Defence panel: future wars will hinge on sensing and decision speed

Military advantage in future conflicts will rest less on the platforms a force fields and more on how quickly it can sense, interpret, decide and respond, according to the conclusions of a strategic roundtable on Electronic Warfare and Sensors held in the capital on Thursday.

The discussion, organised by the strategic affairs think tank Synergia Foundation, examined how electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, autonomous systems, advanced sensors and space-based technologies are reshaping the battlefield, and what India must prepare for.

Participants argued that the strategic worth of a military system increasingly lies in the intelligence layers beneath the platform — sensors, data, algorithms, software and connectivity. The ability to convert a signal into understanding, and understanding into action at speed, was described as a defining element of combat power, a shift the roundtable termed the emergence of a "post-platform era".

The gathering brought together senior government and defence officials, military veterans and industry leaders. Among those present were Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production; Manisha Chandra, Joint Secretary, Department of Defence Production; Meera Mohanty, Joint Secretary (Personnel & Coordination) in the same department; Manoj Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Electronics Limited; Ravi K, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited; and Air Marshal B. R. Krishna, former Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. Senior serving and retired officers, technology experts, startups and researchers also took part.

Tobby Simon, founder and president of the Synergia Foundation, said the character of warfare is changing rapidly and that success would depend on the ability to sense, understand, decide and act faster. The question, he said, is no longer only which platform is built or which system inducted, but whether an adaptive defence ecosystem can be created in which sensors, data, algorithms and human decision-making work together to continuously improve situational awareness and response.

On artificial intelligence, the panel noted that the technology is turning electronic warfare from a largely reactive discipline into one capable of continuous learning, pattern recognition and faster decision support. AI-enabled systems could process growing volumes of information, spot emerging patterns and ease the cognitive burden on human decision-makers. At the same time, participants stressed that such systems need robust data integrity, testing, validation and human oversight, especially as algorithms become embedded in critical defence decisions.

Quantum sensing and advanced sensors were identified as another significant frontier. The discussion looked at the potential of quantum sensing, atomic technologies and advanced radio-frequency receivers to strengthen sensing and navigation. Quantum sensors, it was noted, could detect extremely small changes in magnetic and electric fields, while progress in autonomous navigation could reduce reliance on conventional positioning systems in degraded environments.

Miniaturisation emerged as a further theme. Smaller, lighter and more capable sensors and electronic systems can improve mobility, survivability and scalability across a wider range of platforms and operating conditions. The roundtable also pointed to distributed and networked sensing, along with compact spectrum-monitoring technologies, as an important direction for future defence systems.