Given political will, aerospace power can be effectively used beyond enemy lines: Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari

Indian Air Force Chief Chaudhari discusses the future of aerospace power, emphasizing the importance of space militarization and weaponization.

Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal V. R. Chaudhari on March 27 said that "Balakot-like operations" have shown that given political will, aerospace power can be effectively used beyond enemy lines.

In his address at a seminar on "Aerospace Power in Future Conflicts", he also said that as nations increasingly rely on space-based assets for building strategic advantage, "militarisation and weaponisation of space has become an inevitable reality".

"Through the annals of human history, the skies have often been regarded as realms of wonder and exploration, where dreams take flight and boundaries dissolve into the vast blue expanse," he said.

“Yet, beneath this calmness lies a domain “fraught with competition where contest for aerial superiority” has shaped the destiny of many nations and decided the outcome of many wars,” the chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

"As we navigate these uncharted skies, air power being a key component of national power, would undoubtedly play a pivotal role and also serve as a symbol of national strength, a tool for peace and cooperation," he said.

The IAF chief said, “We all need to acknowledge that wars of the future will be fought differently.” “Future conflicts will be characterised by a blend of simultaneous application of kinetic and non-kinetic forces, high-levels of battle space transparency, multi-domain operations, a high-degree of precision, enhanced lethality, a compressed sensor-to-shooter cycle, and of course, all under intense media scrutiny,” he said.