4. Electronic theses and dissertations

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Browsing 4. Electronic theses and dissertations by Author "Gupta Vijay K"

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    Strategising the Use of Drones in Modern Aerial Warfare For Indian Sub-continent
    (NDU-K, 2023) Gupta Vijay K
    Drones have rapidly created a space for themselves in modern aerial warfare in the recent past. In the 21st Century Wars, they have been found to play key roles in creating favourable situations for the victors. They have evolved from under the shadow of manned aircraft and are extremely useful in modern aerial warfare. Many countries have timely invested in this technology and are reaping benefits. These countries include the pioneers of this technology such as Israel and the United States followed by Turkey, China, and Iran among others. Drones are being used in multiple roles by these countries that include ISR, BDA, and Air to Surface attacks. Drones have a lot of scope in the future as they will be used in roles of loyal wingmen, drone swarms, and even the delivery of WMDs. India is an emerging superpower in the South Asia region with the second-largest standing Army, the fifth-largest air force in the world, and an expanding Navy. It is surrounded by hostile neighbours and it needs to ensure that its strong military retains the technological edge. It needs to ensure that in the field of drones, it is at par if not ahead of its neighbours. This research aimed to strategise the use of drones in modern aerial warfare for Indian Subcontinent keeping the threat assessment in mind. Using the Theory of Realism, the study followed a mix of a quantitative and qualitative approach to assess the laid down objectives that included the study of the global evolution of drones, assessment of the roles and tasks that can be performed by drones in modern aerial warfare and analysis of effective employment of drones in various types of military campaigns keeping India at centre stage. The study found that drones have not been adopted doctrinally well, in the Air Power doctrine of IAF, to give the required emphasis on their usage and proper procurement and India lacks the strategic environment for research, development and domestic production of drones for aerial warfare. The study recommended that the Indian Air Force needs to doctrinally adopt drones in various roles for aerial warfare, lay down the specifications and requirements of drones for their procurement and development, and India must create an environment for the indigenous development of these war machines.