From Ukraine and Iran to the Indo-Pacific, strategic depth, terrain and resilient logistics are determining whether nations can withstand attacks, sustain operations and preserve national power. Technology cannot trump the relevance of geography.
LT GEN DP PANDEY(R) | FORMER CORPS COMMANDER CHINAR CORPS | FOR THE NEWS ANALYTICS HERALD
3 mins read.
The emergence of long-range missiles, precision weapons, drones and persistent surveillance has encouraged perceptions that geography is losing its strategic relevance. Some Indian strategic thinkers argue that China’s technological advances could overcome the Himalayan barrier and geographical distance.
Recent conflicts suggest otherwise. Geography has not lost its significance; its role in warfare has evolved. The Russia–Ukraine war, US–Israeli confrontation with Iran and Indo-Pacific tensions demonstrate that striking an adversary does not necessarily secure political submission.
Modern strategic depth encompasses dispersed infrastructure, industrial capacity, resilient logistics and the ability to regenerate military power under sustained attack.
TERRITORIAL ENDURANCE
The Russia–Ukraine war illustrates geography’s continuing importance. Russia’s vast territory enables military dispersal, industrial relocation and sustained operations beyond immediate battlefields. Its resources and defence-industrial capacity support prolonged conflict.
Yet distance no longer guarantees immunity. On 1 June 2025, Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web targeted four Russian airbases using covertly transported drones, including Belaya in Irkutsk, approximately 4,850 kilometres from Kyiv. Ukrainian officials claimed 41 aircraft were damaged, although precise losses remained independently unverified.
Despite extensive Western assistance to Ukraine, Russia’s territorial scale and regenerative capacity complicate decisive military outcomes.
Ukraine faces different vulnerabilities. Its comparatively restricted territory concentrates population centres, energy infrastructure and transport networks within reach of sustained attacks.
Geographical depth creates time and options, but industrial capacity, resilient infrastructure and logistics convert territory into endurance.
ASYMMETRIC GEOGRAPHICAL LEVERAGE
Iran demonstrates how geography can provide leverage against militarily superior adversaries.
Covering approximately 1.65 million square kilometres, Iran possesses mountainous terrain, dispersed installations and hardened underground facilities that complicate surveillance and targeting.
Its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor, provides additional strategic leverage. Maritime disruptions can influence energy markets, shipping costs and international diplomacy.
The US–Israeli military campaign beginning on 28 February 2026 demonstrated advanced airpower’s reach, but also highlighted the distinction between battlefield superiority and achieving political objectives.
Iran need not match American military capabilities platform for platform. Its coastline, strategic waterways and capacity to threaten maritime commerce can impose disproportionate economic and operational costs.
Geography remains a military obstacle, economic pressure point and instrument of asymmetric strategic influence.
CONTESTED MARITIME LOGISTICS
In the Indo-Pacific, strategic depth assumes a maritime dimension. Vast distances separating bases, ports and operational areas make logistics fundamental to military effectiveness.
Unlike continental theatres, maritime operations depend heavily on secure shipping, replenishment vessels, forward installations and functioning supply chains.
US military assessments identify regional distances, archipelagos and increasingly sophisticated adversary capabilities as major logistical challenges. Forward bases extend operational reach but remain vulnerable to missiles and drones.
The 2026 US–Iran conflict reportedly exposed similar vulnerabilities, with attacks affecting American facilities and support infrastructure across the Gulf. Disruptions reportedly increased reliance on distant logistics hubs, extending replenishment cycles and complicating operational endurance.
Consequently, military effectiveness depends on distributing assets, protecting supply routes, maintaining repair capabilities and developing alternative operating locations.
China benefits from continental scale and industrial capacity, yet remains exposed through maritime energy imports and critical shipping routes. The United States enjoys geographical separation from continental adversaries but faces substantial challenges projecting sustained power across the Pacific.
India’s peninsular location, island territories and Indian Ocean access provide significant maritime advantages, provided these are supported by adequate infrastructure and operational capabilities.
In contested maritime theatres, superior weapons cannot compensate for vulnerable bases, disrupted logistics and inadequate operational endurance.
INDIA’S STRATEGIC DEPTH
Pakistan’s historical pursuit of strategic depth through Afghanistan illustrates the limitations of treating geography primarily as additional territorial space or political influence.
Modern strategic depth must instead encompass infrastructure survivability, redundant communications, distributed stockpiles, industrial resilience and the capacity to regenerate combat power.
India’s geographical expanse, Himalayan terrain and Indian Ocean access offer substantial advantages. Although China’s expanding missile and drone capabilities threaten distant targets, overcoming difficult terrain and sustaining military operations remain formidable challenges.
India can exploit its territorial depth by dispersing logistics, ammunition, industrial facilities and critical infrastructure. However, vulnerable approaches and transport chokepoints require alternative routes and strengthened redundancy.
Its maritime advantages demand resilient ports, airfields, maintenance facilities, indigenous defence production and dependable supply networks.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are particularly important for extending surveillance, strengthening operational presence and protecting strategic approaches in the eastern Indian Ocean.
Civilian infrastructure, energy systems and transport networks must also become integral components of national resilience planning.
India’s geographical advantages become enduring strategic power only through resilient infrastructure, indigenous defence production and sustained military preparedness.
THE ENDURING GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGE
Precision weapons have exposed previously secure rear areas, but geography continues shaping military endurance, economic leverage and operational choices.
Russia illustrates territorial resilience; Iran demonstrates asymmetric geographical leverage; and the Indo-Pacific reveals the decisive importance of contested logistics.
Modern strategic depth is therefore not measured merely in kilometres. It represents a nation’s capacity to absorb attacks, preserve operational freedom, regenerate capabilities and sustain political objectives.
The decisive advantage belongs not necessarily to the largest country, but to the nation most capable of converting geographical opportunities into enduring strategic power.
(Lt Gen DP Pandey (R), Former Corps Commander, Chinar Corps, DG Territorial Army, Director of Military Intelligence, Foreign Division and the Commandant of the Army War College. The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The News Analytics Herald.)
