The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industrial Revolution 4.0) has been comprehensively affecting the construction of the Vietnam People's Army. Recognizing this to have suitable solutions for enhancing the  combat strength of the Army is an urgent issue.

In the era of globalization and international integration, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 has been significantly affecting every country, including Vietnam. Its impact is seen not only in the fields of economy, culture, society, science, health, education, ... but also in the field of defense and security, contributing to increasing the combat strength of the Army in terms of weapons and equipment, personnel, science, technology, and military art, modes of command and operation, propaganda and education, training, drilling, retraining, fostering, and organization and staffing of the Army, etc. These factors always impact each other in a dialectical manner, creating both opportunities - advantages and difficulties - challenges. This requires the Party and State to be aware of and timely adopt appropriate policies and measures to enhance the defense potentials and combat strength of the Army.

In the face of the impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the need to modernize and enhance the combat strength of the Army, we need to fully exploit and promote positive impacts, while limiting the negative ones brought about by this revolution in relation to the combat strength of the Army. Accordingly, two important issues need to be addressed: (1) The revolutionary nature and the objectives and directions in building the Army in term of politics under the conditions of military modernization must be protected against the impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. (2) How to exploit and leverage the achievements and favourable conditions that the Industrial Revolution 4.0 brings to the process of enhancing the combat power of the Army. To address the above issues, it is necessary to be aware of and well implement a number of basic solutions as follows:

Firstly, to continue to maintain and enhance the leadership of the Party over the Army. This principle is immutable and, in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, requires special attention. This has been affirmed by our Party: "…to continue to maintain and enhance the absolute, direct, and comprehensive leadership of the Party and the centralized and united management of the State over the People's Army, the People's Public Security, and the cause of national defense." The core requirement for enhancing the leadership of the Party over the Army is to ensure the political strength and improve the overall quality, combat strength, and absolute loyalty of the Army to the Fatherland, the Party, the State, and the People. The Party, therefore, must constantly innovate, build and self-regulate on par with the task of building and defending the Socialist Fatherland. In particular, attention should be paid to building a politically strong Army; promoting education and training on political stuff, ethics, lifestyle, and disciplines for cadres, party members, and soldiers to be really core, exemplary, and leading elements in the performance of their duties and tasks; and building the Military Party Committee and the system of the Party and commanding organizations among the Army to be capable of leading the entire Army to fulfill its tasks.

Secondly, to well address the relationship between humans and weapons in the process of improving the combat strength of the Army. In response to the requirements of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, special importance should be attached to building and promoting human resources in the Army. In particular, there must be a strategy to innovate and improve the quality of training of high-quality human resources and focusing on dramatic and comprehensive innovation of content, curriculum, and methods of teaching learning, and research to create the most important premise for the process of international adaptation and integration. It is also essential to strengthen joint training activities with advanced universities in the national education system to create high-quality human resources to meet development needs. At the same time, it is required to deeply and efficiently invest in key military schools to lead the way in new scientific and technological research to approach the level of advanced countries.

In addition, it is necessary to continue to build a contingent of leaders, commanders, managers, and professional and technical personnel with proper quality, competence, style, and methods to meet the requirements of the tasks of building and combat readiness of the Army in any situation. Along with the process of education and training at schools, it is also required to be positive, self-conscious, self-taught, self-researching, exploring, and creative to be truly knowledgeable, qualified, and specialized; to always master science, technologies, weapons, equipment in staffing; and to have a stable political stuff, strong psychology, and pure and ethical revolutionary qualities to be on a par with the requirements of tasks.

Thirdly, to continue to strengthen the organization and staffing of the Army in accordance with the requirements of the task of defending the Fatherland in the new situation. The Industrial Revolution 4.0, with mainly the tendency of automation and intelligent connectivity, has placed high demands on the process of strengthening the organizational apparatus of the Army. Thoroughly grasping and realizing the 6^th Central Resolution (the 12^th Tenure), the Army is gradually reviewing, consolidating, and re-arranging its organizational apparatus towards neatness, compactness, effectiveness, efficiency, improved strength and combat readiness, and victoriously fighting in any situation. On the basis of the current model, it will continue to exploit and promote effective units, corps, and services, and, at the same time, adjust, merge, shorten, dissolve, and establish a number of special units and forces in the direction of neatness, compactness, strength, flexibility, rational structure, appropriate quantity, and increasingly higher quality. At present, cyber space has become an important "territory" - a warfare method using high-tech weapons. Therefore, the Party and State’s establishment and investment in the construction of the Cyberwar High Command (High Command 86) under the Ministry of National Defense to advance straight to modernity, showing sharp thinking and strategic vision before the strong development of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Finally, to promote the development of Vietnamese military science, technology, and arts in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. This revolution has been and will be fully exploited into the modernization of weapons and technical equipment. The emergence of high-tech and intelligent weapons will change the way war is conducted, combat space, time, and art, and even the boundaries of attack and defense. Approaching this revolution brings us many opportunities, allowing to shorten the distance of our military science to other countries in the region and around the world. The achievements of Industrial Revolution 4.0 can be applied and fundamentally changed the viewpoint and way of organizing military activities. Key technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, new materials, internet, renewable energy, 3D printing, biotechnology, etc. can all be applied in military activities. That requires the Party and State to innovate in thinking to constantly promote the research, application, and development of military science and technology associated with the characteristics, nature, and requirements of tasks of the Army. It is also required to adopt policies to develop and attract experts and scientists to work in the Army's scientific and technological application research centers and create a favorable environment to attract and nurture talents of the Army and the country in the stage of development and international integration. These are both basic and urgent issues in building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and gradually modernized People's Army in the context of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Senior Colonel, Doctor Dao Huy Hiep and Senior Captain Le The Phong, Political Academy - Ministry of Defense