Pallam Raju calls for maintaining edge in conventional warfare

New Delhi, July 7 (ANI): The Minister of State for Defence Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju on Wednesday called upon the Armed Forces to maintain the edge in conventional warfare.

Speaking after inaugurating a two-day International Seminar on 'Missile Technology focusing on a family of Future Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM)', the minister said that the rapid pace of technology advancement has shortened the lifespan of weapon systems.

"The gestation periods ranging from 10-15 years are history and we have to keep abreast with the cutting edge technology in all spheres. This period has to be abridged with the process of focussed interaction between the Army, the DRDO as well as public and private industry", Dr. Pallam Raju said.

Despite the advent of nuclear weapons, a conventional conflict between nuclear capable states cannot be ruled out, the Minister noted.

"The Kargil Conflict in 1999 amply highlighted that despite the nuclear dimension, the probability of occurrence of conventional conflict exists", he said.

The minister underlined the need for regional and global security dialogue, as he said: "The nature of conflict today is determined more by political, social, economic and strategic imbalances than by military factors alone."

"We need to coordinate nationally and globally, and enforce cooperative security as a strategy at the regional and international levels," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, General VK Singh, Chief of Army Staff, highlighted the pivotal role played by the Armed Forces in providing a secure environment for the Nation to pursue its economic policies.

He stressed on the need to indigenously develop a family of ATGMs that can be launched from a variety of platforms.

The two-day seminar has been organised by the Directorate General Mechanized Forces and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

It will provide a forum for the Industry to understand the challenges in designing, development and serial production of the ATGMs likely to be introduced in the future so as to enable them to acquire the expertise in the manufacture of high technology sub-assembly / components.

The seminar is aimed at nurturing the domestic R and D, provide an impetus to the Public-Private Partnership and promote the consortia Joint Venture approach which is the essence of the modernization plans of our Armed Forces. (ANI)