Parwinder Sandhu
New Delhi, Nov 12 (UNI) Describing Ukraine as a “living lab” of modern warfare, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi said the Indian Armed Forces are actively integrating key tactical and technological lessons from the ongoing conflict to enhance combat preparedness and strategic resilience.
Speaking at the Delhi Defence Dialogue, held at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, here today, the Army Chief said that India is shaping its preparedness along the borders after drawing lessons from the Ukrainian conflict.
“We are watching closely the Ukrainian battlefields because it is the living lab in terms of the conditions that we are having along our borders,” he said, adding, “Drones are stalking the armoured columns, EW is jamming the radios, precision fires are reaching much beyond 100 km range, info-campaigns win wars even before a single shell lands.”
Referring to the ongoing “battle of narratives” seen during the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the Army Chief emphasized the growing importance of information warfare in shaping perceptions. “If the battle of narrative is, let’s say, the Western world and Russia is getting isolated, it does not mean that Russia is not winning the war or Ukraine is not winning the war. So, you are not always getting the correct picture,” he said.
Further, stressing the need for self-reliance, General Dwivedi said, “The duration of war, which I have said earlier also, it is 4 days, 4 months or 4 years, we don’t know. So, what does it involve? It involves basically that aatmanirbharta and capability to produce and also a kind of capability to export, is something important. And what we have realised majorly that earlier we used to say, just in time, just in place and only optimise resources. Gone are those days. We must have a surplus. Therefore, whatever resource can be of dual use, that is something which should be given, primary importance.”
