India and Pakistan going to war is something the rest of the world almost seems reconciled to, even if the current conflict dies down. If war does happen today or next year, how do software giant India’s armed forces compare with other armed forces that leverage IT with devastating effect? Do our armed forces have any IT-based advantages over Pakistan? Gaurav Patra & Punita Jasrotia find out

A few hundred years ago, wars were won on the strength of numbers. In the last century, wars have been won from the air, and also through the power of nuclear science. But today’s wars can be fought and won on the strength of information technology. Why the US has so few casualties in the wars it gets into today is because of the extent of IT-enablement of its armed forces. From smart cruise missiles, to stealth bombers to electronics warfare that cripples and disables the enemy’s systems and communication networks, to ground soldiers bristling with equipment that gives them an unbeatable advantage, no other nation in the world has used IT in defence so powerfully.

This holds many lessons for India as our armed forces and Pakistan’s forces just about begin to back down from the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation that’s been on for months now. The Indian government does recognise the potential of IT-enablement of India’s armed forces, but the actual reality of ground level implementation is not yet all there. “I regret to say that India’s armed forces are far away from achieving superiority in the field of IT,” says Lt. Gen. Baldev Singh, MD, Rsystems International.

The role of IT in defence is much larger than in other walks of life, simply because of the size of the defence establishment. “IT is perhaps the greatest force multiplier for the armed forces. All future wars will be won or lost on the field of information technology,” says Lt. Gen. Singh. It’s clear that the side that has mastered the art of using IT to enhance its combat potential and combat effectiveness during peacetime will emerge as the victor in war. “The great relevance of technology for defence policy is undisputed. Technological developments make possible improvements in quality and force of existing weapon systems and open up novel options for political and military action,” adds Paul Kuah, product marketing manager, Southeast Asia Pacific, Autodesk.

The Ministry of Defence has set up a Task Force on Information Technology for Defence. This was set up keeping in mind the need to formulate an IT vision and policy for the defence sector and establish a platform for interaction with industry. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has launched a number of programmes for the development of critical technologies and systems, through a consortia of institutions and industry, technological empowerment of laboratories and collaborative teams. The main theme flowing through all these initiatives is information technology. India’s much talked about missile programme, the LCA project, the pilotless target aircraft project and surveillance radar Indira are just some results of these initiatives. The Pace Plus supercomputer, 32-bit microprocessor Anupama, and silicon and gallium-based chips are some other IT successes.