PTI
Karwar
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Wednesday said future wars cannot be fought by individual military services, underscoring the need for greater jointness among the armed forces.
Speaking after the commissioning of INS Malvan, the second of the Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), Singh said military technologies must be developed at a pace that keeps them relevant as “technology delayed is technology denied”.
He also called for faster progress towards self-reliance in the aviation sector, particularly referring to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“No future war is going to be fought by an individual service. All of us, whether we are in blues (IAF), whites (Navy), or OGs (Olive Green of the Army), or whichever colour, whether we are in allied services, we all have to fight together as one nation, and then only we will succeed,” he said. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, senior naval officers, veterans and representatives of state-run Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
The IAF chief said, “We all understand how important maritime security and the maritime power for India’s growth are. Because any nation, they say, the maritime routes decide your trade and your trade decides your destiny. And as far as India is concerned, we all understand how important the Indian Ocean region is to us.”
He said the Indian Navy has been playing a vital role in securing sea lines of communication and ensuring that Indian trade and economic growth continue unhindered.
Referring to the government’s thrust on self-reliance, the Air Chief said the Navy had made significant progress in indigenous shipbuilding and expressed hope that the aviation sector would emulate the model.
“I just hope that the other two services, especially the Indian Air Force, learn the lesson as to how the Indian Navy has been able to get this whole concept right, where you have your Indian Navy officers who are embedded in your shipbuilding right from the beginning,” he said.
Singh said these people grow up in the same chain and become even the senior most in those shipyards. “And even after retirement, they continue to render the services. Something similar, I think, the Indian Air Force has to adopt to make sure that even in the aviation sector, our self-reliance, our dream of being self-reliant becomes a reality and becomes a reality soon,” he said.
