Apart from strengthening its conventional prowess, India is focusing on a dynamic response along its western and northern borders that is below the threshold of an all-out war, Army chief Gen M M Naravane said on Wednesday.
India's northern border is aligned with China and the western border with Pakistan.
Addressing a seminar on land warfare here, the Army chief said the airstrikes on Balakot demonstrated that if one was skilful, escalation does not always lead to war. Moreover, he noted that the Indian Army was looking to tap blockchain technologies, lasers and directed energy weapons for possible military use.
"On our part, that of the Indian Army, we have analysed carefully the changing character of war within the overall framework of conflict, as relevant to the Indian context," Gen Naravane said, adding, "The 'grey zone' and its varied nuances are receiving our concerted attention."
Talking about a new phenomenon of showing military prowess below the threshold of an all-out conflict, he said, "The Houthi rebels attack on Riyadh airport and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and closer home, the Balakot airstrike saw these short, intense and escalatory cycles of military activity in full media glare, where sophisticated information narratives played an equally important role."
Naravane said, "We have possibly entered the era of 'contested equality', wherein technology will make unequals, equal. Perhaps that is already happening -- the battle wining factor in future combat may not be numerical equivalence but technological superiority."
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