NEW DELHI. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called on the armed forces to prepare for conflicts shaped by drones, missiles and electronic warfare, and to strengthen their ability to anticipate threats. He was speaking at the Air Force Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi on November 12, where he also launched a suite of artificial intelligence applications developed by the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Singh urged the services to reinforce both offensive and defensive dimensions of the “element of surprise”. He said stronger intelligence and surveillance, closer integration among systems and earlier identification of threats would be essential to operational readiness as technology changes the character of warfare.
The minister said modern conflicts increasingly extend beyond traditional battlefields, with missiles, drones and advanced weapons playing a growing role. He highlighted kamikaze drones, surveillance and counter-drone operations as challenges for which commanders must remain prepared. He also called for dedicated doctrines and architectures covering electronic, cyber and space warfare, saying future success would depend on technological sophistication, speed of response and precise preparation.
The AI tools unveiled at the conference were developed in-house by the IAF’s AI Centre of Excellence, under UDAAN – the Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Application Networking. The ministry said the applications are intended to automate and speed up work across operations, administration and aerospace safety, and are deployed on the Air Force’s secure network.
The launch builds on the IAF’s existing AI programme. The service’s AI Centre of Excellence was inaugurated in 2022 at Air Force Station Rajokri, New Delhi. At the time, the government said the centre had commissioned a big-data analytics and AI platform, with capabilities spanning machine learning, natural-language processing, neural networks and deep learning. It said the centre was developing applications using in-house expertise and working with industry and academic partners.
The ministry did not disclose technical details of the newly launched applications, their specific functions or how their performance will be assessed. Their announcement nevertheless signals an effort to apply AI within the Air Force’s daily processes as well as its operational planning. The IAF’s earlier AI work has been described as including areas such as logistics, intelligence and decision support, though the newly announced tools should not be assumed to cover those functions without further information.
Singh also pointed to lessons from Operation Sindoor, praising the IAF’s conduct during and after the operation and the coordination among the Army, Navy and Air Force. He said experience from the operation was influencing evolving procedures, including greater attention to drones and air-defence systems.
Independent analysis of the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict has likewise identified air defence, counter-drone capacity, intelligence and surveillance, and coordination between systems as important issues for future readiness. Carnegie India’s review of the operation also stressed that capability-building takes time, citing the development and integration of systems used in layered air defence.
At the conference, Singh underscored joint planning and integration across the three services, and urged the IAF to continue training personnel in emerging technologies. He said younger recruits’ technical knowledge could contribute to decision-making and organisational development.
He also referred to the government’s “Second Tour of Duty” initiative for Agniveers, saying it followed feedback from the armed forces. The ministry’s release did not provide further details of the policy during the conference remarks.
The two-day meeting brought together senior IAF commanders and officials to discuss operations, maintenance and administration. Its theme, “The Year of Empowerment: Maximising Efficiency Through Decentralisation”, placed organisational efficiency alongside technology and readiness on the agenda.
