'When it came to Operation Sindoor ...': Army chief Gen Dwivedi on unpredictability of wars

Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said that the Russia-Ukraine war was originally expected to end in just 10 days and contrasted it with India's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, saying that such conflicts are always "unpredictable".

Speaking at AIMA’s 52nd National Management Convention, the Army chief said that low-cost and high-technology are essential to sustain wars for a longer duration and can even enable a country to beat back a superior adversary, indirectly referring to Ukraine's resistance against Russia.

"When Russia went in for war, we always thought that this war would last only for 10 days. The Iran-Iraq war, when we saw it, lasted for approximately 10 years. But when it came to the Operation Sindoor, we were not sure for how many days it would remain and most of us were saying, why is it finished in a four-day test match? War is always unpredictable. We are unsure of the psychological impact a particular issue would have ... The force visualisation, which was done in the Russia-Ukraine war, maybe there was a miscalculation," he said.

The Army chief added: "We need to understand what technology is available on the other side to sustain the war for a longer period. We should be able to make sure that we have enough to last for a longer war. In all these wars, we have seen that what is impacting the David and Goliath system is low-cost, high-technology. If you have low-cost, high-technology, you will be able to beat back a superior adversary also."

Gen Dwivedi also said that the goalposts of technology keep on evolving since your adversary will continue to push the limits.

"The goalposts will keep changing. If I wanted something to fire at 100 kilometres, tomorrow it has to go to 300 kilometres. Because it is not only me, it is the adversary that is also enhancing its technology. As his technology is enhancing, I need to completely make sure that my technological level is ready to beat its technological impact. Here, Atmanirbharta becomes important," he said.

Speaking about Operation Sindoor, Gen Dwivedi said that it was an amalgamation of soldiers to commanders, scientists and great policymakers. "It was a whole-of-nation approach.”

He also added that the forces are ready to accept spiral development of equipment. "SAMBHAV (Secure Army Mobile Bharat Version) phone was used in Operation Sindoor for command and communication. We were not using WhatsApp and others. We are now upgrading it to a higher level.”