Time India Made Its Own Weapons
by Bhartendu Kumar Singh
Emphasis on domestic production could usher in a real game change in India's quest for military power. Foreign imports of weapons do not make good economics. They are certainly bad from the philosophical and public policy perspectives. We ought to evaluate these imports through the prism of ethical assumptions or simply nationalism.
EVERY time defence weapons are imported, they are dubbed as gamechangers. The so-called quantum edge enjoyed by new weapons over similar category weapons in the environment facilitates import decisions. However, 'weapons as gamechangers' is a subjective and speculative statement since there are many variables affecting the so-called advantage of weapons. Also, imported weapons come at a financial and technological cost and take the wind out of the game-changing hypothesis in the long term.
The history of warfare has seen many gamechanging weapons such as tanks (WWI) or submarines and nuclear weapons (WWII). However, superior weapons have not always won the day. The battle of Longewala (1971) ended with an Indian triumph due to better leadership. Similarly, the surrender of Pakistani forces at Dhaka in 1971 was made possible due to better mobilisation of troops, superior strategic planning and politico-military leadership. Making casual predictions about game-changing imported weapons and technologies, therefore, could be flawed propositions since they create, at best, 'strategic dependency' through perpetuation of imports.
Weapons Not always Game-Changers
Empirical experiences reveal many constraints for imported weapons being projected as game-changers:
India has been the numero uno weapons importer for quite some years. Between 2007 and 2017, it spent a whopping $34.92 billion on imports, way ahead of Saudi Arabia's figure of $19.59 billion, placed at number two. The 'Make in India' emphasis notwithstanding, import figures have remained in situ. Thus, it is debatable if the intended game-changing capabilities were developed since the ephemeral leads were, and are, being challenged through concurrent weapons procurement and development in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and China. Perpetual dependency on imports has stymied our capabilities for innovation, scientific thinking and capabilities to produce cutting-edge weapons technology.
Our defence PSUs are, at best, assembly garages for licensed production of archival weapons or simply producing off-the-shelves weapons available in the global market. Above all, these imports, even if gamechangers, are causing uncertain losses through dependency of spare parts-integration-and-familiarisation, loss of domestic jobs, stagnation in science and technological skills, and irreparable loss to national reputation. We are buying weapons from declining great powers, middle powers and even small powers while aspiring ourselves as a rising great power. Politically and psychologically, therefore, we are at the receiving end of power transition debates due to poor scores in military power indexing.
Role Models For India
It, therefore, emerges that emphasis on domestic production could usher in a real gamechange in India's quest for military power. Foreign imports of weapons do not make good economics. They are certainly bad from the philosophical and public policy perspectives. We ought to evaluate these imports through the prism of ethical assumptions or simply nationalism.
The 'Make in India' campaign, therefore, needs fresh impetus through immediate import substitution strategies. Ideally speaking, discouragement of foreign imports, as a policy imperative, would certainly push the domestic MIC towards expansion and sophistication. If that is not possible, a re-crafting of the draft defence production policy (2018), providing preferential treatment for domestic players, would not be a bad deal. Probably, there lies some hope for churning India into a military power.
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