New Delhi [India], Mar 4 : 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.
"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," Naravane said while addressing an event here.
The Army Chief said the process of "IBG-isation" is the force's response to the changing character of war.
An Integrated Battle Group (IBG), which will be a little smaller than a division, will integrate the existing elements of infantry, tank regiments, artillery, engineers and signals. It will comprise six battalions of these elements and will be directly under a Corps.
"We have analysed carefully the changing character of war within the overall framework of conflict, as relevant to the Indian context. The Grey Zone and its varied nuances are receiving our concerted attention. Apart from strengthening our conventional prowess, we are also focusing on dynamic response -- actions below the threshold of All Out War -- and are refining our plans and capacities in this regard, both along the LoC and LAC. We are developing kinetic and non-kinetic responses to address the threat," the Army Chief said.
Once the Army converts all its required fighting formations into IBGs, it would lead to the elimination of the brigades in the fighting structure.
"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," said Army chief.
Stressing that the Indian Army is laying emphasis on innovation, General Naravane said: "The military leveraging of emerging, disruptive domains is also receiving our concerted attention. Capacities in Space, Cyber and EW, similarly, are being given a boost. We are also looking at tapping Block Chain Technologies, Lasers and Directed Energy Weapons for possible military use."
The Army Chief said while the nature of war remains constant, the character keeps evolving and changing.
"The nature of war in terms of the orgsed nature of violence, in terms of the blood and gore, in terms of the victor imposing his will on the vanquished, is constant and unchanging," he said while adding that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will impact the way wars will be fought substantially - the character of war, but not the nature of war itself.
The Army Chief said since, the nature of war is unchanging, force and violence will not disappear.
"They will only mfest 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," he said.
General Naravane asserted that the uniformed community will have to make a determined effort therefore, to keep pace and stay ahead of the change.
Recalling the first battle of Ppat fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodi, the Army Chief said: "In older days, wars had a clear end state. The victory was the king or kingdom centric, involving 'complete defeat of the enemy', in which the winner was able to completely eradicate the opposition through winning it over, removing it or causing it to surrender."
Highlighting that the first half of the 20th century witnessed unresolved political and ideological disputes settled in the military arena, through the medium of professional militaries, the Army Chief said wars were tools to settle ideological disputes, decisively and unambiguously.
Talking about non-contact warfare, the Army Chief said that the Chinese way of war, epitomised by thinkers like Sun Tzu, has given "new lease of life" to the concept of Non-Contact or Grey Zone Warfare, where "you shed the binary approach to conflict, wherein you are either at war or peace, you either win or you lose".
Giving example of Chinese activities in the South China Sea, the Army Chief said in the Grey Zone, ambiguity and careful risk escalation are key.
"Moves in the Grey Zone domain are sufficiently ambiguous so as to leave target countries unsure as to how to respond. If the target does too little, it faces the prospect of a series of small but cumulatively significant defeats. If it does too much, it risks being held responsible for the reckless escalation. In the Grey Zone, militaries play to the edge. Geo-strategic spaces are being constricted without altering the state of peace; geo-strategic realities are being altered without a shot being fired," he said.
"We are also seeing a new phenomenon - the availability of sufficient space for demonstration of military prowess/ascendancy below the threshold of an all-out conflict -- supposed acts of war not leading to war," the Army Chief said recalling the Houthi rebel attack on Saudi oil facilities.
Talking about the IAF airstrike on JeM terror camp last year, General Narvane said: "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."
Talking about the technological changes, the Army Chief said that today the three domains - land, sea and air, have merged with a fourth (space) and a fifth (cyber) emerging as additional points of impact and fusion.
Citing the example of Gulf War II where American air and artillery assaults led to large scale destruction of Iraqi mechzed forces and artillery, the Army Chief said: "Combat is no longer confined to the physical domain - it is as much a feature of the informational and cognitive domains."
"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 said.
The Army Chief said the battle-winning factor in future combat may not be numerical equivalence but technological superiority.
( With inputs from ANI )