Defence Technology

In aerial warfare technology has progressed rapidly from the frail and flimsy machines seen in the air in the first half of the twentieth century. This monograph attempts to commence task of explaining stealth technology, looking at possible counters to stealth and discussing the ways in which stealth technology changes the conduct of aerial warfare.

The military applications of Virtual Reality include those relating to combat training and simulation.

Reluctance to embrace the revolution in open-source intelligence would limit the effectiveness of intelligence agencies in future conflicts.

Critical and Emerging Technologies have become essential components in the modern warfighting domain.

While India is establishing a strong aviation ecosystem by bringing together all stakeholders including the government, DPSUs, tri-services, academia and industry partners, it is believed that private Indian industries will be the crusaders for the government in defence production, particularly in the UAV vertical.

With a display of 1,000 indigenously produced swarm drones during the Beating Retreat, India would become the fourth nation to achieve such a feat, making it a front row actor with a strong foothold in the field of drone technology.

The iDEX has made a commendable effort at putting a defence start-up ecosystem in place. The challenges ahead include maintaining momentum, obtaining funding, and accessing toolsets and data sets.

While the steps stipulated in draft DAP-2020 to enable smooth acquisition of systems indigenously designed by DRDO and other public sector entities are a right move, they need to be strengthened further to make procedures more robust and conducive for timely completion of projects.

The defence sector in all major countries has historically been a source of new technologies and innovation. As China and India grow in stature, the strengths of their defence sector ecosystems and the ability to innovate become areas of focus for policymakers. Since defence deals with the security of a nation, all defence ecosystems have some element of government leadership, direction and ownership. Against this must be balanced the need to ensure efficiencies and competitive capabilities, which requires entrepreneurship, private sector companies and the market mechanism.