BREAKING VIEWS

they all seek to conduct a thorough analysis of conflicts both past and present to understand and predict how countries will fight wars in the future.”

This assessment provides a clarity on why the need for creating a mechanism to respond to a host of ‘new’ dangers is an imperative.

Even Sun Tzu would have been impressed at this futuristic decision. Eight hundred years ago the man who wrote the book on the basics of modern warfare did not focus or promote physical force as the best means to win a battle. He was more skilled at and interested in using psychological and technical means to defeat his enemy.

In similar fashion the threat today comes from remote controlled devices that are set into motion and manipulated from vast distances. An initiative like Edge not only establishes an ongoing research and development platform but also tackles real issues like the use of drones, placement of robots in hazard situations, supremacy in the air through hypersonic craft, and the use of anti-magnetic blockers and system jammers among others. These are the weapons of tomorrow and they have to be defended against. Literally, the confrontation is at the push of a button, giving that phrase a new meaning.

The integral core of any defence is the emphasis on security and this security can be achieved by preempting scenarios that are in the mix and being aware that what does not exist today is not a figment of imagination but a reality tomorrow.

Edge is likely to awaken the world to a new realisation as the UAE charters a course towards moulding science and technology to guarantee peace and prosperity and protect, preserve and defend the sanctity of the nation and its people.