IAF chief: Militarisation, weaponisation of space inevitable reality

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Wednesday said as nations increasingly rely on space-based assets for building strategic advantage, “militarisation and weaponisation” of space have become the “inevitable reality”.

He said this in his address at a seminar on “Aerospace Power in Future Conflicts” at Subroto Park here. “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. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said over the last few decades, understanding of the military operational environment has “significantly transformed” from primarily a force, time and space-driven battlefield to an arrangement of systems capable of simultaneous and independent operations across multiple domains.