Future wars will be multi-domain with cyber and cognitive aspects, says CDS Gen Chauhan

India's Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan predicts future wars will be multi-domain, driven by technology, speed, and innovation, incorporating various domains including cyberspace and cognitive warfare.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday said future wars will be multi-domain with land, sea, air, cyberspace, and cognitive warfare operating together, with technology, speed and innovation being important determinants of successful operations.

Speaking at the inauguration of a defence manufacturing unit here in Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar district, General Chauhan said war, warfare and methods of war are witnessing rapid changes.

Asserting that modern warfare is not just based on manpower, conventional weapons or platform-centric operations, the top military officer said AI, drones, robotics, cyber systems, autonomous platforms, space technologies, precision strike weapons, and information dominance are giving a decisive shape to future wars.

In the coming days, technology, speed and innovation will be important determinants of successful operations, he said.

''Future wars will be multi-domain where land, sea, cyberspace, cognitive warfare, and air will operate together. Battlefields will not be limited to geographical space, but to information networks, digital ecosystems and cyber infrastructure,'' the CDS said.

In such a scenario, national security is not just dependent on the courage of soldiers, sailors and air warriors but also on technological ecosystem, industrial capability, manufacturing strength and innovation capacity, Chauhan said.

Any country that innovates, speeds up production and whose armed forces adapt fast will have strategic advantage, the CDS added.

While pointing out that even the most capable military force needs a strong industrial base, he said self-reliance in the defence sector is not just an economic objective but also a strategic necessity.

Chauhan informed that domestic defence production has reached nearly Rs 1.27 lakh crore, while exports have reached record levels.

Defence exports stand at Rs 38,000 crore, he said, adding that items were being exported to over 100 countries.

The defence manufacturing unit of the Nibe group will manufacture artillery bombshells.

''Shirdi is known for faith and spirituality. Now it will be known for defence manufacturing, industrial growth, technological innovation and national security hub,'' Chauhan said.

This is not just an industrial project but part of the national mission to make the defence sector self-reliant, he said.

The defence manufacturing facility is a fine example of growing industrial confidence, the CDS added.

Speaking at the event, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman Satish Kamat said the need for any country, as seen in recent times, is ability to produce weapons and ammunitions in the ongoing war, for which one need needs production capacity.

A plant like this, which will produce five lakh 155 mm artillery shells, will go a long way in making the country self reliant in this very critical capability, Kamat opined.

This facility will go a long way in making the country 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) in a very critical area, the DRDO chief said.