Latest news with #MMNaravane
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Defence spending is not a waste, it is insurance against war: Former Army chief
Pune: Former Army Chief General M M Naravane on Monday underlined the critical importance of sustained defence spending and dismissed perceptions that money allocated for national security is a "wasteful expenditure". "Defence preparedness does not come cheap. It comes at a cost. Many times, people wonder — can't we do without it? After all, at the cost of one Rafale aircraft, you can build 20 schools and run them for a year. But the defence of a country cannot be outsourced. It is the govt's primary responsibility," Gen Naravane said while addressing a gathering during the launch of his book 'Cantonment Conspiracy' at the Ramchandran International Institute of Management in Baner. Drawing a parallel with personal insurance, the former chief of Army staff said defence spending should be seen as a premium to ensure safety. "Unlike insurance, which comes into play after an incident, defence preparedness prevents an incident — prevents a war — from happening. If you look weak or seem weak, your adversaries will exploit it," he said. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Gold Rates Today in Pune | Silver Rates Today in Pune Naravane cited Ukraine as a cautionary tale, stressing that neglect of military preparedness can prove disastrous. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Health and comfort: the comfiest slip-on shoes of the year Ultra-Comfortable Shoes Undo "Ukraine neglected its defence. As they were seen as weak, Russia thought it could take advantage. Within a year of the 2022 invasion, a World Bank report estimated reconstruction costs at $400bn. If they had spent even a fraction of that on defence earlier, they may not have faced this situation." While govts must balance priorities like education, healthcare and infrastructure, adequate defence allocation is indispensable, he added. "You can outsource the security of a campus, not the security of a country. The more threats, the more you will have to spend. It is not a waste; it is a worthwhile investment to prevent conflict. Therefore, defence expenditure should not be seen as preparing for war, but as ensuring that a war is never forced upon the nation. " The former COAS said inimical powers will try to divide us on grounds of religion and caste, and we have nothing in common with each other. "National security is not just about the armed forces. National security has many facets, including food security, energy security, water security, and health security," he said. India needs to be prepared with a policy and strategy on US tariffs to deal with any situation that may arise due to the global geopolitical situation, said the former COAS. US President Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariff on Indian exports — higher than rivals — and proposed to slap secondary sanctions, resulting in 50% tariff, citing India's purchase of arms and oil from Russia. Uncertainty persists over the fate of additional tariff on Indian exports to the US after Trump's recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The meeting has very mixed outcomes. European countries are not happy with what they think may have transpired behind closed doors. We do not know what has happened," he said. European leaders, such as the prime ministers of the UK and Italy, are concerned that there should not be a backdoor, under-the-carpet deal between US and Russia, he added. India has always said disputes should be resolved through dialogue and discussions, not through force, Gen Naravane added. "This is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying this is not an era of war. It is preferable to resolve disputes through discussions, and war should be the last resort." he said. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Time to transform to military theatre commands: Former Indian Army General
General M M Naravane (retired) emphasises the importance of military theatres in India. M M Naravane Listen to This Article The post of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was formally created in December 2019, with the appointment of General Bipin Rawat as the first CDS. The necessity of a CDS had been first mooted as a recommendation of the Kargil Review Committee led by K Subrahmanyam after the 1999 Kargil War to address the issue of the lack of jointness among the three Services. Subsequently, in 2001, a Group of Ministers report reiterated the need for a CDS to ensure better coordination and integration among the armed forces. However, this major reform was kept in abeyance by successive governments
Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Drone warfare came home during Op Sindoor. Where does India stand?
On July 1, 2021, then Army Chief General M M Naravane had warned: 'While we pursue our quest for niche technologies, including AI, it would be prudent to remember that future wars will also involve low technology, which is easy to obtain but difficult to defeat.' These words ring truer than ever in the context of two recent events. On June 1, Ukraine bombed five airbases deep inside Russia using cheap First Person View (FPV) drones, underlining the need to fundamentally reimagine air defences in the age of asymmetric drone warfare. Weeks earlier in May, during the hostilities in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Pakistan had attacked towns and military facilities across India's western front, from Baramulla to Barmer, with swarm after swarm of relatively low cost, low tech drones for four straight days. Apart from inflicting damage, these attacks were meant to overwhelm India's air defences, clutter radars, exhaust ammunition, gather intelligence, and probe for vulnerabilities. Drones, a brief history Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) date back to World War II and the Korean War, where they were used for training anti-aircraft gunners and in specific offensive missions. Their modern military usage took off in the 1990s, after being successfully deployed in the Gulf War of 1991. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 2020 marked a turning point in drone warfare: Azerbaijan's use of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Israeli Harop drones devastated Armenian defences, decisively shifting the conflict's dynamics in favour of Baku. 🔴 Yemen, where Houthi rebels targeted Saudi oil infrastructure using drone swarms; 🔴 Gaza, where Israel has deployed high-tech drones for surveillance and strikes, and Hamas has used drones for grenades and observation; and 🔴 Ukraine, where both Moscow and Kyiv have deployed commercial quadcopters (DJI drones), military drones (Bayraktar TB2, Orlan-10, Shahed-136), and loitering munitions. Ukraine has notably used 'first-person view' (FPV) racing drones to target tanks, chase individual soldiers and small units, and, most notably, bomb Russian air bases. On June 1, Ukraine carried out Operation Spider's Web, one of the most sophisticated drone operations in history, using 100–150 FPV drones, transported clandestinely in trucks deep into Russia. The target: five key Russian airfields. Ukrainian officials claim to have hit more than 40 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers like the Tu-22 and Tu-95, and inflicted losses of around $7 billion. Meanwhile, Russia throughout the war has used Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones in swarms to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, and target critical infrastructure such as energy grids. Not one, not two… Swarm drones are autonomous or semi-autonomous UAVs that operate in coordinated groups, much like swarms of birds or fish. They communicate via wireless networks and adjust in real time to achieve shared objectives. Swarms are more resilient than traditional drones due to in-built redundancy — even if one drone is intercepted, others can continue on the mission. Drone swarms are thus used to saturate air defences (a few payloads may sneak through even robust defences), gathering intelligence, and attacking high-value targets. Countries are already developing even more lethal AI-driven swarm drones, capable of making real-time decisions, adapting tactics mid-mission, and coordinating more complex manoeuvres. These are expected to become integral to combined arms warfare, functioning alongside infantry, armour, and cyber units. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global military drone market stood at $14.14 billion in 2023, and is projected to hit $47.16 billion by 2032. Threat of swarms Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, in a lecture in Pune, flagged the rising drone threat: 'Now we have drones as small as water bottles — and in swarms,' he said, calling these 'undetectable' and 'untargetable'. Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), former head of the Centre for Air Power Studies, said that while drone swarms deployed by Pakistan were not particularly effective, the Ukraine example offers some major learnings. 'When you use very cheap drones that carry warheads barely weighing a kilo — like Pakistan did — nothing much happens. They're jammed easily… Only a fool would fire expensive missiles at them,' Chopra told The Indian Express. But swarm drone attacks can be carried out anywhere, and at any time. 'If someone moves a truck full of drones near an airbase and launches them [like in the case of Op Spider's Web], defending becomes very difficult. In countries like India, with porous borders and diverse populations, the threat is real,' he said. Chopra emphasised upon the need for integration across the security establishment. 'Your intelligence setup, even the local police, matter. Even a traffic constable could make a difference,' he said, adding that the success of the Ukraine op was predicated on Kyiv being able to transport its drones thousands of kilometres inside Russia undetected. 'Strategic thinking, inventory management — everything must evolve. A $1,000 drone damaging a $200 million aircraft is our new reality,' Chopra said. Countering drone threats Defence against drones begins with detection. Modern systems employ a mix of AESA radars, electro-optical and infrared sensors, acoustic detectors, and AI-powered fusion systems. Once detected, one option is for drones to be neutralised through kinetic means, that is, with missiles and anti-aircraft guns. But traditional kinetic air defences, especially surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), are costly, and less effective against swarms. Automated gun systems such as C-RAM and Phalanx, which track targets and fire autonomously, are preferred in this role. Even more cost-effective alternatives include: Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs): Lasers and microwave pulses that disable drones by damaging sensors or frying electronics; Electronic Warfare (EW): Jamming GPS signals or communication links; Spoofing: Misleading drones about their location or issuing false commands; Cyber Attacks: Taking control of drones and crash them by exploiting software vulnerabilities; and Interceptor drones & nets: For close-range neutralisation, protecting critical assets. The asymmetry in cost remains the central challenge in anti-drone warfare. A drone swarm costing roughly $100,000 might take millions of dollars to neutralise with currently available technology. This is why nations, including India, are investing in more cost-effective solutions like EW and DEWs. The ideal defence is a layered system, integrating multiple modes of interception for redundancy and cost-efficiency purposes. Examples include Israel's Iron Dome and the US's Directed Energy M-SHORAD. India's capabilities Since 2020, India has ramped up its counter-drone infrastructure, deploying a layered defence that blends indigenous technology, EW, and air defence systems. Key systems include: Akashteer Air Defence Control System: Developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd, it integrates with the Indian Air Force's integrated command network for real-time tracking; Bhargavastra: Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd's weapon system fires 64 micro-rockets in salvos to eliminate drone swarms; DRDO's Anti-Drone System: It offers 360-degree radar coverage, with both jamming (soft kill) and laser (hard kill) capabilities. Drones can be detected up to 4 km away, and neutralised within a 1 km radius; and Indrajaal: An AI-powered grid from a Hyderabad startup that combines jammers, spoofers, and intelligence to protect areas up to 4,000 sq km. Already deployed at naval sites in Gujarat and Karnataka. During the May 2025 swarm attacks, the IAF activated its Integrated Counter-UAS Grid, alongside conventional radars, guns, and missiles, neutralising attempted strikes on 15 military bases and several urban targets. Looking ahead There is currently a race to develop both drone and anti-drone capabilities. 'Even the Iranians are producing more than 20 Shahed drones per day. And these are powerful. India too has set up an ecosystem with 550 startups in the field. Some tech is acquired, but we're developing our own tech too,' Chopra said. The future of warfare is here, and it's unmanned, AI-driven and asymmetric. India's response to the May 2025 drone swarms signals it is rapidly adapting to this future. As CDS Chauhan put it: 'We are at a cusp where war may be between humans and machines — and tomorrow, between machines themselves. Machines that are autonomous, intelligent, and make decisions. We may need a layered and resilient defence system [to counter] this.' With inputs from Amrita Nayak Dutta
New Indian Express
08-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Lesson Learnt: Operation Sindoor a 'new normal', but resurgence possible
NEW DELHI: India's decisive multi-day joint military offensive -- 'Operation Sindoor' -- signals a fundamental doctrinal shift in how the country deals with cross-border terrorism. The strikes on nine high-value targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) between May 7 and May 10 were a direct retaliation to the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. While the mission was deemed successful in hitting terrorist infrastructure, defence experts say it's real significance lies in the message it sends and the evolving military strategy it represents. Former Indian Army Chief Gen. MM Naravane put it succinctly: 'While the military operations might have come to a stop, it is not a ceasefire.' The operations, though complete for now, are likely just a phase in an ongoing recalibration of India's security posture—one that experts believe marks a new normal, albeit with the caveat that future flare-ups remain a distinct possibility. Strategic targeting, symbolic messaging India has long maintained that it possesses irrefutable evidence of Pakistan's state-backed support for terrorism. Groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), both designated terror organisations, have been accused of receiving training, weapons, and financial support from Pakistani state actors. Operation Sindoor's target selection was deeply symbolic and strategically precise. The Indian Air Force and Army struck Bahawalpur and Muridke—respectively the headquarters of JeM and LeT—both located deep within Pakistan's territory. 'This operation has yet again reinforced that India will not spare the enemies of the Indian state,' General Naravane told TNIE. The strikes underscored a clear doctrinal message: geography is no longer a protective shield for those orchestrating terror attacks on Indian soil.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
India does not need a written National Security Strategy, structures are in place: CDS General Anil Chauhan
NEW DELHI: Dismissing the need for a written National Security Strategy, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan has said India has the requisite organisational structures, processes and policies in place to secure the nation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In his new book "Ready, Relevant and Resurgent: A Blueprint for the Transformation of India's Military", the CDS said strategic analysts and political pundits often state that India does not have a NSS. "That is incorrect and a myopic understanding of the issue. What we don't have is a written document called NSS, which is published periodically by Western nations," he said. Israel, the "most threatened nation on earth", does not have a written policy document or NSS. "On the contrary, Pakistan issued a written National Security Policy in 2022 and ran into economic problems, political instability, rift between the Armed Forces and the citizens and problems on its western borders," he added. Pakistan had the written document but lacked organisational structures, processes and policies to secure itself, the CDS said. In 2022, after retiring as Army chief, Gen M M Naravane had argued that India needed to have a NSS that lays down long-term national and geopolitical objectives in the face of myriad threats, stating it would be a folly to create theatre commands without a policy in place.
