Cost of future wars is enormous, must optimise resources: CDS General Chauhan
General Anil Chauhan pitched for fusion within Army, Navy and Air Force. “We have taken that up (service integration) … we will be able to optimise time, resources, processes, infrastructure and manpower,” he said
Saying that the cost of future wars would be “enormous”, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday stressed on the need to optimise resources and manpower and bring in efficiencies to afford weapons and systems of the future.
General Chauhan said before talks of fusion between civil and military resources, there should be fusion within the Army, Navy and Air Force.
“We have taken that up (service integration) and at last count, we had almost 170-odd initiatives where the three services can work together in an integrated manner. In these processes, we will be able to optimise time, resources, processes, infrastructure and manpower,” General Chauhan said at the Air Force capstone seminar which marked the culmination of the third Warfare & Aerospace Strategy Program (WASP) course.
WASP is a strategic education programme of 15 weeks that was started in 2022 to provide participants with a deep understanding of geopolitics, grand strategy and comprehensive national power, and is conducted by the IAF along with College of Air Warfare and Centre for Air Power Studies.
General Chauhan said after integration within the three services, the logical step would be to take the approach forward to other services. For instance, the Navy and Coast Guard can get the inventories and maintenance, repair and overhaul together. “We can also involve the Central Armed Police Forces into whatever logistics and infrastructure (need to be) created,” he said.
General Chauhan said there are “hundreds of things where we can actually help the government to reduce costs”. “Because the cost of future wars is enormous, weapon systems and platforms are going to be very costly,” he said.
Noting that civil aviation is expanding, General Chauhan asked if it could have a military payoff. “We need to think on alternate ways of doings things. It has to be very practical and time bound,” he said.
Addressing the seminar, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) V.R. Chaudhari said WASP has refined the definition of scholar warriors. “A scholar warrior is a military professional who combines intellectual acumen with combat prowess in today’s increasingly complex and dynamic security environment,” he said.
Talking of India’s strategic culture, the Air Chief said it is shaped by historical experiences and the ever-evolving geopolitical environment. “It emphasises strategic autonomy, caution and a strong focus on territorial integrity,” he said.
This edition of WASP saw tri-services participation for the first time with 14 officers from IAF, two officers from the Navy, one from the Army and one civilian researcher. The graduates of the programme were awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Studies by Rashtriya Raksha University.
- Telegram
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