New Delhi: The first-ever ‘Artificial Intelligence in Defence’ (AIDef) symposium and exhibition organised by the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi last week showcased India’s stride towards achieving self-reliance in defence technologies. At the event, 75 defence products powered by artificial intelligence were launched by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.
These 75 products are in the domains of robotics systems, cyber security, human behaviour analysis, intelligent monitoring system, supply chain management, voice analysis and C4ISR (command, control, communication, computer and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and operational data analytics. Some of these products are already being used by the armed forces while the rest are in the process of deployment.
Describing AI as a revolutionary step in the development of humanity; proof that a human being is the most evolved creature in the universe, Defence Minister Singh said that AI had built inroads in almost every sector, including defence, health, medicine, agriculture, trade and commerce and transport.
“When there has been full human participation in wars, new autonomous weapons/systems have been developed with the help of AI applications. They can destroy enemy establishments without human control. AI-enabled military devices are capable of handling large amounts of data efficiently. It is also proving to be very helpful in training the soldiers. In the coming times, Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies will also be used effectively,” he said.
“Although India believes in the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is one family) and has no intention to rule the world, we must develop the capability of our AI technology so that no country can even think of ruling us,” added Singh.
India needs to work on the artificial intelligence mechanism “extremely carefully” and it must be ready to face legal, ethical, political and economic upheaval that may follow due to this technology, Singh said. He emphasised the need to think about humanity and world peace along with one’s own defence and security.
“We have to use artificial intelligence (AI) for humanity’s progress and peace. It should not be the case that a country or a group of countries establish their dominance on this technology — just like nuclear power — and the remaining countries are not able to enjoy the fruits of this technology,” he mentioned.
AIDef, an event conducted by Ministry of Defence was conceptualised to understand the countries readiness for the huge technological leaps that are required in the defence of the country. Among the 75 products/solutions that were at display, Zuppa’s Ajeet Mini drone caught attention of the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The Defence Minister observed Ajeet Mini as the first Indian drone that is engineered to match any global product. He was elated and impressed with the uniqueness of Ajeet’s fully Aatmanirbhar Autopilot – NavGati which is also being supplied to multiple DRDO’s and DPSU’s for unmanned products being developed by them.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have completely revolutionised and skewed modern warfare. Their ability to enhance the situational awareness of troops, remain undetected and effect lethal strikes remotely on even high value assets like tanks, APCs etc. are clear pointers towards future battle field needs. The fact that such core home grown Aatmanirbhar Unmanned technology capable of producing world class products like Ajeet exists within the country was a huge eye opener for both the Defence Minister as well as many other Defence industry stakeholders including the major DPSUs.
Generation 5 warfare requires that all military field personnel be capable of operating unmanned systems especially UAVs as they enhance their situational awareness like none other given their bird’s eye view especially of the immediate vicinity. Ajeet Mini in its avatar as a trainer is unmatched in this role as it offers Military Training organizations a very economical, rugged and value for money option to train future ready troops.
Ajeet Mini equipped with Zuppa’s unique dual camera payload of a 4K day time and an IR night camera ensures that it can be operated 24 x 7 without the requirement of switching payloads. Ajeet is a small backpack multi mission drone. The Defence Minister quickly realised the potential of adapting Ajeet across several frontline military use cases.
Developed by Zuppa Geo Navigation Technologies Pvt Ltd. Ajeet Mini – the first in line of Indian Buy and Fly Drones was unveiled at the Drone Festival of India 2022 in May 2022. Ajeet Mini true to its tagline “World Class Performance, Made in India” promises to deliver unmatched features like stability, ease of flying, application specific variants, end to end service and more.
He noted that AI’s ethics and dangers must be properly thought out. “We cannot stop the progress of artificial intelligence and we should not try to stop its progress. But we need to be careful about it,” he mentioned. When a new technology brings a huge change, its transition period is also as huge and serious. We need to work on AI extremely carefully so that this (technology) does not go out of our control in the coming times,” he concluded.
