SOME strange yet interesting lessons in the history of warfare surfaced during the recent Iranian attack on Israel. ‘Surprise’ used to be an essential principle of war, but Iran had informed the United States and countries in the Middle East about the impending missile attack to give them time to mitigate the impact. Indeed, telling the US meant telling Israel, the target, itself. More than 300 missiles were subsequently fired by Iran that caused minimal loss as almost all of them were intercepted by the defence mechanism.

Beyond any doubt in one’s mind, this was a diplomatic use of weapons, not aimed at causing optimal damage to the enemy. It was a symbolic action aimed at sending a message.

Moreover, the definitions of ‘limited war’, ‘proxy war’ ‘asymmetric war’ are also frequently changing now, and along with it the weapons of war are also undergoing a metamorphosis. The most commonly used weapons of war now are missiles, precision-guided weapons, rockets and drones.

So very soon unmanned fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cutting-edge electronic systems will determine the war potential of a nation. The days of long-drawn wars and foot soldiers are over. The world is rapidly moving towards modern warfare tactics.

Air-Cdre (retd) Khayyam Durrani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2024