New Delhi: To keep up with the “accelerated technology infusion” and “fight tomorrow’s wars”, the IAF needs to adopt an “evolved approach” for the preparation of future military leaders, said Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari while delivering a keynote address at a capstone seminar organised by the Indian Air Force and Centre for Air Power Studies.

The first Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Program (WASP) was conducted by the Indian Air Force which culminated with a capstone seminar at Air Force Auditorium, New Delhi.

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said, “The impact of new technologies on the revolution in military affairs has made us sit up and acknowledge the fact that new investments in military concepts would have to be made. The new ideas and organisational approaches must be preceded by an evolved approach to the cerebral preparation of future military leaders.”

“We are aware of the continuously rising technological and numerical edge that our adversaries have over us today. It is my firm belief that this can be neutralised by an intellectual edge the capacity of individuals to outthink, to out plan and outsmart the adversary. This can be germinated through focused self-learning, supported by institution units of Higher education like the College of Air Warfare (CAW),” the Air Chief said.

Conducted under the aegis of the College of Air Warfare and Centre for Air Power Studies, the seminar was attended by senior officers from all three Services, air power scholars, academia from principal think tanks and premier colleges of the country.

The participants presented their papers on contemporary topics concerning the application of air power in recent conflicts and the changing doctrinal precepts that establish the dominant role of air power in national security. The capstone seminar aims to showcase the learning objectives of WASP and help the IAF leadership to validate the desired outcomes from the program.

The WASP was conceptualised by the IAF with the purpose of creating a pool of mid-career air power practitioners with strategic acumen and a deep understanding of warfare history and theory. It aims to enhance the doctrinal vision of the participants and cultivate their aptitude for effective arguments on strategy. It will further hone the ability of the participants to link varied thoughts and theories about the whole-of-government approach to statecraft. The course was organised at CAW which is the premier institute  of the IAF for Air Power Studies.