Army developing ‘Strategy 2025’

• Cyber security, technological modernisation of military included in plan

By Asiri Fernando

The Sri Lanka Army is the last stages of developing “Strategy 2025” to guide the forces into the future, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said yesterday. 

“The Army is developing a way forward strategy, we are in the last stages of it. It will initially be for 2025, and we plan to expand it to 2022-2030. It is a must that we should know where we stand and where we want to go. Without an objective, we can’t make that journey, so we have done that. We want to be a productive and professional organisation to the country without being a burden to it,” Lt. Gen. Silva explained. 

“The public and the Government has faith in the tri-services. Therefore, it is our duty to keep pace with the latest technologies and to see that we are the leaders in our field,” he added. 

Lt. Gen. Silva told the Daily FT that cyber security, technological modernisation, and sound training was essential to stay battle-ready and overcome any wartime or peacetime challenges.  

The Army Commander made the comments about “Strategy 2025” at a function held at Army Headquarters to launch a new mobile application indigenously developed by the Army Directorate of Information Technology and the Corps of Signals. 

The app, called the Army Hospital Information System (AHIS), which was designed and produced in-house, is aimed at streamlining patient care and management at Army hospitals island-wide. A pilot project aims to digitise all patient information, medication, test results, care and management details at the Army hospitals in Colombo, Panagoda, Anuradhapura, and Pallai. 

The function also showcased other locally developed systems including a “Geobased Personal Information System” relating to human resource management, the Army Data Network, an in-house learning management system, and the Army Web Portal.  Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Signal Officer of the Army (CSO) Major General Adeepa Thilakaratne stressed that Sri Lanka is capable of developing many technological solutions needed by the military establishment indigenously.