Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi Addresses 26th Doctrine and Strategy Seminar
Mhow (AP), Dec 1 - Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi addressed participants of the 26th Doctrine and Strategy Seminar (DSS) in Mhow today, highlighting the need for adaptive doctrines to meet the challenges of future conflicts.
Organised by the Army War College on November 27-28, 2024, the seminar aimed to critically examine the validity of established doctrines, operational strategies, and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) of the Indian Army in light of recent conflicts and the induction of niche technology and warfare. Experts from various fields, including Geo-Strategic affairs, Armed Forces, Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Industries expressed their views on operational and logistics aspects and capability development of the Armed Forces.
General Dwivedi lauded the in-depth analysis presented by the participants but emphasized the need for transformation and adaptation to respond to evolving warfare. He highlighted that contemporary warfare is increasingly focused on achieving political objectives through non-military means, emphasizing the importance of statecraft and diplomacy alongside kinetic actions.
The COAS discussed emerging forms of warfare, including 5th generation warfare with non-kinetic military actions like disinformation, cyber-attacks and AI-powered systems. Drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, he stressed the need for combined arms operations, leveraging asymmetric tactics and enhancing Civil-Military Integration.
Addressing national security challenges, General Dwivedi focused on counter-balancing multi-dimensional threats from both state and non-state actors in the Indo-Pacific region. He advocated for military doctrines to be flexible, enabling unity of effort while fostering individual judgment.
Emphasising the role of technology in modern warfare, General Dwivedi stressed its importance in supporting multi-domain operations. He also highlighted the need for strong and adaptive leadership in overcoming challenges by fostering institutional agility in developing and deploying new technologies.
In conclusion, General Dwivedi called for the development of adaptive doctrines that incorporate dynamic threat assessments, technology integration, realistic training, and wargaming to promote jointness, interoperability with allied nations, and seamless civilian-military synergy.