New Delhi: Russia-Ukraine Warning demonstrated the need for nations such as India to develop “smart weapons for short, rapid conflicts” and “conventional weapons” for potentially long-term wars, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said on Friday.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2023 organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of External Affairs, Chouhan said the biggest lesson from the war for India is that it needs to be “self-sufficient in arms production”.
Who moderated the session titled ‘The Old, the New and the Unconventional: Assessing Contemporary Conflicts’? first term Managing Editor Palki Sharma. Australia’s Chief of Defense Force General Angus J Campbell and former United States Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis also spoke at the event.
“… paradigm [of warfare] has now been changed. As far as I can see, the lesson for India is self-reliance or self-reliant India. We can no longer depend on the supply of weapon systems from outside,” Chouhan said.
“We do not expect any long term conflict in India, but going forward, we should have a healthy mix of both smart weapons [with newer technologies] The CDS, in response to a question from Sharma about the threat posed by non-state actors in India, said a lot of personnel would be required for short, rapid wars, and also to operate large numbers of conventional weapons.
Talking about the issue of rising global defense expenditure, Chouhan said world peace is in a state of “flux”, leading to an “uncertain environment” across the globe.
When asked about their assessment of the war, Campbell and Mattis made clear and detailed condemnations of Russia.
Meanwhile, Chouhan raised several questions on the lessons learned from the war for India. He said there was no “universally accepted” lesson because it was a war that “has created many contradictions” because of its protracted nature.
“Every country is preparing for some kind of contingency. Earlier we thought that future wars would be shorter and faster but this [Russia-Ukraine] It is a very long type of war. We are seeing talks about endurance, stamina to fight a war, etc. and see that all nations are building some sort of defense technology. South Korea’s exports have increased manifold and most European countries have expanded capacity building. It is time for a big change.
Regarding the power of war narratives, Campbell and Mattis continued to toe the line labeling the Russian narrative as “complete nonsense”, while the CDS emphasized the importance of the Indian Armed Forces in local issues and first and foremost the “kinetic operation”. focused on. (referring to the direct use of force).
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Kiev to institutionalize the “cancellation” of the Russian language and culture since 2014 – after the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych, the then pro-Russia President of Ukraine.
“Armed forces should be more focused on dynamic operations and [broader] A story can be built around them… I was a colonel in the Kargil war, India’s first televised war that people took to their bedrooms. Today the war is tracked on social media and the whole country gets involved. But if you are losing on the dynamic front, the story is going to get affected,” the CDS asserted.
(Editing by Anumeha Saxena)
Read also: What the Russia-Ukraine War Teaches Us – 5 Big Strategic Lessons for India