ISIS more advanced in using social media than US, UK : Army Chief

Army Chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday said that the terrorist organisation ISIS was far more advanced in using social media than forces like the US and the UK.

"In Iraq and Syria, it is the ISIS an organisation steeped in the 17th century, was far more advanced in using social media than the 21st-century forces like the US and the UK," said General Naravane while speaking at the Indian Army's internal seminar with the theme 'changing characteristics of land warfare and its impact on the military'.

Emphasising on China's military might, he said: "China has not been involved in real hardcore combat for a few decades now, yet its regular showcasing of its military might has created this aura of China being the undisputed military leader in key technology domain."

"The Balakot airstrike demonstrated that if you play an escalatory game with skill, military ascendence can be established in cycles that do not necessarily lead to war," he said.

Last year, the Indian Air Force had carried out an airstrike in Pakistan's Balakot, targetting Jaish-e-Muhammed's (JeM) terror training camps in response to a terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in which at least 40 personnel were killed.

He said the Army was looking at using "blockchain technologies" and direct energy weapons like a laser in the future.

"We are looking at using blockchain technologies and direct energy weapons like a laser in future. We are also focusing on dynamic response. We are refining our capacities on both the western and northern borders. We are developing both kinetic and non-kinetic methods," the Army Chief said.

Stating that technology is changing the world at an exponential pace, he said, "The icons of the 20th-century warfare like large main battle tanks and fighter aircraft are on their way out."

"The advent of rapidly evolving dual-use technology presents new opportunities and changing the character of warfare. As armies, we have to be extremely agile in our thought and fleet-footed in our actions to stay ahead or even abreast, of the scale and pace of change," he added.