Based on the Introductory Remarks made at Digitisation& Networking in the Armed Forces 2020 Webinar, 23 Nov 2020.
C4ISR is a very long acronym – Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance. Length of the acronym signifies its importance in the modern warfare. It involves organizational and technological attributes, which enhance command and control. It is no secret that command and control forms the hub of everything at every level. Command, control and information systems have to be integrated vertically from the Strategic to the tactical level – faster the better. The need for speed was illustrated by the way in which four terrorists were gunned down near Nagrota on 19 November. Perhaps, the information may have been received from a friendly foreign country or the national security set up at Delhi.
Robust Systems Required
In the military domain, whether it is intelligence, operations or logistics, unless you have a versatile and resilient C4ISR system you are going to be a looser. In the current security environment quantum and speed of flow of information is immense backed by interoperability of digital platforms and faster deployment of weapon systems necessitates modern C4ISR equipment and systems.
While comparing the armed forces of adversaries one must also compare the effectiveness of their command & control systems not just restrict it to number of weapon platforms. The Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict has highlighted the importance of C4ISR systems and integration with remotely controlled weapon platforms. Gulf War 1 demonstrated the power of electronic warfare when troops in trenches were left paralysed when the Coalition Forces disabled Iraq’sentire military command and control system and the other civil facilities. Iraqiforces capitulated in days.
So ultimately the C4ISR systems have to be very robust .You have to have systems which give you information in the quickest possible time for you to able to make decisions and your systems must be versatile enough to sustain enemy attacks so that you can continue with the information dominance.
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No war plans survive the first bullet. The C4ISR systems have to robust enough to survive so that they can withstand the initial onslaught of the conflict. To be effective they must be multi-layered, with built-in redundancy.
We must have continuous information dominance and battlefield awareness vertically and laterally in the chain so as to have the decision-making advantage. It is not the number of weapons that matter. It is the ability to deploy them at the right places. Systems are required which allow for simultaneity of planning as well as decision-making.Sequential manner of planning and decision-making is a luxury. C4ISR have to become much quicker. Gone are the days when you could collect information, process it and then pass it on to the formations.
Under the Army’s peculiar system of of RFIs, RFPs, tendering, L1 negotiations the process is drawn out. New technology is outdated before purchases are finalized and systems introduced. In the case of technology we need to have a modified system. The armed forces must have updated and latest technology if they are to be left redundant because of processes and procedures to procure things are outdated.
Any amount of innovation or investment in information gathering and surveillance is less because it is the key to success in future battlefields. But the need of the hour is also integration of all resources amongst the three Services and resources at the strategic level.
Timely Information Sharing
Another aspect that needs immediate attention is timely sharing of the information. Delay in decision-making in today’s warfare can be costly in a fast moving battlefield. The culture of holding back information must change. Whether it is during Covid pandemic or counter insurgency operations, everybody is in a state of managing conflicts. Timely information can prevent damage. Used offensively and with initiative, lesser resources can deliver much more. We need to understand who needs the information the most, it must go to him fastest, even if laterally, and not through the hierarchy for processing, if it is to be used as a force multiplier.
Perhaps, the time has come to utilize the industry and other resources to develop C4ISR-based wargames exclusively. Young talented students from universities should build C4ISR wargames. It has long been a practice that cutting edge technologies and management systems came to the civil domain from the military. Now the industry is in a position to come up with new technologies and wargames.
The Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative has come during the time of corona. It will provide the impetus to speed up indigenization of the command and control systems and make C4ISR systems robust. Innovative use of technology and continuous upgrades to ensure technology in use does not suffer from redundancy is required. C4ISR systems should be futuristic.
There is no better way of innovation in technology than the examples seen in the recent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. They used surveillance capability as a destructive element to win a war. Command and control systems enabled by the sensors are probably the most important elements of combat power.
