Significance of Science and Technology Base in Strategic Decisions

“A nation has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests”
– Henry Kissinger

A country has every right to choose friends but has to live with neighbours. For India, defending its frontiers is a daunting task given that it shares 15,200km of its border with its neighbours and has a 7,500 km-long coastline. To further complicate matters, all its neighbours are either hostile or turbulent: Pakistan switches between dictatorship and democracy and considers India its arch-rival; communist China has huge military ambitions in South Asia; Nepal and Bangladesh have turbulent political conditions; and Sri Lanka differs on Tamilian issues. The maintenance of stability, the free flow of commerce, and Indian influence in this dynamic region will depend on the underlying balance of military capability and presence. Further, the global security environment presents an increasingly complex set of challenges and opportunities. Strategic decisions taken will define India’s place in the world, in general, and its neighbourhood in particular. A lack of defence technology can force it to make uncomfortable decisions and go begging for technologically advanced nations to be its allies.

Modern Warfare is a Competition of Advanced Technologies

National defence S&T represent a nation’s economic and technological power and are important pillars of comprehensive national power. During peace, world competition is in S&T for gaining the strategic initiative. The world’s technologically advanced countries place an extra premium on home-grown technologies and platforms, even at the cost of price and performance. All major powers maintain R&D capabilities to avoid being caught without any countermeasures and outwitted technologically by adversaries. Nations that effectively harness sophisticated technology will surpass others and gain potential victories against numerically superior enemies.

Science & Technology in Indian Strategic Context

Self-reliance has at its core our ability to define those strategic and critical areas in which the development of national capability is a must. We must pursue this goal with determination and a long-term perspective.

                         – Dr. Manmohan Singh

Over the years, in a globalised world order and changing geopolitical scenario, DRDO has adapted to these developments, aiming to establish self-reliance in defence technologies. It’s imperative to self-develop critical defence technologies because it provides immunity against technology denials, enables the pursuit of an independent foreign policy, and boosts economic development. A technologically self-reliant India can decide to provide allies like Nepal and Afghanistan with advanced battle hardware and train them rather than send troops.

The 1998 nuclear explosions changed the sub-continental strategic scenario. As long as nuclear weapons exist, India needs to maintain a safe and effective arsenal for credible deterrence. The successful trial of the nuclear submarine provided the third and final component of the nuclear triad, giving India the much-needed second-strike capability.

India is facing Pakistan waged proxy war and the Maoist menace. India can decide to deploy guided munitions, effective surveillance, and UAVs to perform surgical operations without involving men. Indian territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles and the EEZ upto 23,00,000km². It has developed de-miners, torpedoes, and submarines to defend its interests and ensure the safe passage of allied ships in its backwaters against pirates and hostile nations, thus enhancing India’s importance in the Indian Ocean.

The Future

The future should focus on stealth aircraft, ICBMs, nuclear weapons, offensive-defensive IT, space warfare, and maritime warfare. India should rapidly develop space technology, not only to counter the destruction of its space installations but also to cause destruction if needed. Critical missile technologies like navigation and re-entry will never be available from abroad and need to be developed indigenously. The strong technology base should facilitate collaboration with military giants like Russia (Brahmos and fifth-gen aircraft), Israel (Barak-II missile), etc.

Conclusion

India faces profound strategic challenges that require agile and capable military technologies. The technology base leads to highly effective weapon systems that win wars, without relying on other countries’ technology plans and weapon concepts. In the end, it can be concluded that:

“The more you sweat in research, The less you will bleed in war”