Army chief says soon conflict will involve attacks on nation’s cyber infrastructure
Concerned over increasing number of threats on cyber and space domains, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Saturday that India must be prepared for more violent and unpredictable conflicts in the future as technology will be the key driver in future wars. “The changing dynamics of cyber and space domains is the biggest challenge for the future,” he said at an event to mark the completion of 20 years of the Kargil war in the capital.
Rawat said there have been threats to the critical cyber infrastructure of the country and added that the Army is constantly battling to shape perception in the information domain.
He also stressed upon the urgent need to restructure and reshape the nation’s space policy. Currently, the biggest threats posed to space assets are jamming of communications, command and control systems and links, and physical attacks on satellites and ground stations. Other threats include blinding of satellite sensors and high-altitude nuclear detonations.
He stressed on the need for long-term space policy and strengthening of cyber infrastructure in view of the recent antagonistic activities of two neighbouring nations – China and Pakistan.
On March 27, India made history by shooting down its low-orbit satellite with a ground-to-space missile. The test exalted India as the fourth nation in the world, after USA, Russia and China, to have A-SAT (Anti-Satellite Weaponry) capabilities.
| Forewarned, Forearmed |
| General Bipin Rawat stressed upon the urgent need to restructure and reshape the nation’s space policy. |
| Biggest threats posed to space assets are jamming of communications, command and control systems, and physical attacks on satellites |
To counter increasing threats from China’s growing space capabilities, the Army has organised its first-ever simulated space warfare exercise in the last week of July. Called IndSpaceEx, stakeholders from the military and scientific community will participate in it. Its purpose is to understand the possible challenges of space warfare.
General Rawat also warned Pakistan in his speech, saying the nation, time and again, resort to state-sponsored terrorism and intrudes into Indian territory. “The Indian armed forces stand resolute and ready to defend our territorial integrity,” General Rawat said, “Let there be no doubt that misadventures will be repelled with a punitive response.
“The rise of non-state actors and the readiness to use terror and other irregular methods of fighting have become a new norm.”
Rawat also asserted that no act of terror will go unpunished. “Surgical strikes post-Uri and Balakot (terror attacks) have amply demonstrated our political and military resolve against terror. Any act of terror will not go unpunished,” he emphasized.
Moving on to factors responsible for military success, the Army chief said political will and proactive diplomacy are key. “We are working in a coordinated manner for a cogent and synchronized national response against sub-conventional and asymmetric threats by any adversary,” he said, referring to current challenges for the armed forces and lessons learned from the past.
“We have come a long way since Kargil,” he said. “We need to be prepared for future wars and cannot let our guard down.”
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