APPLICATIONS OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND ELECTRONIC SURVEYING TO ' MODERN WARFARE TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Maps, charts and models have been used in some form or other, since ancient times for War purposes, either for planning and conducting war operations such as Advance, Attack, Defence, Withdrawls, Counter-attacks etc. on land, air , and sea, or for propaganda purposes and general infor-mation of the people concerned. The surveying and mapping methods underwent suitable improvements and modifications from time to time according to the requirements of military intelligence. Advent of photography, airborne vehicles and Electronics in the first half of Twentieth Century have completely revolutionised the conventional Military Intelli-gence collection and Surveying and Mapping methods, and today possibilities of carrying Warfare techniques into space are under active exploration by Big Powers of the World. India has been lagging behind in this particular field by about 20 years and this was one of the main reasons of her military reverses in the last few years. Faulty intelligence and maps and charts have always been a headache to the ablest field commanders. Therefore, an attempt has been made in the present dissertation to compile the modern methods of collecting detailed and uptodate military intelligence, as current in most of the more advanced Nations and based on applications of Photogrammetry and Electronic Surveying. Chapter II deals with the outlines of classical and modern mapping methods in war, the military requirements of maps and aerial photographs and development of new surveying tedlniques and instruments for the Armed Fbrces during and since T, rld War II. Chapter III deals with the Intelligence require-ment of Armed Forces, the co-operation between Air and. Ground Forces, and the various aspects of Aerial Reconnaissance carried out over enemy held territory. Different requirements of strategic and tactical airphoto reconnAissance, mapping and charting photography, and development of relevant airborne vehicles have been discussed in detail. A brief description has also been given of the fundamentals of Electronic Surveying and trends in development of modern aerial reconnaissance and mapping equipment. Nearly all aspects of Military Photo Interpreta-tion have been discussed in detail in Chapter TVA with well illustrated examples. A brief description of fundamentals and techniques of photo interpretation has also been given to emphasize the role of a well trained military photo inter-preter in fishing out detailed information from photographs. A brief outline of a short term course in military photo interpretation has been included for the benefit of authorities concerned. Chapter V deals with cartographic and allied aids such as models, plastic maps, microfilming etc. which go a long way in dessemination of Military Intelligence to the lowest echelons of Armed Fbrces for efficient planning and successful outcome of military operations. Chapter VI deals with the impact of Electronics and Automatic Mapping Systems on military operations. It contains brief description of some of the important Electronic Navigational and Positioning Systems, Radar and other remote sensor reconnaissance and mapping devices, and fundamentals of Electronic Photogrsmmetry and Automatic Mapping Systems. Some of the current and proposed Automatic and Semi-Automat is Mapping Systems have also been suitably described. Some fundamental aspects of Warfare Techniques and Geodesy in the Nuclear and Space Age have been discussed in brief in Chapter VII, along with the salient features of rockets, guided missiles and artificial earth satellites. In the final chapter are outlined the conclusions drawn concerning the Applications of Photogrammetry and Electronic Surveying to Modern Warfare Techniques with special reference to the present defence requirements of India for safeguarding her Territorial Integrity.