Adaptive Defence to bolster India’s security

‘Adaptive Defence’ is a strategic approach where a nation’s military and defence mechanisms continuously evolve to counter emerging threats effectively. Read here to learn more.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has voiced Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi-led Government’s unwavering resolve to create an ‘Adaptive Defence’ in the country to counter the challenges posed by the fast-changing world in today’s times.

He was addressing the inaugural Delhi Defence Dialogue (DDD) organised by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), on the theme ‘Adaptive Defence: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Modern Warfare’, in New Delhi on November 12, 2024.

Adaptive Defence

‘Adaptive Defence’ is not merely responding to what has happened but anticipating what could happen and proactively preparing for it.

• In essence, it involves cultivating the mindset and capability to adapt, innovate, and thrive, even in the face of unpredictable and evolving circumstances.
• Situational awareness, flexibility at strategic and tactical levels, resilience, agility, and integration with futuristic technologies are the keys to understanding and creating adaptive defence.
• ‘Adaptive Defence’ is an evolving military strategy that aims to stay ahead of potential threats by anticipating and proactively preparing for challenges in the defence landscape.
• Unlike traditional defence strategies, which may react to immediate threats, Adaptive Defence emphasizes situational awareness, flexibility, and the integration of advanced technologies to meet diverse and unpredictable security challenges.

Key Principles of Adaptive Defence

• Situational Awareness and Threat Anticipation: Adaptive Defence requires a deep understanding of both current threats and potential future challenges. This involves intelligence gathering, monitoring technological advancements, and analyzing global political and military trends to foresee changes in adversaries’ capabilities and intentions.
• Flexibility in Strategy and Tactics: Flexibility is essential at both strategic and tactical levels. This may mean the ability to reallocate resources quickly, adjust mission objectives, or pivot tactics based on real-time intelligence and operational changes. Flexibility ensures that responses can be tailored to the specific nature of the threat.
• Agility and Resilience: Adaptive Defence aims to create systems and processes that are not only quick to react but also resilient against potential disruptions. Agility in planning and execution, combined with robust systems capable of recovering from setbacks, ensures sustained operations even in volatile situations.
• Technological Integration: With the rapid evolution of warfare technology, incorporating next-generation tools such as AI, machine learning, cyber defence mechanisms, and autonomous systems is central to an adaptive defence approach. These technologies provide real-time intelligence, enhance decision-making, and enable more precise and efficient operations.
• Continuous Innovation and Training: Building an Adaptive Defence requires ongoing investment in research and development, as well as continuous training for military personnel. Preparing forces to handle new technologies and unpredictable scenarios ensures they remain ready to counter evolving threats.

Application and Importance

An Adaptive Defence strategy is especially relevant in modern conflict scenarios, where threats are not only diverse—ranging from cyber warfare to hybrid warfare tactics—but also increasingly asymmetric, with adversaries employing unconventional methods.

By embedding flexibility, innovation, and technological readiness, adaptive defence enables a nation to maintain a strong, proactive stance in national security and defence.

Examples of Adaptive Defence in Practice

Countries like the U.S. and Israel have employed aspects of Adaptive Defence by integrating cyber capabilities and predictive analytics into their military strategies, allowing them to anticipate and counter cyberattacks and other hybrid threats effectively.

India’s Adaptive Defence strategies, too, emphasize agility and advanced technology integration, especially in light of the evolving regional security dynamics.

Why India needs to create an ‘Adaptive Defence’ in the country?

India must adopt an Adaptive Defence approach to effectively manage and counter emerging security threats in the modern warfare landscape, which includes grey zones and hybrid warfare tactics.

Grey Zone and Hybrid Threats

• Grey Zone Warfare: Grey zone tactics operate in the space between peace and conventional warfare, often involving ambiguous threats like economic pressure, cyber-attacks, disinformation, and covert operations. Examples of grey zone threats in India’s context include skirmishes along disputed borders, influence operations, and cyber espionage, particularly in regions like Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
• Hybrid Warfare: Hybrid warfare combines conventional military strength with non-traditional tactics like cyber warfare, misinformation, economic coercion, and proxy forces. Adversaries can exploit weaknesses without triggering outright war. In an era of increasingly digital warfare, hybrid strategies can target India’s critical infrastructure and key military assets.

The Rise of Technology and Cyber Threats

• Modern warfare has increasingly integrated advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and cyber capabilities. India’s reliance on digital infrastructure makes it vulnerable to cyber-attacks targeting its financial systems, power grids, and government networks. An adaptive defence structure can allow for real-time responses to cyber threats, reducing vulnerability and improving resilience.
• Moreover, technological advancements in reconnaissance and surveillance mean that conventional borders are no longer the only defence lines. Therefore, adaptive defence with a strong cyber component is essential to protect national assets from sophisticated, multi-domain attacks.

Improving Resilience and Response Mechanisms

• Rapid Adaptation: Adaptive defence involves continually assessing and adjusting to new threats through intelligence, technology, and quick-response capabilities. This requires developing a responsive military structure that can shift strategies and resources as threats evolve, a critical asset for India, given its diverse set of potential adversaries and conflict types.
• Enhanced Inter-Agency Coordination: Modern warfare requires seamless coordination among military, intelligence, cyber, and law enforcement agencies. An adaptive defence framework encourages collaboration, ensuring more comprehensive responses to threats.

Strengthening Deterrence and Defence Posture

• An adaptive defence policy enables India to stay prepared and project strength without necessarily resorting to offensive actions. By preparing for multiple threat scenarios, India can enhance deterrence, signalling to potential adversaries that it is ready to counter both traditional and non-traditional forms of aggression.
• This posture is crucial in managing tensions in areas like the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and countering non-state actors who might exploit India’s porous borders.

Leveraging International Alliances and Resources

• Adaptive defence aligns well with India’s strategy of strengthening international partnerships in areas like intelligence sharing, cybersecurity, and counter-terrorism. Collaborating with allies such as the United States, Israel, and other QUAD nations can boost India’s defence capabilities through joint exercises, technology transfers, and strategic information exchange.

Security threats faced by India

India faces a diverse spectrum of security challenges that range from traditional threats, such as border disputes, to newer, unconventional issues like terrorism, cyber-attacks, and hybrid warfare.

These evolving threats have driven the Indian government to adopt a multi-faceted defence strategy focused on both modernization and self-reliance.

Traditional Border Security Threats

• Border Disputes: India has long-standing territorial disputes, particularly with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and with Pakistan along the Line of Control (LOC). Frequent skirmishes and confrontations require significant military resources and readiness.
• Militarization and Infrastructure Development: India is bolstering border infrastructure, increasing troop deployment, and enhancing surveillance capabilities, especially in regions like Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, to counter these traditional threats.

Unconventional Security Threats

• Terrorism: Cross-border terrorism, especially from groups operating in Pakistan, poses a persistent challenge. India has undertaken counter-terrorism operations and diplomacy to address this threat. The establishment of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and increased collaboration with international intelligence agencies have strengthened its counter-terrorism framework.
• Cybersecurity: With rapid digitalization, India is increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, banking systems, and government networks. The country has set up the National Cyber Security Policy and is working on strengthening the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) to safeguard against cyber threats.

Hybrid Warfare and Information Warfare

• Hybrid Warfare: India faces threats that combine conventional warfare, cyber warfare, misinformation, and other non-traditional tactics. The recent focus on misinformation campaigns has prompted India to take steps toward media literacy, monitoring, and policy frameworks to counter information warfare.
• Institutional Changes: To adapt to these hybrid threats, the government has established the institution of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to ensure greater coordination among the Army, Navy, and Air Force and to promote jointness in operations and strategy formulation.

Adaptive Defense and Self-Reliance Initiatives

• Defense Modernization and Indigenous Production: India’s push for self-reliance is part of its Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, which focuses on increasing domestic defence production and reducing dependency on foreign arms. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and partnerships with private industry are central to this effort.
• Global Defense Partnerships: India has strengthened defence collaborations with countries like the United States, Russia, Israel, and France, aimed at technology transfer, joint exercises, and capacity-building. These partnerships enable India to counterbalance regional threats and enhance its strategic autonomy.

Key Initiatives by India

1. Drone Manufacturing and Certification: The Indian government has simplified drone regulations to encourage manufacturing and innovation in the sector. These measures include creating a comprehensive certification framework to improve research and development and ensure that Indian drones meet international standards.
2. iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence): Under iDEX, India encourages innovation through challenges that award funding and mentorship for emerging defence technologies. By incentivizing entrepreneurs and startups in defence tech, iDEX promotes drone and swarm tech innovation for both civilian and defence applications, helping to bridge gaps between military needs and technological advancements.
3. ADITYA (Aatmanirbhar Defence Initiatives and Technologies for Young Achievers): This initiative rewards young innovators who contribute to defence technology, including drones. ADITYA aims to foster a tech-savvy environment in the defence sector, bringing in fresh perspectives that drive forward-thinking R&D.
4. Policy Support and Market Development: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a goal to make India a global drone hub by 2030, rolling out incentives and easing restrictions for startups and established firms alike. This includes establishing special economic zones (SEZs) for drones and providing subsidies on components like batteries, which are crucial to the drone industry.
5. Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020: The DAP 2020 was introduced to streamline the procurement process for the Indian armed forces, with a strong emphasis on self-reliance. It prioritizes “Make in India” initiatives and local manufacturing through a preference for Indigenous Content (IC) in defence products, faster acquisition processes, and supporting startups and MSMEs involved in defence technology.
6. Defence Industrial Corridors: The establishment of two Defense Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu aims to create specialized hubs for defence manufacturing, reduce dependency on imports, and boost economic growth in these regions. These corridors are designed to attract private sector investment, encourage small and medium enterprises, and strengthen collaboration between public and private sectors, thereby generating jobs and fostering technological advancement.
7. Positive Indigenisation Lists: The government has issued three positive indigenisation lists (2020, 2021, and 2022) that identify defence equipment to be manufactured domestically. Items on these lists will eventually be barred from import, pushing Indian industries to produce critical components like fighter aircraft, tanks, radars, and other defence-related systems locally. This aims to enhance India’s defence manufacturing base, reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, and achieve self-sufficiency.
8. Increase in FDI Limit: The government increased the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the defence sector from 49% to 74% through the automatic route and 100% via government approval in select cases. This policy shift is intended to attract foreign defence companies, boost capital inflow, and facilitate technology transfer, enhancing India’s domestic defence industry capabilities.

Conclusion

Adopting an adaptive defence strategy allows India to respond flexibly to complex, evolving threats in an unpredictable global environment. Emphasizing multi-domain readiness, technological integration, and inter-agency collaboration will enhance India’s capability to protect its sovereignty and maintain stability in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.

In essence, Adaptive Defence is a holistic, proactive approach that transforms traditional defence into a responsive, predictive, and versatile force designed to address the complex security landscape of the 21st century.

Drones and swarm technologies are revolutionizing warfare by enhancing surveillance, combat, and logistical capabilities in dynamic and cost-effective ways. India is making significant strides to position itself as a global leader in drone technology and manufacturing, aligning with initiatives like Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) to boost indigenous capabilities and economic growth.

India’s comprehensive approach, combining traditional defences with innovative responses to cyber and hybrid threats, underscores its adaptive strategy to navigate an evolving security landscape. The reforms, from CDS establishment to promoting defence production, illustrate India’s commitment to building a self-reliant, robust defence ecosystem in line with its national security interests.

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-Article by Swathi Satish