Forge Innovation & Ventures’ Post

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The National Defence College (NDC), Delhi, as part of its annual course on National Security and Strategic Studies for senior officers from various arms of the government and friendly foreign countries, invited Vish Sahasranamam, Cofounder & CEO, Forge, to conduct an expert session on "Emerging Defence Tech : Aligning Military Doctrines, Warfare Capabilities & Future Technologies" on the 16th July, 2024. Vish's lecture delved into how technological superiority in the defence sector has long been the sole determinant of military dominance, delivering a winning competitive advantage over other nations - a trend seen right from WW2 extending into the Cold War with the US, and in the 21st Century with China - not to mention critically enabling the asymmetric Ukranian resistance against the Russian military (one of the most powerful in the world) for well over 2 years now. Every next generation of advanced & disruptive technologies offers an opportunity to build enduring strategic advantages in defence & national security. But this strategic advantage can become enduring only if a nation has Early, Preemptive, Exclusive, Indigenous and Localised access to emerging tech translated into operational capabilities, determined by evolving military doctrines. For India in particular, procurement emergencies, administrative procedures and financial controls, supply chain economics, and production efficiencies have led to the procurement-led & production-driven model of technology development and translation structurally favouring mature tech over emerging ones in military tech & systems development. For emerging technologies whose translation into military operational capabilities have not been mainstreamed yet, a specification-driven procurement model grossly undermines the full potential of these tech - limited by biased specifications of the end-user. To gain early, preemptive, exclusive and indigenous access to futuristic technologies in the fast paced global arms race, it is imperative to prioritise decoupling of tech development from military procurement, and create venture funds (govt. & private) to develop technology assets ready for productisation & integration - with a procurement roadmap for accelerated modernisation. Indian DPSUs must build tech & product management capacities to anchor strategic engagements with the armed forces and harness the innovation capacity within startups, academia, and research to meaningfully redefine defence R&D, manufacturing & value-chains. iDEX - DIO Startup India Ministry of Defence of India Indian Army Indian Navy Indian Air Force Giridhar Aramane Ajay Kumar MeitY Startup Hub ISpA- Indian Space Association AGNIi Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor StartupTN Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (Tidco) Confederation of Indian Industry Codissia Defence Innovation and Atal Incubation Center #startups #technology #innovation #india #defence

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