How Indian Army is modernising to become a future-ready force – Firstpost

The Indian Army is transforming its operational capabilities by integrating advanced technologies to dominate future battlefields. Mechanised forces equipped with state-of-the-art tanks and platforms, swarm drones for coordinated attacks, modern artillery for precision strikes and lethal infantry units are redefining warfare.

With cutting-edge innovations like AI-driven decision-making, advanced communications and all-terrain capabilities, the Army ensures rapid, informed actions. Aligned with the vision of a “Viksit Bharat,” the Army aims to play a pivotal role in shaping a secure, prosperous, and globally influential India. The theme of “modernisation for a future-ready force” encapsulates this transformation, guided by the principles of self-reliance, cutting-edge technology, and strategic integration.

Viksit Bharat Mission And Strategic Guidance

Viksit Bharat@2047 envisions a developed India by the centenary of independence, focusing on inclusive development, sustainable progress, and effective governance, with youth playing a central role. Its strategic guidance rests on the pillars of atmanirbharta (self-reliance), safe and settled borders, modernisation of security forces, proactive shaping of global commons and nation-building in the spirit of “nation above all”. For the Indian Army, this translates into a comprehensive roadmap for modernisation and integration with national aspirations.

The Indian Army’s Vision 2047 is to transform into a modern, agile, adaptive, technology-enabled, and self-reliant future-ready force, capable of deterring and winning wars in a multi-domain environment across the full spectrum of operations, to safeguard national interests in synergy with other services.

The ‘Decade Of Transformation’: 2023-2032

It is imperative for the Indian Army to fully align with national goals while continuously evolving to remain formidable, relevant, and prepared for any operational contingency. In pursuit of these objectives, the Indian Army is observing 2023–2032 as the ‘Decade of Transformation’ and has designated 2024–25 as the ‘Years of Technology Absorption’ to pave the way for becoming a future-ready, technology-driven, lethal, and agile force.

The Transformation Roadmap Focuses On:

Force Structuring and Transformation: Building an efficient, combat-ready force.
Modernisation and Technology Induction: Prioritising cutting-edge technologies.
Jointness and Integration: Enhancing tri-service synergy through theatre commands.
Multi-Domain Operational Capability: Preparing for complex and evolving threats.
Infrastructure Development: Strengthening operational readiness.
Human Resource Development: Fostering a skilled and motivated workforce.
Atmanirbharta: Promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing and technology.

2025: The ‘Year of Reforms’

The Defence Ministry’s decision to declare 2025 as the ‘Year of Reforms’ marks a pivotal step towards transforming the Armed Forces into a technologically advanced combat-ready force, capable of multi-domain integrated operations. As per the statement of the Defence Minister, “It will lay the foundation for unprecedented advancements in defence preparedness, ensuring India’s security & sovereignty amidst challenges of 21st century.”

This initiative aligns with the Defence Ministry’s nine-point reform agenda with 2025 designated as the ‘Year of Reforms’, and entails:

To further bolster Jointness & Integration initiatives and facilitate the establishment of the Integrated Theatre Commands.
Focus on new domains such as cyber and space, and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Hypersonics and Robotics. Associated tactics, techniques and procedures required to win future wars should also be developed.
Develop a shared understanding of operational requirements and joint operational capabilities through inter-service cooperation & training.
Simplify acquisition procedures to make them time-sensitive, facilitating swifter and more robust capability development.
Facilitate technology transfer and knowledge sharing between the defence sector and civil industries, and promoting public-private partnerships by improving ease of doing business.
Focus on collaboration across various stakeholders in the defence ecosystem. Breaking silos. Effective civil-military coordination should aim to eliminate inefficiencies and optimise resources.
Position India as a credible exporter of defence products, fostering R&D and partnerships between Indian industries and foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for knowledge sharing & resource integration.
Ensuring the welfare of veterans while leveraging their expertise. Efforts will be made towards optimisation of welfare measures for veterans.
Instilling a sense of pride in Indian culture and ideas, fostering confidence in achieving global standards through indigenous capabilities, while imbibing best practices from modern militaries that suit the nation’s conditions.

Challenges In Achieving Modernisation

While the Indian Army is on a transformative path, challenges persist:

External and Internal Threats: Increasing security challenges necessitate adaptive strategies, internal restructuring, doctrine reorientation, responsive training and empowered HR. Unfortunately, the military world over is conservative by nature and guilty of preparing not only for the last war but often for the wrong one. The simple truth is warfare evolves faster than war fighters do.
Reorientation to Multi-Domain Conflict: Multi-domain high-tech operations will require multi-skilling and multi-competencies to prevail in a future conflict. The art of war will need to be elevated along with the science of war. Further self-sufficiency and self-reliance for desired war stamina is an imperative.
Reformed Professional Military Education (PME): It is a strategic military necessity that contributes to stable civil-military relations, a culture of thought leadership, joint operational ethos and a capacity for critical analysis which is the conceptual link between military education and military effectiveness. PME must result in creating and nurturing strategically minded intellectual warriors who demonstrate critical thinking, creative skills and technology adaption embedded in ethical military character to optimise joint force combat effectiveness in future battle space.
Defence Budget Constraints: Financial limitations impact the modernisation pace. It requires both defence reforms and matching allocation. The need is to establish a dedicated, non-lapsable fund called the Modernisation Fund for Defense and Internal Security (MFDIS), to address the issue of optimal utilisation peculiar to defence procurement. Also, the separate budget provision for ‘domestic capital procurement’ be followed up by a roll-on appendage.
Defence Procurement and Long Procurement Cycles: Delay in acquiring advanced technologies hinders operational readiness. The bureaucratic process acts as the kill chain between policies and outcomes. To make defence procurement a pragmatic business model, it must be based on risk sharing and gain sharing. Minimum assured quality and continuity of orders for a sustainable business model is required. The unpredictability and uncertainty of the commitment, policy and frequent changes of the proposal are inhibitors. Price variable costs and payment delays need to be addressed too. Finally, the success of the defence ecosystem will lie in the integration and proliferation of startups.
Atmanirbhar Bharat Must Go Beyond Slogans: The defence industrial base must evolve to sustain future wars with the desired indigenous stamina. Import substitution must be followed by a progressive reduction of the import component. This must be clearly defined and verified in terms of indigenous content (cost, subassemblies, design, and raw materials) by an independent verification agency, including IPR holdings (both foreground and background).
Technological Gaps: Bridging the divide between existing and emerging capabilities. Technology must occupy a critical space in defence budgeting, but it must be complemented by technology absorption, adaptation, and exploitation by the services. This requires reforming human capital, doctrines, and structures to effectively exploit technology induction.

Technological Modernisation: Bridging The Gap

To achieve a future-ready force, the Indian Army is focusing on several key technology domains:

Non-Kinetic Warfare (NKW):

Enhancing electronic warfare (EW) systems with AI-driven capabilities.
Building offensive and defensive cyber capabilities.
Developing directed energy weapons (DEWs) for tactical and strategic applications.

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR):

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Drone Warfare:

Tri-Service Networking and Data Integration:

Creating a centralised, AI-enhanced platform for joint operations.
Developing interconnected systems for seamless battlefield connectivity.

Space Capabilities:

Expanding satellite constellations for ISR, communication, and missile tracking.
Strengthening anti-satellite capabilities and space-based early warning systems.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Air and Missile Defence:

Towards A Future-Ready Force

As the Indian Army celebrates Army Day 2025, it stands on the brink of major transformation and modernisation, including technology induction for future wars. The goal of becoming a modern, adaptive, and tech-savvy force is not just a dream but an imperative in today’s world, where technology is fast overtaking warfare and warfighters, and multi-domain security threats are becoming more complex and ambiguous.

This transformation will require not just technological innovation, but also a commitment to rethinking force restructuring, HR reorientation, adaptive training and tactics, and equipping, to become a future-ready force.

The author is former Director General, Mechanised Forces. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.

Source link