The Military Technical Branch improves its capacity to access and apply the 4th industrial revolution’s achievements
In response to the prevailing trend of the 4th industrial revolution, the Military Technical Branch has taken measures to access and apply this revolution’s achievements, thus contributing to improving the performance of military technical support in the new situation. This is an urgent and long-term mission.
The 4th industrial revolution is based on a high-level integration of digital connection system, physics and biology and has been impacting on all aspects of the social life in Vietnam. In the military area, the application of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, biotechnology, etc. has greatly impacted on the forms of war and the types of warfare in general, the task of technical support in particular.
Over the past years, the Party, the State and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) have invested in building information technology and multi-mode military transmission infrastructure, such as fiber-optic cabling, wireless, and satellite information systems, etc. Accordingly, the General Technical Department (GTD) has proactively executed many projects and programs to access and apply the 4th industrial revolution’s achievements to the work of military technical support and attained initial results, particularly in applying key technologies. We have succeeded in building several models of digital technology to apply big data, such as the national air warning system and digital map data. The application of the IoT, AI, 3D printing technology, new material technology, etc. to the military area has initially served the military missions. As a result, the deployment of several information technology systems to serve leadership, command, management and operation has brought about positive results; the scientific and technological level in the military fields, training, combat readiness and technical support has been raised.
However, there are may difficulties in accessing and applying the 4th industrial revolution’s achievements; the capability to access and apply those achievements are still limited; the high-quality human resources of the Technical Branch are not adequate while there is a lack of experience in accessing hi-tech weapons and equipment; the issues on protecting the information have yet to be settled. Moreover, due to the particularities of the military technology, it is hard for the cooperation in transferring high technologies, especially new high technologies. The existing weapons and technical equipment, which have been innovated and integrated with technologies though, still use low technologies while the domestic materials for manufacture are limited. The modernization of technical support centres and the investment in scientific research and technological reform in the Military encounters difficulties. Against that backdrop, to raise the capability to effectively access and apply the 4th industrial revolution’s achievements, the Military Technical Branch should focus on the following points.
First, grasping the Prime Minister’s Directive 16/CT-TTg, dated May 4th 2017, on enhancing the capacity to access the 4th industrial revolution, the Defence Minister’s Plan 737/QĐ-BQP, dated March 13th 2018 and the General Staff’s Plan 436/KH-TM, dated March 16th 2018, the GTD has issued the action plan within the whole General Department while stepping up the work of propagation and education to raise the awareness of all-level party committees, commands, cadres and soldiers towards the 4th industrial revolution as well as the importance of improving the capacity to access and apply this revolution’s achievements to the work of technical support in the new situation. This is an important element of the leadership and direction work by each party organization and has become a routine task of offices and units in the whole Military. In the process, the GTD has directed all-level political offices to give instructions to units on studying, propagating and introducing this revolution’s nature and particularities as well as opportunities, challenges and its impacts on the Military Technical Branch in general, the task performance of each office and unit in particular to cadres and soldiers. Accordingly, each individual, office and unit should have proper access, opportunely seize the opportunity, set out measures to make best use of advantages and at the same time minimize the negative impacts by this revolution on their task performance.
Second, renewing the method of the technical support work and the mechanism for managing and directing this work. The Military Technical Branch should proactively propose new methods of the technical support work to ensure the efficiency and meet the requirements of this work in the new situation. Thus, the GTD should command technical offices at all levels to closely cooperate with research centres, manufacturers, workshops, service suppliers, and receiver units in narrowing the distance and shortening the duration in the technical support work, thereby overcoming the weaknesses of the closed chain (which should be open) in study, development, trialing manufacture, manufacture, and repair among centres for manufacturing and repairing weapons and technical equipment both inside and outside the Military. In fact, the GTD is carrying out many projects to renew the method of technical support. A typical example is the Project “technical support for weapons and equipment according to their life cycle” which has been applied to a number of modern equipment, such as Su-30 MK2 fighters, Kilo-class submarines. This is a modern method being applied effectively by developed countries.
Moreover, technical sectors in charge of managing modern weapons and equipment have effectively cooperated with partners within the country, while proactively proposing the establishment of joint venture with foreign partners in technical support work, thereby gradually mastering the exploitation and repair of a number of modern weapons and equipment. In the projects with foreign partners, offices and units should be active in studying, quickly accessing and mastering technologies, and focus on new content and items as well as high technologies, particularly those related to submarine, aircraft and missile. By doing this, we could promote the capability of the contingent of experts to both transfer technologies and train our pool of technical cadres and employees.
Third, upgrading and modernizing the system of depots and materiel repair establishments in the entire Military. Up to now, due attention has been paid to building and consolidating the system of depots and materiel repair establishments at all levels. Weapons and technical equipment have been basically classified, preserved, arranged and closely managed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Significance has been attached to the work of preserving weapons and ammunition by units stationed in remote, isolated, sea, island areas and oil rig protection posts; to preserving missiles of the Navy and the Air Defence - Air Force under the required conditions as well as anti-tank missiles and materiel requiring the strict maintenance environment. Besides, due regard has been paid to labeling and storing materiel which have been planned to be used in long term on time and in accordance with the procedure; to ensuring the environmental conditions for preserving materiel integrated with a cluster of hi-tech details of great value.
In addition, the GTD should focus on improving the quality of repairing materiel and manufacturing technical materials in factories. Enormous investments have been made in technical support establishments in the entire Military, particularly factories of the Air Defence - Air Force, the Navy, and the Signal Corps, thereby basically meeting the requirements of technical support. Nevertheless, to satisfy the increasingly higher task requirements, the Military Technical Branch should continue to further invest in many other aspects to enhance the capacity to master the repair and synchronization of modern materiel. Accordingly, investments should be focused on key sectors in both high technologies and personnel as well as on repairing weapons, military hardware, submarines, aircraft, and missiles.
Fourth, building and developing a contingent of military technical personnel both quantitatively and qualitatively, making them politically strong and standardizing this staff’s professional competence. In addition to modernizing materiel, the Military Technical Branch has paid due regard to raising the quality of a contingent of technical cadres and employees. To do so, the GTD has advised the CMC and the MND on measures to develop the military technical personnel comprehensively. More specifically, it has given advice on stepping up cooperation with foreign partners in training cadres, transferring technologies, and exploiting and operating the system of new weapons, equipment and technologies; on organizing on-the-spot refresher courses with domestic top cadres and experts playing the core role and tapping the support of foreign experts as well. Besides, technical sectors have counselled and held specialized training courses, with emphasis placed on key sectors to meet the task requirements in short term and gradually master new technologies.
The GTD should proactively counsel and link the personnel planning work with personnel training, arrangement, and use; attach great value to training and developing a contingent of top experts, technical cadres and technicians in the key technical sectors as the core force in the work of technical support, especially for modern, hi-tech weapons and equipment. Furthermore, the GTD should continue to study and propose special policies to attract the hi-calibre technical personnel to the Military and ensuring proper policies for the existing contingent of technical cadres and employees so that they keep their mind on their work.
In response to the rapid development of the 4th industrial revolution, in the upcoming time, the Military Technical Branch will continue synchronously adopting measures to access and effectively apply this revolution’s achievements, contributing to improving the quality and efficiency of the military technical support work in the new situation.
Lt. Gen. Nguyen Huu Chinh, Commissar of the GTD