Reorienting military to designer wars of future

Col Rajinder Singh (Retd.)
1971 War veteran

The Indian army is mulling about not only cutting down unwanted flab but create light weight mission oriented groups to fight the “Designer wars” of the future. This implies reducing teeth to tail ratio. Mission Oriented task forces (TFs), equivalent of hitherto known Brigades, will be commanded by Major Generals, who will directly report to the Corps HQ. 

The idea is to create lean and thin (LAT) Army to fight smart wars by smart soldiers with smart weapons. The battle field is now shifting to space, where smart weapons, operated by smart soldiers will dominate. Those who would dominate the Space and Seas (SaS) will become master of the universe. We are fast marching past the Information Age to enter the much awaited Cosmic Age. 

When the Syrian Airbase was struck last year by US-fired 59 Tom hawk missiles from two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea, the world saw the heralding of `Super Smart War’’ of the 21st Century. It testifies the old military saying that war in every age has its own form, weapons and dimensions. Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMA) have drastically changed the concept and nature of war in the 21st century. We are moving away   from "soldier -heavy -wars" to techno wars.  There would be no monkey dancing armies across enemy borders but remote controlled weapons zooming across the battlefields with no defined "fronts" and "Rears".

The future wars are going to be techno- smart wars of LAT Armies with "super smart soldiers", remotely handling "super smart weapons" of much greater ranges with precision guided accuracy and exhibiting deadly lethality. Enhanced range, deadly lethality and perfect accuracy not only lead to the rise of "Techno Smart Soldiers", who would be far away from the scene of physical objectives. Such Techno- Smart-wars would have no geographical limitation. Targets would not be only men and equipment in olive green but entire war making potential of the adversary, from unarmed civilians to industrial and economic hubs. Definition of combat zone will include warring nations or a whole group of nations engaged in military conflict. 

"Individualisation" of social systems (breaking up of families) would also have its tell- tale effect on individualisation of combat philosophies. The industrial age concept of mass production has given way to "de-massification" of production in a knowledge society, driven by technology. It would further lead to ``de- massification’’ of armies and make them lean and thin. As a result, ``customised soldiers’’ would dominate the future battle fields. They would be tailor made to suit the "customised Wars". And best example of this is the ``lone wolf soldiers" of terrorist organisations. 

"Lone wolf attacks" by ISIS has turned the whole world into a battle zone. Belgium, France, Germany, UK and recently Sweden have been seen these attacks. Even the US has witnessed this enemy attacking at will at various places. War has thus come at the doorstep of a common man. Soon these customised soldiers would engulf the whole world. 

Drone attacks by the US in Afghanistan and a recent missile attack on a Syrian Airbase have added new dimension to the conduct of the war in the 21st century. They are needed to tackle the "lone wolf factories" run by some nations. To fight such an enemy, one needs precision guided weapons with total accuracy to avoid collateral damage. Missiles, drones and WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) are going to play important role in such a future war, which would be less dependent upon human beings but technology. 

The three wings of the armed forces would have to undergo dynamic changes. Nations, aspiring to be world powers, would have to pay more attention to their navies. Domination of ocean not only provides alternative launch pads against your adversaries but it also provides flexibility in order to enhance the range, accuracy and lethality of your weapon systems. Thereafter, ``Space Armed Force’’ such as missiles / drone (erstwhile air-force), need to be given priority. In short, manned aircrafts and "dog battles" in the air will not be preferred mode of space wars. Interceptor missiles such as Barak and Patriot, capable of destroying incoming missiles and drones hundreds kms away will dominate future wars. Missile and space shield like S-400 would be the force multiplier of techno smart wars. 

Finally, the land forces would be more oriented towards sub- conventional warfare. Role of tanks and artillery guns would be limited to border management of war. Highly mobile but NBC protected mechanised vehicles would replace elephant - like heavy armoured vehicles In fact,  "Heptrised Force" may replace armoured or mechanised forces.

All this does not mean infantry would be redundant. You would require it to hold the ground to show occupation. Here Infantry might get involved in sub- conventional conflicts with defeated enemy. Infantry soldiers have to learn to be individualised.  

Future foot soldiers would be smart soldiers capable of taking on the "Lone wolves". They will be ``customised’’ to take on ``enemy’’ independently anywhere in the world. Covert operations would be the highlights of customized wars of the future. To sum up, customised wars of future would need smart soldiers and smart weapon systems. The Gulf Wars of 1991 and 2003 gave first glimpses of customised wars. Drone war in Afghanistan and Iraq has taken the story beyond the knowledge era to ``Cosmic Age’’. Space would be the new combat zone.