Category: Cyber

Posted on

COGNITIVE WARFARE

 

Cognitive warfare is not only an attack on what we think.

It is an attack on our way of thinking. 

 

Pic: Courtesy Internet

 

 

The human mind is the paramount battleground in modern warfare and cognitive warfare has emerged as an unparalleled domain.

 

Defining Cognitive Warfare. Cognitive Warfare is a psychological strategy that focuses on altering how a target population thinks and through that how it acts. This strategy intends to gradually influence the targeted public’s beliefs, opinions, and perceptions about a subject, such as an event, a politician, a government, or an ideology in general. It is the weaponisation of public opinion, by an external entity, to influence public and governmental policy and destabilise public institutions.

 

Genesis. Cognitive warfare is a development that has emerged from prior related non-kinetic forms of warfare, such as PsyOps operations and Information Warfare. Information warfare is aimed at manipulating what people believe to be true and thereby swaying public perceptions. A more organised and advanced form of information warfare is cognitive warfare.

 

Catalysts. Cognitive warfare relies heavily on new communication and information technologies, notably AI.

 

Key features

 

    • Cognitive warfare targets the entire population (as opposed to merely military ones in wartime).

 

    • Its focus is on changing a population’s behaviour by way of changing its way of thinking rather than merely the provision of discrete bits of false or misinformation in respect of specific issues.

 

    • It relies on sophisticated psychological techniques of manipulation by harnessing the new channels of public communication, such as social media, upon which populations have become increasingly reliant.

 

    • It aims to destabilise institutions, especially governments, though often indirectly by way of initially destabilising cognitive institutions, such as news media organisations.

 

    • Cyber warfare categories including cyber conflict short of war, cyber terrorism, cybercrime, and cyber espionage, etc can be classified as covert cognitive warfare.

 

    • Cognitive warfare so far consists of activity that is more aptly characterised as short of war.

 

    • One problem with cognitive warfare is the problem of attribution and deniability.

 

    • Covert cognitive warfare is (more or less) by definition unlawful (at least in the nation-state against which it is directed).

 

    • Cognitive warfare is likely to be more successful in certain prevailing circumstances like destabilising effects of war, economic depression, pandemics, and other disasters or a pre-existing polarised society.

 

Countering Cognitive warfare

 

    • Legislation to hold mass social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, legally liable for illegal content, such as incitement and hate speech, on their platforms.

 

    • Mandatory licensing of mass social media platforms.

 

    • Licences to be conditional on the content on their platforms being compliant with the minimum epistemic and moral standards determined and adjudicated by an independent statutory authority established by the government.

 

    • Lawful content which, nevertheless, fails to meet these minimum epistemic and moral standards, to be liable to removal by social media platforms, under the adjudications of the above-mentioned independent statutory authority.

 

    • Communicators of politically significant content on mass media channels of public communication who have very large audiences, e.g., greater than 100,000 followers, to be legally and publicly identified.

 

The People’s Republic of China has incorporated cognitive warfare and related strategies into their operations.

 

What is our status?

 

Coming up: A detailed article on the subject

 

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References and credits

To all the online sites and channels.

 

Disclaimer:

Information and data included in the blog are for educational & non-commercial purposes only and have been carefully adapted, excerpted, or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate. All copyrighted material belongs to respective owners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.

 

 

 

Posted on

Q & A SERIES: IAF – AI POWERED UNMANNED PLATFORMS, SPACE OPS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

 

? Response to Questionnaire ?

 

  1. In your opinion, how do advancements in AI Pilots have the potential to transform future aerial operations and impact Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)?

 

  • AI, Quantum Computing, and Miniaturisation are technologies with maximum impact on air warfare. The combination of these increases the computing power of the aerial systems while reducing their weight and size.

 

  • AI-powered UAVs are the future of the air warfare.

 

  • The combination of unmanned aerial platforms and long-range vectors is changing warfare into “No Contact Warfare”.

 

  • Future air warfare will see the next generation of aerial platforms wherein a combination of manned and unmanned platforms will work as a team. The concept is being called the “Loyal Wing Man Concept” (I call it the “Mother Goose Concept”). Work is going on toward it worldwide including India.

 

  • The second future trend is Swarm Technology, wherein, several small (Some as small as insects) drones would work in unison towards a defined task.

 

  • Anti-drone systems will also develop. These systems will contain multi-sensors and an assortment of weapons for hard or soft kill. They will be AI-powered to process the large amounts of information being generated.

 

  1. Regarding the critical aspect of securing Air Superiority, particularly in the context of the Sino-Indian Arena and the Indo-Pak scenario, do you believe the Indian Air Force (IAF) is adequately prepared for the challenges of the future? What, in your view, are the essential requirements for the IAF to meet these challenges effectively?

 

  • IAF always works on plans. The first one is to fight with whatever it has and the second is for capability development for future challenges.

 

  • Over the last nine decades (especially in the last four decades) air warfare capabilities (like strategic airlift, precision, Standoff, all-weather round-the-clock operation, high altitude ops, etc.) of the IAF have improved significantly.

 

  • At present IAF still can make the difference and provide the asymmetry while dealing with current challenges. However, its war-fighting endurance (numerical strength of fighter and combat support aircraft) needs to be boosted.

 

  • Capability and capacity development is a continuous process. The future trajectory should cater to future challenges. Some of the essential requirements to deal with future challenges would require:-

 

      • Enhancement of War Endurance.

 

      • Infusion of Technology (Quantum, AI, Hypersonic, Stealth, etc.)

 

      • Reorientation & reorganisation to deal with Grey Zone operations and warfare in domains of warfare like Cyber, Space, Information, and Electronics.

 

      • Integration with surface forces and government agencies for the whole of government response.

 

      • Self-reliant defence industry.

 

  1. Recognizing the strategic significance of Space in Future Air Warfare, how imperative do you believe it is for India to make the necessary considerations and investments in this domain?

 

  • Space has permeated into every aspect of life (communications, surveys, education, banking, traffic management, health care disaster management, etc.).

 

  • It has also become an essential domain in warfare (for communications, surveillance, navigation targeting, etc.).

 

  • The long-range vectors Including Hypersonic) and new-generation platforms are using the medium of space.

 

  • In such a scenario of high dependence on space-based systems, space warfare (i.e. denial of space operations to the enemy and freedom of own forces to use the medium of space) both offensive and defensive becomes very important.

 

  • India’s space program is progressing well, however, the space-based technologies and systems are developed first for civilian use and then for the military. This work needs to go on in parallel.

 

  • Private participation besides public R&D and industry is essential.

 

  • An appropriate organisation needs to be set up to harness space and deal with space warfare. Advanced Air Forces like The USAF have a space command. China has gone a step further by making a separate service (Joint Strategic Support Force) to deal with all four domains (Cyber, Space, Information, and Electronic).

 

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References and credits

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Disclaimer:

Information and data included in the blog are for educational & non-commercial purposes only and have been carefully adapted, excerpted, or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate. All copyrighted material belongs to respective owners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.

 

Posted on

STRATEGIC EVOLUTION OF INDIAN AIR FORCE

 

 

A talk on

“Strategic evolution of IAF”

followed by an Interactive Q&A session.

 

 

For selective viewing, please click on the links below:-

  1. Introductions.
  2.  Historical Perspective.
  3. Doctrinal Evolution.
  4. Current Challenges.
  5. Future Trajectory.
  6. Q & A session.
  7. Vote of thanks.

 

Links to Q  & A Session:-

  1. Effect of space technologies on air warfare and is it time for a separate space force?
  2. Are we prepared for Cyber and Space warfare? and are we drawing military benefits from our space program?
  3. Public participation in cyber and electronic domains of warfare and combined command and control structures of three services.
  4. Women in IAF and suitability for combat role.
  5. Tejas and its combat capability. 
  6. Indigenous 5th generation aircraft programme and any chance of revival of FGFA joint development. 
  7. IAF ability to take on two front challenge in nuclear environment.

 

Suggestions and value additions are most welcome

 

For regular updates, please register here

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References and credits

To all the online sites and channels.

 

Disclaimer:

Information and data included in the blog are for educational & non-commercial purposes only and have been carefully adapted, excerpted, or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate. All copyrighted material belongs to respective owners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.