Expert Explains | AI is reshaping warfare: How India can keep pace
Artificial intelligence is increasingly reshaping the character of modern warfare, from battlefield awareness platforms to autonomous combat systems
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been cited as a live testing ground for AI-enabled tools such as data-fusion platforms that compress the sensor-to-shooter engagement cycle
Global militaries, including the United States, are integrating AI into surveillance analysis (e.g., large-scale processing of drone and satellite feeds) and into "manned-unmanned teaming" concepts where AI systems and human commanders operate as an integrated combat network
The developments raise questions on how India's institutional framework for military AI adoption compares with these emerging global practices
Defence AI Council (DAIC) and Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA)
India's institutional push for military AI began with a Ministry of Defence task force, following which the Defence AI Council (DAIC) and the Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA) were constituted in 2019. The DAIC is chaired by the Defence Minister and includes the three service chiefs, the Defence Secretary, the National Cyber Security Coordinator, and representatives from DRDO, industry, and academia, giving it the mandate to set strategic direction for AI adoption across the armed forces.
Key Details
- DAIC established February 2019 under Ministry of Defence chairmanship
- DAIPA functions as the executive/implementing body, headed by the Secretary (Defence Production)
- A budgetary allocation of approximately Rs. 100 crore per year for five years was earmarked for AI projects, infrastructure, and capacity building
- DAIPA draws members from the services, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), DRDO, academia, and industry
As global militaries accelerate AI integration in live conflicts, the DAIC-DAIPA framework represents India's institutional mechanism intended to keep pace — though its budget and scale remain far smaller than comparable US or Chinese defence-AI programmes.
iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence)
iDEX is a Government of India scheme to build an innovation ecosystem for defence and aerospace technology by engaging start-ups, MSMEs, individual innovators, and R&D institutions — a channel through which private-sector AI and autonomous-systems innovation can be inducted into the armed forces.
Key Details
- Launched on 12 April 2018 at DefExpo, Chennai
- Funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), a Section 8 (not-for-profit) company under the Companies Act, 2013, founded by DPSUs HAL and BEL
- Distinct from DRDO's Technology Development Fund (TDF), which targets established MSMEs and larger industry for component/subsystem development
- Runs "Defence India Startup Challenges" inviting solutions on specific defence technology problem statements, increasingly including AI and autonomous systems
iDEX is the principal route by which India seeks to rapidly absorb AI-enabled battlefield technologies (of the kind used in Ukraine) from its start-up ecosystem rather than relying solely on DRDO's in-house development cycle.
Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and India's position at the UN CCW
LAWS refers to weapon systems that can select and engage targets without direct human control, a category increasingly relevant as AI-enabled targeting spreads across modern battlefields. Discussions on regulating LAWS take place at the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) through a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE).
Key Details
- India chaired the GGE on LAWS in 2017 and 2018, during formulation of the eleven Guiding Principles on LAWS
- India has opposed a legally binding instrument on LAWS at the CCW, terming such proposals premature, while supporting continued deliberation under the CCW's consensus-based framework rather than a UN General Assembly majority-vote process
- India voted against UNGA Resolution 78/241 (December 2023) on LAWS, but voted in favour of the subsequent UNGA Resolution 80/57 (December 2025)
- India's stated position holds that any military use of AI/autonomous systems must remain compliant with International Humanitarian Law
As AI increasingly enables autonomous targeting on modern battlefields, India's evolving position within the CCW framework reflects the balance it seeks between technological adoption and international humanitarian-law compliance.
- DAIC and DAIPA were both constituted in 2019 following a Ministry of Defence task force report
- iDEX was launched in April 2018 at DefExpo Chennai; managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation (a Section 8 company)
- India chaired the UN CCW's GGE on LAWS in 2017 and 2018
- India's vote on UNGA Resolution 78/241 (2023) was against; on Resolution 80/57 (2025) was in favour — indicating a shift in stance over two years
- MoD's indicative annual AI budgetary allocation to DAIPA has been cited at around Rs. 100 crore for five years