Small Molecules, Big Threat

Air Cmde K A Muthana (retd)

Biotechnology could become the new strategic commanding heights of future revolution in military affairs (RMA)

—Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences

There is an elephant in the room and India needs to deal with it. When one talks about the future of air warfare being predominantly non-kinetic, one needs to acknowledge the possible vectors that could be used to employ these non-kinetic weapons.

At a fundamental level, they can be either electrons or molecules. While the former could be in the form of directed energy, electronic or cyber weapons, the latter could be in the form of chemical or biological/biotechnological weapons. While the 20th century was the century of massive advances in physics and chemistry, the 21st century is expected to be the century of biology; more specifically, biotechnology. There is a need to pay attention to the weaponisation of biological molecules.

Biological vs biotechnological

The Biological Weapon Convention (BWC) was formerly called the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction. It came into force in March 1975. As the name itself suggests, it remains inadequate to address what is now possible because of advances in biotechnology. The BWC attempts to discourage the use of biological weapons of mass destruction.

Technologically, traditional biological weapons depend on microbiology, especially bacteriology, which uses destructive bacteria, viruses and toxic living bodies obtained directly from the natural world. These weapons are subject to nature, are difficult to control and are meant for mass destruction of human beings, livestock, crops and even natural ecosystems. Modern bioengineering, on the other hand, includes synthetic biotechnology, which is a subfield focused on creating biological processes or biological compounds not found in nature.

Biotechnological weapons are more targeted against fighting forces, ethnic groups etc. Massive data processing capability with advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing have made more precise targeting possible. The creator of such weapons can also have the remedial means ready to reverse the effects of such weapons in order to achieve deterrence, defend, blackmai