All the stakeholders—the armed forces, public and private sectors—need to come together and grow in a symbiotic relationship to strengthen the nation and achieve self-reliance

The defence modernisation process of the Indian armed forces involves some very crucial technological and doctrinal challenges. The fundamental issue that always crops up when modernisation of the armed forces is discussed is—Does doctrine drive technology or it is the other way round? What it means is that do we conduct military operations with what we get or what is available or do we demand technology to facilitate the way we fight. Ideally it ought to be a doctrine that dictates the direction of research and development (R&D). A desired concept of operation or a perceived gap in capability is identified by military planners that require a technological solution. This in turn becomes the subject of design and development. A product is then designed, manufactured and inducted. But that’s not how it usually happens. For this to happen, the country needs a very robust and indigenous technological base to develop core competencies in many complex technologies. Currently, our defence research, design and development is limited and is only adequate for licence manufacture and joint ventures. What is manufactured is only by defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) with very little or no contribution from the private sector.

No nation can be a major power without three attributes:

• A high level of autonomous and innovative technological capability.
• A capacity to meet basic defence needs indigenously.
• Capability to project power (hard/soft) far beyond its borders.

This comes at a cost, and therefore, keeping costs to the nation in mind, the armed forces must seek cost-effective solutions to enhance their combat edge and technological superiority. Notwithstanding the perceived financial downturn, defence technologies are of an enduring nature and will continue to be in the forefront, since they are so deeply embedded and integral to our national security requirements, both in peace and war. The good news is that the environment for growth of defence industry in India is indeed very bright and conducive. The new government policy as laid down in DPP-2011permits offsets on defence contracts, to be utilised even in non-defence sectors. This leverage given to the aerospace sector would greatly benefit and encourage the private sector for greater participation. There is a demand and there is capability in the private sector—the ingredients necessary for catalysing growth.

Our nation has a large pool of immensely talented scientists and we need to leverage this resource for achieving self-reliance at the desired pace. Our armed forces seek to harness the capabilities of space, cyberspace, smart weapons and other cutting-edge technologies. These are areas, where opportunity beckons and the armed forces look forward to the best minds in the country taking up the challenge and providing them with breakthrough defence technologies. A very unique characteristic that exemplifies the nature of technology today is the rate of change. Shelf lives of existing technologies are becoming shorter and are being overtaken by newer technologies at a breath-taking pace. This has a direct implication in the modernisation process. The development cycle of a product from the design to operationalisation stage has to reduce; otherwise the equipment has the risk of becoming obsolete in its entirety. This certainly must not happen, given the security scenario which obtains in the neighbourhood. The question that now remains to be answered is what should be done? There is a need to identify core technologies that need to be developed and they must be aggressively designed and manufactured. If this is not done in time, we run the risk of being saddled with investments outside the country that do not add value to our existing state and deny us the opportunity to be self-reliant. There is a need to collectively bring focus into our design and development activities. We must not attempt to do everything. In the modern competitive environment, such a practice is simply not cost-effective and nations the world over are learning from the benefits of collaboration. We must therefore, identify zones of technology that need to be developed, and thereafter concentrate on these niche capabilities through joint ventures and partnerships.