DCAS Lt Gen. Rahul R Singh Talks Op Sindoor and Future of Warfare
Speaking
at FICCI during the
conference-cum-exhibition on ‘New Age
Military Technologies’ on July 4, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (CD&S), Lt
Gen. Rahul R Singh emphasised on the high demand of drones in the armed
forces, saying that there is a need to develop an eco-system as drones have
dual-use technology. He said that there is a lot of scope including
civil-military fusion and India needs to develop an eco-system for drones
including production, testing, etc.
“We have been in
consultation with the ministry of defence and others to come up with a
framework and by September or October we should be out with our drone framework
wherein we are looking at how to incentivise all the production, how to get
through the vulnerabilities and how to facilitate testing would be the basic
theme of this framework,” he said.
According to
him, India’s
dream to become a developed country by 2047 and Viksit Bharat means meeting a
target of USD 30 trillion economy. “This is possible only if industries play
out. It is possible in case our armed forces provide the secure environment
that is required for the nation to progress,” he added.
Speaking on the success and
learning of Operation Sindoor, Lt Gen.
Singh urged the industry to focus on investing more on the R&D
especially the component level R&D. “Aatmanirbharta
in defence sector is not an option for us and no one should hold hostage as far
as critical technologies, and their supplies are concerned. India needs to be
prepared for all five generations of warfare. The Indian armed forces must be
ready now and future-ready for warfare that utilises numerous technologies and
innovations,” he asserted.
The industry, Lt Gen. Singh said, should focus on
profits but should not compromise on quality and timely delivery. “Industry
must stick to timelines and focus on 4 Cs which include cooperate, collaborate,
compete but not complain. We have to be ready to fight the war, and it is not
the soldiers only who can win a war. It is soldier and the industry going
together,” he added.
The deputy chief of army
staff also recommended the industry to create more testing facilities.
According to him, both the armed forces and the industry must work together to
take it forward. “Apart from testing facilities, we need to have standards so
that the procurement cycles can shrink,” he emphasized.
Chair, FICCI defence &
homeland security committee and president, aerospace & defence, Mahindra
& Mahindra Ltd, Vinod Sahay said
that unmanned and autonomous systems are the future. As conflicts evolve,
nations prioritise minimising losses of precious lives and unmanned and
autonomous systems will dominate various domains, including air, land, water,
and underwater, he added.
Co-Chair, FICCI defence
& homeland security committee and CMD, Zen Technologies Ltd, Ashok Atluri, while sharing industry
perspective on indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM) said
that IDDM companies, which are self-funded with advanced technologies are
national strategic assets and need to be protected, nurtured, and encouraged.
Co-Chair, FICCI defence and
homeland security committee and CMD, SMPP Ltd, Ashish Kansal added that India’s defence industry stands at the
cusp of a technological transformation driven not only by necessity, but by
ambition, innovation and capability.
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