Drone Army, Intelligent War Rooms, AI-Powered Systems: How Army Plans To Become Future Combat-Ready By 2026-27-OxBig News Network

When Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan recently said that India must invest in and develop homegrown capabilities to ensure its security, he was quite serious. Post Operation Sindoor, where India faces swarmed drone attacks from Pakistan, the Armed Forces have highlighted the role of drones and counter-drone systems in warfare. CDS also underscored that recent conflicts globally have demonstrated how drones can ‘shift tactical balance disproportionately’ and asserted that self-reliance in UAVs and Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) is a strategic imperative for India. Notably, Lt General Rahul R Singh, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), recently said that China provided real-time war inputs to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. 

Now, the Indian Armed Forces have expedited their preparations for having drone fleets and real-time battlefield monitoring to be ahead or at par with the enemies. According to reports, the Indian Army has already prepared a roadmap for having drone swarms, real-time war data input, combat simulations training for soldiers, information warfare and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Big Data Analytics to make data-backed decisions. These systems will be in place by 2026–27. 

The army will reportedly leverage Artificial intelligence to process inputs from drones, satellites, aircraft, and ground-based sensors, combining this data in real time to enable quicker and more accurate decision-making.

According to an Indian Express report, AI will be deployed across a broad spectrum of operations, including decision support systems capable of generating counter-intelligence, improving surveillance, streamlining logistics and supply chain management, analyzing Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and social media content, mapping enemy capabilities, and conducting wargaming simulations. This will help army not only mobilise troops and weapons in accordance with the real-time data but will also help in the accurate positioning of the important vectors/equipment.

The army is reportedly also building an AI lab, which will help in the development of AI tools and applications for the three services. 

The army is also focusing on the indigenisation of these technologies in collaboration with the industry. CDS Chuahan has already highlighted that indigenously developed counter-UAS systems built according to India’s terrain and needs are crucial during military operations

“We can not rely solely on these technologies, which are crucial for the offensive and defensive missions. Dependence on foreign technologies weakens our preparedness, limits our ability to scale up production, and results in a shortfall of critical spares for sustenance and round-the-clock availability. Foreign capability is known to all and adversaries can predict tactics based on the capability of these systems,” CDS Chauhan has said.