AI Will Reshape Every Aspect of Warfare, Says Chief of Defence Staff
Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani says AI will transform planning, logistics, decision-support and intelligence, while flagging risks such as cyber intrusion and model poisoning.
Artificial intelligence will transform the battlefield in every dimension, Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani said, while describing the technology as both an opportunity and a challenge for the armed forces.
Speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit 2026, the country's senior-most military leader said all three services have made considerable progress in adopting AI. Its impact, he said, would be felt across planning, logistics, decision-support and intelligence.
General Subramani said the defence establishment is working closely with the national AI mission and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to meet the computing requirements that such systems demand. Besides compute, he identified data, networks and skilled personnel as the other essentials for effective adoption.
Data was earlier confined within individual services, he noted, but efforts have been made to align data schemas so that information can be shared. AI is already in use in some areas, particularly open-source intelligence and predictive intelligence.
The forces, he said, are upgrading legacy systems by adding AI capabilities and ensuring that newly procured platforms come with the technology built in. He stressed that AI must also function at the battle edge rather than only at the centre, so that soldiers who need it on the front line have access to it. Work is under way with private-sector firms and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, he added.
On the risks of AI being misused against India, General Subramani said the dangers are real and that he is mindful of them. He made clear that AI would support commanders rather than replace their judgement, offering options, courses of action, productivity and efficiency, with the final decision resting with the commander.
He said no force or organisation can now afford to operate without AI given the advantages it brings. At the same time, he flagged concerns about AI overstepping its role, adversaries using it to breach defences or enter cyber networks, and the need to prevent systems from being poisoned.
To address these risks, the military intends to build in adequate guardrails and develop sovereign AI systems of its own. Some such systems already exist, and the armed forces are working on small language models suited to their specific context. Measures are also being taken to detect and repel cyber attacks and to limit the impact of threats on that front.