Hybrid and Non-Kinetic Warfare | 23 Oct 2024

Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence (PSCoD) has emphasised on the Indian armed forces' preparedness for hybrid warfare.

Hybrid warfare refers to a combination of conventional military tactics (kinetic warfare) and modern strategies such as cyber warfare, information manipulation, economic disruption, and psychological operations (non-kinetic warfare).
- Non-kinetic methods could be deadlier than traditional warfare e.g., pager blasts in Lebanon.
- Non-kinetic warfare includes using jamming, lasers, or electromagnetic waves to disrupt drone operations instead of physically shooting down drones (Kinetic warfare).
The tri-services “future warfare” course is designed to train officers from Major Generals to Majors (and their equivalents) in modern warfare techniques, both kinetic and non-kinetic.
- It was recently conducted by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.
The Indian Army is observing 2024 as the Year of Technology Absorption, focusing on integrating disruptive technologies like AI, hypersonic weapons, biotechnology, and quantum technology into existing legacy systems.
PSCoD is a Departmentally-Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) and functions under Lok Sabha.
- The committee has 31 members—21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha members are nominated by the Speaker, and Rajya Sabha members by the Chairman.