'Aerospace requires more budget allocation'

New Delhi, Feb 4: Aerospace power has acquired a dominant position in modern warfare and thus requires increased budget allocation, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today.

In light of traditional and new challenges, and in the backdrop of significant enhancement of military capabilities across the globe, India is alive to the needs of its armed forces, he said.

''Our annual defence budget is nearly 20 billion dollars (or 2.27 per cent of the GDP). Aerospace power is an increasingly important area for allocations,'' said Mr Mukherjee, the former Defence Minister in his inaugural address at the International Seminar on 'Aerospace Power in Tomorrow's World', organised by the IAF here.

Aerospace power relates to science, technology and industry associated with aircraft, missiles, satellites and spacecraft.

Defence forces across the world are transiting from air power to aerospace power which does not involve occupying territories.

''There is a growing focus on space-based assets to support a variety of military force multipliers,'' he said. ''There is an increasing tendency as well to view space-based assets as critical national infrastructure to be protected or denied to potential adversaries.'' Satellites play an important role in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, secure communication and delivering accurate firepower on the ground at large distances. ''Recent developments show that we are treading a thin line between current defence-related uses of space and its actual weaponisation,'' said Mr Mukherjee.

While the focus on aerospace power is natural in today's circumstances, it is in common interest to preserve outer space as a sanctuary from weapons and guard it as peaceful heritage of humankind, he said.

Aerospace capabilities of persistent surveillance and rapid response also enable it tackle diverse threats ranging from non-state actors to natural disasters, said Mr Mukherjee.

In his address, Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh noted that in the current scenario, military forces also had a significant role in the country's diplomatic initiatives.

He also stressed the importance of aerospace power to enable the nation's security and economic development.

Meanwhile, Chief of the Air Staff S P Tyagi said peace and stability in tomorrow's world will be brought by aerospace power.

''We are an aerospace power having trans-oceanic reach. We have started training a core group of people for the aerospace command,'' he added.

Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, Director of the Centre for Air Power Studies, said wars have changed fundamentally. ''Aerospace power has acquired a dominant position with means and methods to respond quickly.'' The seminar, organised by the IAF as part of its Platinum Jubilee celebrations, has chiefs and senior officers of 37 air forces, including the US, the UK, Russia, China, Israel and Sri Lanka in attendance.

The two-day seminar will witness discussions on topics such as emerging geopolitical context of aerospace power; transformation of airpower-transforming technology into doctrine, strategy and application; joint operations-- integrating aerospace operation and surfaces; and cooperative aerospace operations in future.

Among other participating countries are Germany, Japan, Italy, France, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Singapore, Sweden and the Netherlands.

UNI