AI in defence The Excelsior 22 Feb 2026
https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ai-in-defence/
AI in defence The Excelsior 22 Feb 2026
Warfare is changing. It will no longer restricted to conventional or kinetic but will be hybrid and multi-domain. Wars may also no longer be short and intense but prolonged while remaining below the nuclear threshold. Today’s warfare will involve large scale employment of drones, cyberattacks, space and informational warfare, guided by AI. Hybrid warfare or Grey Zone warfare will always be ongoing.
Intelligence inputs to commanders would flow from multiple sources requiring immediate decisions. AI based tools could be the backbone of systems assessing data and assisting in decision making. Economic dependency and capital restrictions will be exploited to force nations to toe lines of the powerful. These will also be the means to contain strategic autonomy.
The four-year old Russo-Ukraine war has seen an increased role of AI in the battlefield. Ukraine has incorporated AI in drone warfare; intelligence assessments as also exploited it to collaborate with western technology companies on innovative solutions. Russia primarily uses AI in UAVs.
Both nations are currently using AI empowered drones which are preprogrammed to detect and engage targets and since they do not emanate signals, cannot be jammed while being small, difficult to engage. India has learnt its lessons from this conflict as also from Operation Sindoor and are now incorporating them.
The CDS recently stated, ‘For a long time, military strategy depended on geography and terrain. Now we are in an era where geography is becoming slightly less relevant, and technology is driving instability,’ adding, ‘New-domain warfare is smarter, faster, and results can be achieved simultaneously.’ Operation Sindoor was an example where all domains of warfare including cyber and space were employed simultaneously and successfully.
AI is today a key driver in the ongoing technological revolution in every domain of life, defence included. It possesses the potential to redefine strategy, operations and decision making. AI has both, military and civil uses, hence needs a collaborative effort in development. Civil-military fusion is the best option to enhance its potential.
With the armed forces being a major exploiter, they can ideally be a test bed for AI based systems. However, there is a difference. AI systems in defence must be reliable, secure and robust, considering conditions in which they would be employed as also lives of soldiers are at stake. Once tested by the armed forces, these can be sourced for other fields.
For the armed forces, AI is an operational necessity and a force multiplier. In combat scenarios AI systems can process data flowing from multiple sources including drones, satellites and ground sensors, evaluate threats as also deliver real time solutions, doing so at speeds far faster than humans. It also plays a role in the information domain, sifting misinformation and disinformation, which are exploited by the adversary to add to confusion as also mislead the public.
It can also assist in air defence, electronic warfare, logistics, equipment maintenance, training and cyber security, reducing human workload and errors. It is also being employed in predictive maintenance. AI also enables forces to react faster while making effective use of available resources. AI also has a role in cyber defence and electronic warfare, detecting attempted intrusions and taking countermeasures.
No matter how effective an AI based system is, human decision makers should always have the final say. As LT Gen Vipun Singhal, the army’s deputy chief, speaking at the AI summit, mentioned, ‘AI can inform decisions, but only humans can exercise judgment and bear responsibility for them.’ He added that AI places burdens on leadership, command responsibility and strategic stability.
On the induction of AI into the Indian armed forces, Singhal added, ‘we as the Indian armed forces and the Indian Army are fully cognisant of the transformative power of AI to increase our operational efficiency and we are making every effort in that direction to ensure that AI is incorporated into our decision support systems, into our surveillance, reconnaissance and all the other functions that we perform.’ What he mentioned as essential is subjecting AI enabled systems to strict evaluation and trials before induction, similar to other equipment.
The armed forces have initiated multiple AI based projects, some of which like the AI-based Intrusion Detection System and the naval Maritime Information Management and Analysis Centre have already been implemented. Many more are in the pipeline. Dr Chandrika Kaushik from DRDO mentioned, ‘From advanced surveillance platforms to systems that can improve their own performance over time, AI use cases are expanding rapidly within the armed forces.’
Exploitation of AI is natural, however as autonomous weapon systems, operating without human intervention gain ground, there will always be chances of errors. Development of such weapons should be regulated and human decision making incorporated.
Israel’s use of the Lavender system coupled with others like ‘Where’s Daddy’ and ‘the Gospel’ during its conflict with Hamas resulted in identification of 37,000 Hamas operatives, including low level operatives, recommended to be targeted. Many were eliminated alongside collateral damage and civilian casualties. This is being used as an example seeking restricted use of AI in war.
There is also a push for a ‘Glass box’ model where logic and decision paths can be inspected and overridden, unlike opaque black-box models. In a Glass Box model commanders stay above the system and have visibility and are final decision makers.
Since national security is involved, India needs AI that is developed and hosted within, not only for defence but also governance and critical sectors. As Rajiv Chetwani, Director of Information Systems, ISRO mentioned, ‘sovereign AI is a strategic necessity and a critical infrastructure for space observation and national autonomy.’
This implies systems which are designed, developed and controlled within the nation. This will ensure that these systems are protected from hidden backdoors and foreign interference and the nation cannot be blackmailed at critical junctures. AI is the future but at the same time human decision making should have the final say.