Modernisation and Transformation in the Armed Forces

Abstract

Armed forces worldwide face an epic challenge in keeping pace with the emerging regional and global threats and the changing battlefield milieu. The global security environment is marked by regional conflicts, asymmetric threats, terrorism, and the rise of fundamentalism, as well as rapid progress in technology. The armed forces of any nation are, thus, constantly trying to evolve, to stay abreast in dealing with the myriad challenges being faced by them. The commonly used parlance for demonstrating the will to meet these challenges is to modernise/transform. However, the terms modernisation and transformation, especially when referring to the armed forces, are often misused, misapplied, and used interchangeably even though they mean different things and have very different connotations.