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DRAFT SPEECH Good Morning, Prof Prateek Sharma, Honourable Vice Chancellor Delhi Technological University, Ladies, Gentlemen and dear Participants. INTRODUCTION First of all, I would like to congratulate the Team of Multidisciplinary Centre of Geoinformatics, DTU for organising the 21 days Level 2 programme on ‘Developing Geospatial Solutions for Defence, Security and Intelligence’ for multiple stakeholders. It is an absolute honour and privilege for me to be present amongst this distinguished gathering. I will try and share my perspective today on the significance of the subject in the military domain. These views are not Googled or from Chat GPT or from a theoretical point of view; but have evolved from practical and on-ground actions especially with respect to integrating technology in the intelligence domain. BACKDROP One important question; Why the Geospatial domain ? As professionals, especially military, we must be prepared to operate across all domains - land, sea, air, space and cyberspace - to deter aggression, protect our interests and uphold the rules-based international order. In the complex environment of our region, the ability to understand, analyse and leverage geospatial information is indispensable for achieving and maintaining resilient multi-domain security. It is not only about the ‘Location’; it is also about the ‘Time’ and the associated ‘Metadata’ that matters and makes that crucial difference. Geospatial helps collect, store, process, analyse and visualise geospatial information to solve complex problems that assist in making informed decisions. Geospatial domain is the map board on which we can visualise the ‘way ahead’ for situational awareness and thereby leading to informed decisions. EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION : ACCELERATING PACE OF CHANGE Civil Context Charles Darwin had said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Evolution (especially to technology) and adaptation are essential drivers of human progress, enabling us to overcome challenges, improve quality of life and shape a better future for generations to come. However, in today’s Age, Charles Darwin would have added this to his quote - “ … one that is most adaptable to change - the fastest”. What actually matters the most is adapting to the sheer velocity of change in the evolution and adaptation cycle; the compressing of the problems and their solutions. Military Context Conflict is not the only kind of future contestation the Army needs to prepare for. Political, economic, social and technological changes will continue to create challenges; creating a battlefield that is faster, more lethal, and distributed. Thereby, renewed power competition in today’s Age states that we must prioritize long-term strategic competition, deter adversaries and sustain irregular warfare competency. Adversaries will continue to attempt to bypass our strengths through increasingly sophisticated and diverse methods outside of conventional armed conflict. When we are required to fight, it is our readiness and ability to respond rapidly that will be decisive. ARMY PERSPECTIVE & REQUIREMENTS Widening Scope in Conflict In 2009, Lt Gen David A Deptula, USAF Dy COS for ISR had predicted, “We’re going to find ourselves in the not too distant future swimming in sensors and drowning in data.” Indian Army’s Efforts We do not want us to be swimming in the deep end - untrained and unprepared. 2023 & 2024 have been foundational in Indian Army’s technological initiatives; 2023 being declared the ‘Year of Technology Transformation’ and 2024 as the ‘Year of Technology Absorption’. These cross-domain initiatives are transforming the Indian Army’s capabilities to make it faster, leaner and more efficient from the base to the bayonet. Military Intelligence Transformation : The Initial Forays Background. Military Intelligence is heavily data-driven and relies on collecting, analysing and interpreting vast amounts of data from various sources to produce actionable insights and support decision-making processes in a timely manner. In the dynamically active and evolving landscape, the end user requirements and thereby the solutions will constantly change. Being analog and working in-silos will make the derived intelligence loose it’s value. What an operational commander needs on the ground is corroborated, actionable, precise, relevant and timely intelligence. At the Military Intelligence Directorate, we have been conceptualising, innovating and feverishly implementing technology absorption - I would term them as the initial forays. Clearing the fog in the mind or requirements is more important than clearing the fog of war. The same was achieved by focussing on the emerging landscape of conflict, effect a change of mindsets, invest in technologies and concepts which have not yet been validated, to enable faster and relevant ‘Detections’ & ‘Exploitation’ for precise intelligence in an operationally sensitive timeline. This has answered our key grey zones; ‘What’ we want is ‘Precise Intelligence’, ‘When’ is at ‘Operational Timelines’, ‘Where’ is at the ‘Dynamic Areas of Interest’, ‘Why’ is to enable ‘360 degree Operational & Intelligence Picture (COIP)’ and ‘How’ is by addressing a sequence of actions - ‘People, Process, Technology and Data’. I will amplify the same. Speed is Essential. You just have to look at examples like in Ukraine when they were using unmanned aerial systems networked into their artillery systems. And they were able to provide targeting information so quickly that the adversary was unable to respond fast enough. It is often a linkage between what we call the sensor to the effector and the faster you can deliver that cycle of intelligence to delivery of effects then the more likely you are of being able to out-compete and beat your adversary. We need the right technology integration at the ‘boots on the ground’ level - a mix of ‘boots and bytes on the ground’. Data. Digitally optimised warfare is a steep change in military capability. The ability to make data driven decisions in real time allows development of competitive advantage in precision, lethality, deception, understanding, tempo & resilience. Seamless flow of data around the battlefield & wider military ecosystem is also central to the concept of Multi-Domian Integration. Data is a Commander’s business and the new ammunition. Data needs to be designed, generated, checked for quality, inventoried, distributed, stored, used, and at some point, disposed off. Interconnectedness. Connecting the dots will enable the visualisation of a corroborated, timely and complete operational & intelligence picture. By its nature, Multi-Domain Operations, has a larger and increasing scope than earlier military operations. Each domain has its own growing information and data flow, from open- source intelligence, space-based sensors, cyber-space queuing to Soldier medical status and vehicle self-diagnostics. Today’s Soldiers and Commanders require synthesis across these domains to dominate the battlespace. With the fires growing in range and automation and forces increasingly dispersed on the battlefield, speed of decision to neutralize critical targets can have rapid cascading effects to allow our forces to penetrate, disintegrate, and then exploit in order to win. Integration and speed of information is achieved through data and data analytics. This is where you all, as interpreters, play a significant role. In being correctly trained and equipped with the right skill sets, to be able to visualise, identify and extract that relevant piece of information from the multitude of data in an operationally sensitive timeline. This input by you can be the one missing piece in the evolving battle space - that can provide the field commander the complete picture enabling him to take an informed decision. SUMMING UP The 21st century has ushered in a paradigm shift in how we conceive, execute and adapt to conflict. As we confront these evolving threats, we must embrace a new ethos of warfighting - one that is characterized by precision, adaptability and resilience. We must harness the power of technology to enhance our capabilities, from unmanned aerial vehicles that soar above the battlefield to artificial intelligence that augments our decision-making processes. A close synergy between the end user, public and private industry, government and the academia is imperative to achieve this synergy and collaborative approach. To sum up, I can say that “Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se”. What connects or brings everyone on the table is definitely the Geospatial domain. I am confident that all of you will learn the science and art of data exploitation during this course which will bring in some amount of transformation in your respective organisations. Thank you and Jai Hind !