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Ray · 12-11-2005, 02:11 AM

One thing that most military strategists would agree upon is that future fighting forces will face an array of invisible but pervasive challenges on the battlefield. It is not hard to imagine the WMDs that most modern armies already train for but what lies ahead is a bit more insidious. Performance depleting agents that are unremarkable in their ability to cause subtle symptoms (it may feel like a minor flu outbreak) but ones that could paralyze large military formations. These biological agents will be difficult to identify in advance, difficult to diagnose, transient in effect and largely innocuos to the general population. Due to such properties, they will be used more readily and without excessive fear of breaching the WMD red lines. Imagine a virus that depletes erythrocyte count on the icy heights of kargil while the "insurgents" have been immunized in advance. Or imagine a virus that merely makes the blood thinner and hence increases the likelihood of cerebral haemorrhage. Now think about infected pilots that pull multiple Gs. How long would it take to suspect such infection when the best you have are charred bodies for autopsies. Future armies will have to prepare for such evantualities. While such weapons do not yet exist, the pace at which we are unravelling the molecular architecture of human physiology, makes them nearly inevitable in less than 20 years.

On the flip side, armed forces will have to learn to fight with the benefit of performance enhancing pharmacological as well technological aids. From a scientific perspective, its not hard to visualize a special ops operative, whose night vision is enhanced by an order of magnitude (cats eyes), without using bulky googles that prevent peripheral vision. A pill would do it for the night. Some may find these eventualities as remote - perhaps bordering on science fiction but it will be possible one day. Everyone has already heard about research on suits that faintly simulate invisibility to a casual eye (MIT has a project on futuristic soldier..google should pull out the links). On a more grim note, we may even see genetically engineered humans on the battlefield. Ones that run faster, react faster, think faster and more accurately. All clear possibilities in not so distant a time.

Battlefield readiness has always been a reflection of a country's ability to mobilize political, economic and technological prowess. Of these, we have a clear idea of what kind of political and economic prowess is needed to fend off an enemy. It however takes visionaries to imagine the technological landscape of a future battlefield and initiate programs to address the challenges that are realistic - and not get bogged down by those that are likely to be mere fantasies. From this perspective, it is important not to have a military posture that is merely reflective of the technologies that permeate our world today...it is important to scratch for what lies beneath the veneer of what we call basic fundamental sciences - the kind that goes on in basements of universities and technical institutes.

I humbly submit that Indian military is not addressing these challenges in a manner that befits a great power. I would be delighted to find out that I am completely wrong. I glanced through the article above and couldnt help but feel that the author is oblivios to the way of the future warrior. India has suffered in the past for being overwhelmed by forces that had a technolgical or doctrinal edge...it is a complacent mindset if people think that such eventualities are no longer possible.

RayC, if this is completely off the mark from what you had in mind, indicate so and admins should delete the post. I am not trying to hijack the thread. I think its worth thinking about and if my post here gets a few guys in the right uniforms casually bringing up such conversations over lunch, it would be worth the effort it took to type it out. Of course, I should also worry about guys in the wrong uniforms looking it over too.

12-11-2005, 02:11 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 26,120 Country:	One thing that most military strategists would agree upon is that future fighting forces will face an array of invisible but pervasive challenges on the battlefield. It is not hard to imagine the WMDs that most modern armies already train for but what lies ahead is a bit more insidious. Performance depleting agents that are unremarkable in their ability to cause subtle symptoms (it may feel like a minor flu outbreak) but ones that could paralyze large military formations. These biological agents will be difficult to identify in advance, difficult to diagnose, transient in effect and largely innocuos to the general population. Due to such properties, they will be used more readily and without excessive fear of breaching the WMD red lines. Imagine a virus that depletes erythrocyte count on the icy heights of kargil while the "insurgents" have been immunized in advance. Or imagine a virus that merely makes the blood thinner and hence increases the likelihood of cerebral haemorrhage. Now think about infected pilots that pull multiple Gs. How long would it take to suspect such infection when the best you have are charred bodies for autopsies. Future armies will have to prepare for such evantualities. While such weapons do not yet exist, the pace at which we are unravelling the molecular architecture of human physiology, makes them nearly inevitable in less than 20 years. On the flip side, armed forces will have to learn to fight with the benefit of performance enhancing pharmacological as well technological aids. From a scientific perspective, its not hard to visualize a special ops operative, whose night vision is enhanced by an order of magnitude (cats eyes), without using bulky googles that prevent peripheral vision. A pill would do it for the night. Some may find these eventualities as remote - perhaps bordering on science fiction but it will be possible one day. Everyone has already heard about research on suits that faintly simulate invisibility to a casual eye (MIT has a project on futuristic soldier..google should pull out the links). On a more grim note, we may even see genetically engineered humans on the battlefield. Ones that run faster, react faster, think faster and more accurately. All clear possibilities in not so distant a time. Battlefield readiness has always been a reflection of a country's ability to mobilize political, economic and technological prowess. Of these, we have a clear idea of what kind of political and economic prowess is needed to fend off an enemy. It however takes visionaries to imagine the technological landscape of a future battlefield and initiate programs to address the challenges that are realistic - and not get bogged down by those that are likely to be mere fantasies. From this perspective, it is important not to have a military posture that is merely reflective of the technologies that permeate our world today...it is important to scratch for what lies beneath the veneer of what we call basic fundamental sciences - the kind that goes on in basements of universities and technical institutes. I humbly submit that Indian military is not addressing these challenges in a manner that befits a great power. I would be delighted to find out that I am completely wrong. I glanced through the article above and couldnt help but feel that the author is oblivios to the way of the future warrior. India has suffered in the past for being overwhelmed by forces that had a technolgical or doctrinal edge...it is a complacent mindset if people think that such eventualities are no longer possible. RayC, if this is completely off the mark from what you had in mind, indicate so and admins should delete the post. I am not trying to hijack the thread. I think its worth thinking about and if my post here gets a few guys in the right uniforms casually bringing up such conversations over lunch, it would be worth the effort it took to type it out. Of course, I should also worry about guys in the wrong uniforms looking it over too. __________________ "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination." I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to. HAKUNA MATATA