The age of non-contact warfare is ending up being the brand-new regular as countries develop techniques to win wars without sustaining casualties in close battle, a senior Army officer has actually stated.
Modern disputes progressively count on remote power such as security abilities and cyber operations, and the Indian Army needs to be prepared to control in these locations, stated Lt Gen Adosh Kumar, Director General, Artillery, Indian Army.
He was providing a keynote address at the 3rd edition of the Gen S F Rodrigues Memorial Seminar on ‘Non-Contact Warfare: Capability Building Imperatives for the Indian Army’ on Friday (September 19, 2025).
“Contact on the battlefield may no longer be a prerequisite for decisive action. The age of non-contact warfare is becoming the new normal, and nations around the world have been devising strategies for winning wars without incurring casualties in close combat. As far as we are concerned, the transformation to non-contact warfare was already happening,” Lt Gen Kumar stated.
Modern disputes significantly depend on remote power– monitoring, cyber operations, area properties, long-range accuracy strikes and self-governing systems– to enforce expenses on enemies without standard battleground contact, he stated, including that these tools enable armed forces to break down or disable opposing forces while keeping their own workers safe.
The Indian Army should not just adjust to this change however should be completely prepared and tailored to run, control and dominate in this environment, Lt Gen Kumar included.
“The lessons from recent conflicts, that is, how contact-heavy units can be neutralised by non-contact precision strikes, have a direct resonance for India. Op Sindoor has demonstrated the power of surveillance, precision and information dominance when employed in synergy. Our space-based assets provided us with timely information that allowed us to anticipate rather than react,” he stated.
India’s accuracy strike vectors utilized at longer varieties produced disastrous impacts, Lt Gen Kumar stated.
“Hence, our ability to obtain and decisively act on precise information ensured that while we retained clarity of mind, conversely, our adversary was clouded with confusion. That was non-contact at work. But let me also add that what we achieved in Op Sindoor is just the beginning, not the end. To remain ahead of the curve, we must not merely repeat but must take a quantum leap forward across the spectrum of non-kinetic and kinetic capabilities,” he included.
Security is the structure and foundation of non-contact warfare, Lt Gen Kumar stated.
“Wide area imaging, electronic intelligence, payloads, launch on demand systems, these all must be indigenous, reliable and resilient. Equally, the reliability of our space-based positioning and navigation independent of foreign networks must be ensured,” he included.
The occasion was participated in by Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, Chief of Staff, Southern Command, senior officers, market agents, domain professionals and veterans.
Released – September 20, 2025 10:10 am IST