Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Army chief dismisses US perception about Indian Army

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, Dec 2, IRNA -- Army Chief Gen V K Singh Thursday said India has no 'Cold Start' doctrine as claimed in the secret American documents and dismissed the US perception about the Indian Army being 'slow and lumbering'.

'There is nothing called 'Cold Start' (doctrine) in the Indian Army. We don't have anything called 'Cold Start',' he told pti reacting to wikileak documents in which US Ambassador Timothy Roemer analyses India's military approach towards Pakistan in the wake of 26/11 attacks.

He also dismissed Roemer's description of the Indian army's mobilisation process as 'slow and lumbering', saying that is 'his perception' with which he does not agree.

He said that no force anywhere could have 100 per cent modernisation. 'Anywhere, ideally, 30 per cent will be old legacy, 30-40 per cent will be in the process of modernization and another 30-40 per cent will be totally modernised..'

The Army Chief said in a big country like India, it will take time because of manufacturing and other issues.

'All that I can say is that whatever we have, whether it is old or otherwise, we are still capable of what we want to achieve,' he emphasised.