Modern Military Inventions

Modern Warfare 

The inventions during WW2  and the cold war mostly prepared the world for the next 50 years. The warfare which depended mostly on the numbers and techniques now no longer is a major factor.  The investment into making world class weapons is paying  US and Russia( Former Soviet Union) dividends even in the 21st century. Still to date the US and Russia dominate the arms suppliers market. The UK and France with their enormous colonial empire had their expertise in various defence fields that they still enjoy. Being an American ally also helped them develop their military technology.

Big countries like India and China lost that game badly by being a western colony and lost the

opportunity to dominate the market. But after the 80s China started their aggressive approach

into bringing back their lost glory and restored the empire and the  might that they once had.

Now India being one of the top 5 economies in the world still lacks indigenous capability in

most military technology and is mostly dependent on Russia, US, France and Israel for its

demands. In modern warfare not having indigenous military tech will hurt the vulnerable

country in the long run.

That is exactly why India needs to up the game. And it's not just about the fact that it is India.

India has the largest demand globally as of now. And the defence requirements are only going

to grow. That is why the opportunity in defence is huge. And the recent reforms by the

government welcomes the private players into the market. This not only gives opportunity for

more indigenous private participation but also gives the already well established defence firms

around the world a bigger platform. 

Modern warfare is not just about numbers but also about terrain , individual soldier skills and

robots. Yes you heard it right! The future wars won’t restrict itself to gunpowder and artillery.

Nor will it extend towards nuclear warfare. All the countries are  aware about the devastating

effects of a nuclear war and no responsible country will resort to that. Then why do many

countries including India still maintain a significant number of nuclear warheads? Is it mostly a

demonstration of power that sends a clear message that a nuclear armed conflict with us won't

yield any result and it brings only destruction and takes the country 100 years backwards.

So these nuclear weapons are like FDs which ensures that the conflict between countries

doesn't escalate. But still there is no guarantee that nuclear war is evitable in the worst case

scenario.

Then how does modern warfare evolve? It is mostly a proxy. The best example is Pakistan

funding terror groups and inciting them against India. This is example is widely accepted

around the world as terror proxy. China does their proxy war by their economic debt trap.

Russia indulges in proxy war in a lot of ways too. All around the world countries indulge in

proxy wars to show their dominance over a certain aspect. So far the USA is the only country

to have completely won their proxy and has established their hegemony for some decades.

So as a fastest developing country and an aspiring global power, where do you see India in

this picture? India has always been either a victim or has stayed neutral regarding this

throughout history. But to remain neutral and to protect itself from being a victim yet another

time she needs improvement in all aspects of defence.

The changes include purchasing and upgrading military equipment to making sure that

cyberspace is clear from hackers and social media is free from misinformation. Modern

warfare includes the protection of critical infrastructure and strategic equipment. Since the

age old war of blood and battlefield proves to be a costly affair, countries try to avoid it mostly.

And especially countries like India which is focused on improving the economy would seldom

want to be a part of a war. In fact the continued wars that we fought was the main reason why

India couldn’t scale its potential.

So does that mean we should just not take care of the military equipment and its upgrade?

Absolutely not! Any military, here the 4th largest military in the world, should definitely find

ways to replace the Russian dependency on the missile defence system. Thanks to

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam India emerged a reckonable force in missile technology. But it's still far

behind when it comes to submarines, especially nuclear submarines. Till date India is mostly

dependent on Russia USA UK and France to improve its submarine systems. Even small

countries manage to build one on their own and with the amount of talent India has

manufacturing these should not be a problem, but it is. The destroyers frigates are not

completely indigenous either. These destroyers and frigates are the first warships that guard

the seas apart from the basic coast guard ships during the war like situation. And that’s the

exact reason why engineers should create solutions that are defence centric too.

When it comes to aircrafts, helicopters and carriers, India again lags behind. The fighter jets

like Rafale mirage which are french made and Sukhoi MIg fighter which are russian made

are widely under use by the Indian air force. The market share that Indian manufacturers can

capture is almost 100% and aircrafts like Tejas are already on the right track. It is unrealistic

for new startups to create military aircrafts but our studies and courses can be made defence

specific in the future. It is said that Tejas Mk2 and the variants are equally better to other world

class aircrafts and in next 10 years we can see a better approach to indigenous tech.

Even though I have taken the Indian example of modern warfare things can be a lot worse or

simple in other parts of the world. Today the race for hypersonic missiles has already started

with India, Russia, China and USA. And to till date a proper defence system is not available to

counter these . So this tech could prove to be a gamechanger for any country who masters it. 

Rocket force and anti satellite systems are going to be more dangerous compared to artillery.

Oil is the new data and any threat to that can compromise the battle too.

Today’s war is complicated! It is not a simple gun and strategy battle. It is a battle between

tech, information, psychology and military might. A complete overall development is required

to tackle any adversary. And the transition from manned approach to unmanned approach in

the form of drones and Ai make the battle more sophisticated. As a matter of fact Israel leads

in the front in that field. They have proven tested capabilities when it comes to Ai and drone

tech. India is yet to establish itself as a strong military player. And It is not bound to happen

without a nationlistic approach towards it.

If so many things are involved and if most wars are going to be as complicated as it may

sound then why do you and I have to invest ourselves into these fields. Is it just because the

market is lucrative? Do you think all these developments are just trading money for blood?

A definite no! When wars become more complicated and if thousands of factors are involved,

results become unpredictable. The cost and sacrifice might sound too costly compared to the

worth of what is achieved. That thought will slowly create doubt in the minds of people and the

question would be- was it all worth it? And if the answer is no, that leads to peace. This

psychological aspect is what makes me want to involve more youth in this field to progress, to

develop and all of it not to kill but to protect.