Future warfare course to delve into impact of AI, disruptive technologies

PTI, Sep 22, 2024, 8:05 PM IST

Representative image (credit: istock)

New Delhi: A rank-agnostic first-ever future warfare course slated to be conducted here from September 23 to 27 will throw light on how emerging and disruptive technologies like AI and hypersonics will impact the conduct of warfare, officials said on Sunday.

A pioneering initiative by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, the course will foster jointness and facilitate development of a “cohesive, futuristic, and tech-savvy force, capable of securing national interests in an increasingly uncertain and competitive environment”, the defence ministry said.

It will be for officers, having a rank ranging from a Major to a Major General and their equivalent level officers from other services.

The course intends to acquaint officers with the operational and technological aspects of modern warfare.

The first of its kind, tri-Services ‘Future Warfare’ course is scheduled to be conducted in New Delhi from September 23-27 under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, the ministry said in a statement.

“The course will focus on key areas related to future warfare to develop an understanding on the manner in which future wars will manifest in terms of being contact, non-contact, kinetic, non-kinetic, psychological or informational as also the domains where they will be fought, be it cyber, space or electromagnetic spectrum.

“It will also throw light on how emerging and disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, robotics and hypersonics will impact the conduct of warfare,” the statement said.

The need for a Future Warfare Course for tri-Services officers arises from the rapidly evolving nature of modern warfare, driven by technological advancements, changing global dynamics, and emerging threats, the ministry said.

“Officers must be equipped to navigate this complex landscape, leveraging new technologies, and adapting to innovative tactics,” it added.

The course has been curated by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff with the help of veteran and serving subject matter experts. Subsequent courses will build upon the curriculum of this course and be of longer duration with the larger objective of making the Indian armed forces ‘future-ready’, the ministry said.

A first-ever future warfare course, which will be attended by the officers of different ranks, is slated to start on September 23, the CDS had said on Thursday.

In an interaction session at Bharat Shakti Defence Conclave here, he had also spoken of the broader contours of the planned joint theatre commands envisioned by the government.

It’s an inaugural course and maybe it will “mature in future”, the CDS said.

General Chauhan, however, said, “When we are looking at future warfare, we are not looking at how advance militaries are going to fight in future and then try to copy them.” “We are going to say, how we are going to fight in future and how we will lay the roadmap. So, it’s a different concept,” he said.