IAF conducts Capstone Seminar for the first ‘Warfare & Aerospace Strategy Program’

New Delhi. The Indian Air Force on June 24 conducted the Capstone Seminar at Air Force Auditorium, New Delhi, marking the culmination of the first Warfare & Aerospace Strategy Program (WASP). The seminar was conducted under the aegis of College of Air Warfare and Centre for Air Power Studies. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff, delivered the keynote address on the occasion which was attended by senior officers from all three services, air power scholars, academia from principal think tanks and premier colleges of the country.

During his address, the CAS enumerated that the aim of WASP is to generate strategic thought and understanding amongst IAF officers. He brought out that the program was designed to briefly expose the participants to key disciplines of a nation’s Comprehensive National Power, which will enable them to understand the whole-of-government approach and generate independent opinions. He stressed upon the need to reassess the IAF’s strategic priorities and to realign actions to ensure that the service doesn’t get left behind.

He congratulated the participants and urged them convert the knowledge gained into workable strategies, and to remember that their thoughts would channel not only air power related strategies but also contribute in making coherent military and national strategies. He also highlighted the fact that while a well-crafted strategy may not guarantee success, absence of a coherent and sustainable strategy will surely lead to failure.

The participants in the seminar presented papers on contemporary topics concerning application of air power in recent conflicts and the changing doctrinal precepts that establish the dominant role of air power in national security.

The seminar also included the release of the revised edition of IAF’s Doctrine.