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Lt Gen Ahuja said India cannot afford to be caught by surprise in future conflicts and stressed the need to transform the Indian Army to prepare for the wars of tomorrow.
Lt Gen Ahuja said the wars of tomorrow may begin in domains other than traditional kinetic warfare. (Photo: News18)
Lieutenant General Puneet Ahuja, AVSM, SM, VSM, Director General Strategic Planning at Army Headquarters, on Thursday said Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not replace soldiers but will fundamentally change the way they fight and what they are capable of doing.
Speaking at News18’s DEFCON 2026Lt Gen Ahuja said India cannot afford to be caught by surprise in future conflicts and stressed the need to transform the Indian Army to prepare for the wars of tomorrow.
“One of the most important transformations that we hope to exploit is artificial intelligence: target acquisition, surveillance, target recognition, logistics and predictive maintenance, precision support, processing huge amounts of data, and of course cyber defence,” he said.
“But we must remember that AI will not replace the soldier. It will change the way the soldier fights and what he’s capable of doing.”
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He said the future battlefield could see soldiers controlling multiple unmanned systems, while autonomous platforms are already being used for reconnaissance and robots for logistics.
“AI is already identifying patterns or changes in patterns which we would have erstwhile taken maybe days, maybe months to identify and detect. This in the future is the human-machine teaming,” Lt Gen Ahuja said.
‘Readiness Cannot Be An Event, It Has To Become A Culture’
Lt Gen Ahuja said the world is witnessing an age of constant conflict and warned that future wars may not necessarily follow conventional patterns.
“We cannot afford to be surprised in the future. It is not necessarily surprises in aspects related to movement of military forces; it can be changes in the technology and the strategic environment,” he said.
He said vigilance today goes beyond monitoring developments along the borders and requires India to track emerging technologies and evolving threats.
“So vigilance for us today means much more than watching beyond or on the borders. It means watching technology trends, cyber threats, space developments, emerging technologies and autonomous systems. It also means maintaining the ability to respond immediately,” he said.
“Readiness cannot be an event, it has to become a culture for us.”
‘Future Wars May Not Begin With A Conventional Missile Strike’
Lt Gen Ahuja said the wars of tomorrow may begin in domains other than traditional kinetic warfare.
“The war of tomorrow may not commence with a conventional missile strike. It could well be with a cyber attack, disruption of the satellites, paralysis of our communication, and of course manipulation of the cognitive domain,” he said.
He added that soldiers in future conflicts could simultaneously face threats across multiple domains.
“A soldier of the future will simultaneously face kinetic attacks, drone surveillance, electronic warfare, GPS denial, cyber disruptions, and of course autonomous systems,” Lt Gen Ahuja said.
“The battlefield is becoming multi-domain, highly connected, and extremely fast. A side which can sense faster, understand faster, decide faster, and act faster will have a distinct advantage over the adversary.”
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Ask News18Lt Gen Puneet Ahuja stated that artificial intelligence will not replace soldiers but will fundamentally change how they fight and their capabilities, specifically aiding in target acquisition, surveillance, recognition, logistics, predictive maintenance, precision support, data processing, and cyber defense.
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Saurabh Verma is a Deputy News Editor at News18.com, specialising in Indian politics and breaking global news. With years of experience tracking election strategies, he decodes domestic issues for mil…Read More
September 24, 2026, 3:56 PM IST
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