New Delhi, November 12: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday asked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to develop dedicated doctrines and architectures for electronic, cyber and space warfare, saying future victories would depend on technological sophistication, speed of response and precision rather than the number of aircraft alone.
He was addressing the Air Force Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi, according to the Ministry of Defence. He asked commanders to make these areas a core priority.
Surprise, technology and jointness
Mr Singh urged the forces to build and sustain both the offensive and defensive use of surprise against conventional and emerging threats. He called for stronger intelligence and surveillance, better integration between systems and early identification of threats.
He said the forces should develop capabilities that leave adversaries no time to react, while making sure they are never caught off guard themselves. Surprise, he noted, could be conventional or electronic.
Preparing for drone warfare
The minister said conflict is shifting towards non-contact domains involving missiles, drones and advanced weapons. Citing the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, he said drones and air defence had become critical, and asked commanders to prepare for kamikaze drones, surveillance and counter-drone operations.
Lessons from Operation Sindoor
Mr Singh praised the IAF’s professionalism, restraint and judgement during and after Operation Sindoor. He said lessons from the operation, especially the greater emphasis on drones and air defence, were shaping IAF procedures and wider reforms. He also credited the three Services with coordinated contributions during the operation, and said jointness should guide military planning and execution.
Agniveers and training
The minister said the decision on a Second Tour of Duty for Agniveers followed feedback from the defence forces, and that the government would continue to build the Services’ suggestions into policy. He urged commanders to keep training air warriors in emerging technologies.
AI tools launched
Mr Singh launched a suite of in-house artificial intelligence applications developed by the IAF’s AI Centre of Excellence under UDAAN (Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Application Networking). The tools, which run on the IAF’s secure network, are designed to automate and speed up tasks in operations, administration and aerospace safety.
Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and senior IAF commanders attended the inaugural session. The two-day conference, themed ‘The Year of Empowerment: Maximising Efficiency Through Decentralisation’, covers operations, maintenance and administration.
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