Rajnath Singh stresses on need to evolve joint military vision to face future wars

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasizes the importance of AI and space warfare capabilities at Joint Commanders’ Conference.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (September 5, 2024) called for capability development in space and electronic warfare, with focus on increasing the use of latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), describing them as integral to tackle modern-day challenges. He said this while addressing the Joint Commanders’ Conference in Lucknow on its 2nd and final day.

“Despite global volatility, India is enjoying a rare peace dividend and it is developing peacefully. However, due to the increasing number of challenges, we need to remain alert. It is important that we keep our peace intact during Amrit Kaal. We need to focus on our present, keep an eye on the activities happening around us, and focus on being future-oriented. For this, we should have a strong and robust national security component. We should have fail-proof deterrence,” Mr. Singh said.

He stressed upon the significance of evolving a joint military vision and preparing for the challenges the country may face in future wars, while emphasising synergised, swift and proportionate response to provocations, a Defence Ministry statement said. Referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine as well as Israel-Hamas conflicts and the current situation in Bangladesh, the Minister exhorted the Commanders to “analyse these episodes, predict the problems that the country may face in the future, and stay prepared to deal with the unexpected”, it stated.

The Minister emphasised the need for a broader and deeper analysis by the top military leadership in view of the situation along the country’s northern border and the happenings in neighbouring countries, which pose a challenge to the peace and stability in the region, the statement said.

Calling on the military leadership to focus on increasing the use of latest technological advancements in the fields of data and artificial intelligence, Mr. Singh said, “These components do not participate in any conflict or war directly. Their indirect participation is deciding the course of warfare to a great extent.”

The focus of the two-day conference was on future capability building, including organisation structures for joint and integrated response and ushering in efficiency, transparency and accountability in work process during peace and war, according to the Ministry. “Deliberations spanned across a broad spectrum of contemporary issues such as theaterisation, indigenisation and technological developments, including those in the field of robotics and Artificial Intelligence enabled autonomous weapon systems,” it stated.

Special attention was given to the strategic importance of cyber and space-based capabilities in modern warfare, underlining the necessity of preparing for future conflicts that will increasingly span multiple domains, the statement added. At the conference, Mr. Singh launched eight innovative applications, including e-Museum and e-Granthalaya, and a publication on ‘colonial practises and the armed forces - A review’.