00:00During Operation Sindur, on 10th of May, Pakistan had used unarmed drones and loiterer amnisons.
00:06None of them actually could inflict any damage to Indian military or civil infrastructure.
00:10Most of them were utilized through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means.
00:16And some of them, in fact, could be recovered in almost intact conditions.
00:20Today, we'll be talking about drones and counter-US systems.
00:25You know, throughout history, if you look, we have witnessed evolutionary as well as revolutionary changes in warfare.
00:33And that has transformed the kind of battles we fight.
00:37Change is either evolutionary, something like, you know, Charles Darwin spoke about, you know, natural selection.
00:44Gradually, it happens over a period of time.
00:47And then there's a revolutionary change, which happens all of a sudden.
00:50Something like an ice age which comes.
00:52And people who are not adapted to it or are not used to that particular environment, they go kind of extinct.
01:01So evolutionary changes have made weapons and warfighting equipment, you know, smaller, faster, lighter, more efficient, more affordable.
01:11Long back, we had rifles which were much weighty, but they were large length.
01:17We have now shorter, lighter rifles, longer ranges, much more cheaper.
01:23We can fight at night, we can fire them at night.
01:26Similarly, for tanks and aircrafts, we made them affordable.
01:29They're lighter, yet they maneuver very fast and they afford more protection.
01:33It's similar for even, say, explosives.
01:36We started with gun cotton, then probably TNT, RDX, today HMX.
01:41So in that same weight, you can get more explosive power.
01:44These are kind of evolutionary changes.
01:47They happen gradually over a period of time.
01:49On the other hand, revolutionary changes, they impact the very character of war.
01:54Necessitating organizational, doctrinal, functional, structural kind of changes.
01:58And they need new ideas, innovations, imagination and new kind of thoughts.
02:04So advances in, say, this all has happened and this has introduced those three revolutions
02:11in military affairs, which I've been talking about in large number of seminars and talks.
02:15And first, as Jali speak about, the first revolution in military affairs due to advances in surface mobility
02:21and aerial mobility.
02:24And that changes the way we used to fight.
02:27And second was, second revolution in military affairs was basically due to advances in communication
02:32and ICT technology, which again, network people, you could take faster decisions.
02:38And we always say that we are at cusp of a third revolution, which is being introduced
02:42for a data-centric kind of warfare because the advances in artificial intelligence, machine
02:46learning, data analytics and all.
02:48So these are kind of revolutionary changes.
02:51So when we talk about drones, what do you think these are?
02:55They are introducing kind of evolutionary change or a revolutionary change in warfare.
03:01I think their development is kind of evolutionary, but their employment has been very, very evolutionary
03:09as far as warfare is concerned.
03:11Initially, there was, the development was for small applications, limited ranges, restricted
03:17payloads.
03:18As the realization of the scope of deployment, utility and success increased, army started using
03:24drones in a revolutionary kind of warfare.
03:26And you've seen this in number of wars which have been fought by us.
03:31Their utility grew many folds from being simple means of transportation, photography or videography
03:37to becoming cost-effective force multipliers for modern warfare.
03:41Their unbridled and rampant use in modern day conflicts proved not only their utility, but
03:46also their ubiquity.
03:50Their augmented, they augment manned systems and enable militaries to conduct simultaneous operations
03:56across multiple domains with fewer resources and minimal danger to human lives.
04:02If you see a human being, means our cognitive thinking, we have always looked or preferred things
04:10which are, you know, you could say faster, bigger, more sophisticated, more costly.
04:16We think that these are systems which are far better.
04:18Even if you look at the motto of Olympics which says, you know, side tiers, elite tiers,
04:25four tiers, which means faster, higher, stronger.
04:27It's in our DNA, it's in our system that we think that this is better.
04:31But look at a drone, which is the antithesis of what we are thinking.
04:34It's smaller, unimaginative, very, very clumsy.
04:38Most of them, these drones are not even aerodynamic.
04:40They're cheaper, they make a lot of noise.
04:43And yet, they're effective and they're unsophisticated, inexpensive.
04:48I think this is their USP, that it is beyond the conventional thinking.
04:54It beats conventional thinking.
04:55So, this, I think, is very, very important.
04:58So, let's look at unarmed aerial vehicles.
05:01That includes drones from a factual and perceptual viewpoint.
05:06Factually, drones are a proven reality.
05:09We know that.
05:09Their widespread utility in recent conflicts demonstrate how drones can shift tactical balance
05:15disproportionately to their size or price.
05:18It's factual because the government of applications of US in modern warfare is challenging traditional ideas
05:26about air superiority, ground maneuver, and force protection.
05:31Some tactics, autonomous and intelligent operations, MUMT, asymmetric drone warfare,
05:37are making large platforms vulnerable and driving militaries to rethink the conceptual aspects
05:44of air doctrines, development of a counter-US system, and adaptive rules of engagement.
05:51So, in the conceptual realm, if you look, you know, we always thought that airspace was one.
05:57It was kind of indivisible.
05:59And it's there where manned aircrafts traditionally dominated battlefields.
06:05So, this used to be there till about 18 kilometers or 60,000 feet or so.
06:10But the introduction of, say, ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, that is, cruise as well as glide,
06:17has opened up that upper space, and we always say that today airspace also includes near space.
06:23So, that's one way.
06:24But you look at the bottom side of it, at the lowest space, which is below 50.
06:28Now, this is getting congested as this requires a special kind of a treatment and understanding
06:33because this is where most of the combat is taking place when we talk about these drones.
06:39So, the need of the R is to develop capabilities to harness this lower airspace gainfully through
06:46utilization of force multipliers like US systems, and at the same time, dissuade the adversary
06:52from doing so by developing a robust counter-US systems.
06:57During Operation Sindhuur, on 10th of May, Pakistan had used unarmed drones and Lord Ram missions.
07:03None of them actually could inflict any damage to Indian military or civil infrastructure.
07:07Most of them were utilized through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means, and some
07:14of them, in fact, could be recovered in almost intact conditions.
07:18We need to focus on combat in future in this particular lower airspace.
07:24The ability to use LEO satellites for control of US's enhanced communication and navigation
07:30services and increase the range and functionality of drones manifold.
07:34Conventional roles that work on principles of line-of-sight data link are limited in range
07:40and capabilities.
07:41Let's now talk about counter-US system and counter-US grid.
07:47As drones and autonomous systems become the choice of weapons for targeting, developing counter-US
07:52systems to protect critical infrastructure and military assets assumes importance.
07:58Counter-US operations are extremely complicated, detecting, identifying, tracking, and neutralizing
08:05drones involves creation of a counter-US grid that must be capable of integrating and networking
08:11multiple technologies such as radars, sensors, jammers, as well as directed energy weapons.
08:17The effectiveness of this architecture will hinge upon seamless coordination and integration
08:23across air defense networks, civil aviation, regulators, and local command and control structures
08:30to avoid gaps, faticides, and operational blind spots.
08:33The modern counter-US grid is not only about technology, it's about fusing disparate assets into a resilient,
08:41adaptive ecosystem that can dynamically respond to the evolving aerial threats in a contested lower airspace.
08:48Let's switch on to Atmir Bharta of both these drones and counter-US systems.
08:54Operation Shinzoor has showed us as to why
08:57indignously developed counter-US systems and counter-US systems built for our terrain and our needs
09:04are crucial. We cannot rely on imported niche technology that are crucial for our offensive and
09:10defensive missions. We must invent and build and safeguard ourselves. Dependence on foreign technologies
09:18weakens our preparedness, limits our ability to scale up production, results in shortfall of critical
09:23spares for sustenance and round-the-clock availability. Another important aspect of this capability is that
09:29foreign weapons and sensors, their capabilities are known to all and adversaries can predict our tactics
09:35and doctoral concepts based on the capabilities of this particular system. So you may have today on very
09:41modern aircrafts, air-to-air missiles, so say ranges are known to us, so are they known to the adversaries also,
09:47and the moment if they are imported then obviously the adversary can keep out of those ranges and
09:53develop tactics accordingly. So this becomes a severe limitation but if you are developing systems
09:58with your own, their capabilities are not known to the enemy and that may add an element of surprise when
10:05actually you are in face to face in some the initial encounters at least. So when we design, make and
10:11innovate at home, we secure our secrets, cut costs, retain the initiative to scale up production and maintain
10:17around-the-clock readiness. Our Honorable Raksha Mantri has rightly said that at-pris-bhartha is not a choice,
10:24it's part of a duty. In warfare, you cannot win with yesterday's weapon systems in today's warfare. In fact,
10:31today's warfare has to be fought with tomorrow's technology and happy to note that this workshop is
10:36deliberating on crucial issues for indonization and improvement in existing US and counter US capabilities.
10:44I would like all of you during the day's deliberation to focus on a few things. First,
10:49I think is increased impetus on defense R&D to deliver next generation of solutions.
10:56Then encourage modular, upgradable design so that new technology payloads, AI modules, EW technology can be
11:04integrated quickly. Develop standardized open architecture for plug and play modules for effective
11:10counter US both for kinetic and non-kinetic systems. Fifthly, create counter US system testbeds for
11:17startups and DRDO. Sixthly, invest in secure sovereign software stacks for UV control and anti-jamming.
11:25Seventhly, we could focus on stealth and next generation of UVs. And last and not the least,
11:31develop a long-term vision roadmap for swan drones, drone carriers, MU-MT, direct energy weapons,
11:37artificial intelligence part, counter US systems, etc. Towards the conclusion, I would say that this
11:44one-day workshop being organized by the Office of Scientific Advisor to SISC in collaboration with
11:50Senjos is a must-needed step towards evolving strategy to make India self-reliant and future-ready
11:56in counter US and US technologies. I'm also very happy to note that the exhibition is being organized
12:02on the sidelines of this workshop to provide an opportunity to the industries to showcase their
12:07products to the users. I wish all the participants, speakers, organizers the very best for an unprecedented
12:14success for the workshop come exhibition and look forward to a feedback to institute further and
12:20necessary improvements. At the end, I will have a small little submission. This first particular session,
12:26I believe, can be renamed as Challenges in Indonization of UV components rather than talking about problems
12:33envisaged by users to the use of imported components in the UV. That would not be a correct
12:39kind of a message. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for a very, very patient hearing. Thank you.
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