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News18 DEFCON 2026: The CDS said the world is going through a period of profound change across geopolitical, geoeconomic and technological domains.

General NS Raja Subramani Chief of Defence Staff.
News18 DEFCON 2026: Chief of Defence Staff General N S Raja Subramani said the character of warfare is changing at a rapid pace, warning that India’s processes and systems will also have to evolve faster to keep up with these changes.
“The character of war is changing faster than we are able to adapt. Our process and system has to change much faster,” General Raja Subramani said while speaking at News18 DEFCON 2026.
The CDS said the world is going through a period of profound change across geopolitical, geoeconomic and technological domains, and these shifts are also transforming the way wars are fought.
“We are living through a period of profound change, whether it is geopolitically, geoeconomically or technologically,” he said.
General Raja Subramani outlined five key trends shaping modern warfare under the acronym ‘BUILD’. He said the first, ‘B’, stands for the changing battlefield, while ‘U’ refers to the changing economics of war.
The third point, ‘I’, represents the growing importance of integrating technology and data, which he said is becoming decisive in modern conflicts. The fourth, ‘L’, stands for learning, which he described as increasingly important for preparing for future wars.
The final point, ‘D’, stands for delivery at scale, which the CDS said would determine a country’s strategic endurance.
He also stressed that modern conflicts are increasingly removing the idea of a completely safe rear area.
“There is no safe place when there is a conflict,” General Raja Subramani said.
General Raja Subramani also stressed the importance of adaptability in modern warfare, asserting, “The Army that adapts faster is the Army that wins the conflict.” He also said conventional approaches to military planning would no longer be sufficient in an increasingly technology-driven battlefield.
“Conventional design planning won’t work. Software is the king,” the CDS said.
The CDS’s BUILD framework highlighted the need for India’s defence systems and processes to evolve alongside these changes, with technology, learning, economic resilience and the ability to deliver capabilities at scale becoming increasingly important to future warfare.
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Chief of Defence Staff General N S Raja Subramani outlined the ‘BUILD’ framework, where ‘B’ stands for the changing battlefield, ‘U’ for the changing economics of war, ‘I’ for integrating technology and data, ‘L’ for learning to prepare for future conflicts, and ‘D’ for delivery at scale to determine strategic endurance.
Delhi, India, India
September 24, 2026, 2:55 PM IST
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