense, escalatory cycles of military activity in full media glare, where sophisticated information narratives played an equally important role. For years we were told that if and when air crosses the International Border, it would escalate to a full-fledged war. Balakot demonstrated that if you play the escalatory game with skill, military ascendancy can be established in short cycles of conflict that do not necessarily lead to war."

On China: 

Speaking about the changing nature of warfare with the advent of modern technology adding domains like space and cyber, Gen. MM Naravane said China has been using technology to showcase its strength.

"Technological leadership need not necessarily be demonstrated through live conflict and wars. China has not been involved in real, hardcore combat for a few decades now; yet the regular showcasing of military might have created this aura of China being the undisputed military leader in key technological domains - with a deterrence logic of its own. Technology is also tipping doctrinal cycles. Doctrines are now chasing technologies," he added. 

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The speech by Chief had a historical perspective: he spoke about the first battle of Panipat, Kautilya's statecraft and the First World War, as well as recent conflicts involving Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Islamic State. 

Image Credits: PTI