Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has observed that the world is undergoing a major geopolitical shift from a unipolar to a multipolar order, asserting that India is poised to emerge as one of its key power centres.
Speaking on the concluding day of the Delhi Defence Dialogue, here on Wednesday, the Army chief said that we are also in an era where several disruptive technologies have emerged which are having a disproportionate effect on military capabilities.
“We are also in an era where technological changes are so rapid that if you do not keep pace you are going to be outdated by the time you decide and develop. So, if we have to meet these emerging challenges, we have to look at different models or a model which is different from what we were employing,” he said.
The COAS further highlighted the three “Ds” transforming warfare- democratisation, diffusion, and demography. “I’ll give out three Ds, which are changing the war scenario today. Democratisation, that is the newest technology, and it has already been shown that the platform alone is not relevant. It has to have a number of layers supported by this democratised phenomenon that is AI, quantum, robotics, auto system. DW that is energy weapons, cyber tools, especially in the grey zone. Diffuse geographic independence, but dependent. And Demography, you have Citizen soldiers, guardian forces, and even merchants now play roles in conflicts, sometimes selling equipment to both sides,” he said.
He stressed that India’s air defence strategy must evolve beyond conventional reliance on fighter aircraft and missiles. “The frontlines are no longer straight lines; threats now emerge from every direction and altitude,” he cautioned. Drawing insights from recent global conflicts, he underscored the need to develop advanced systems capable of detecting, disrupting, and neutralising drone swarms before they can cause damage. With India accelerating investments in indigenous drone and counter-drone technologies, General Dwivedi underlined a clear objective: India must take the lead in shaping the next era of network-centric warfare.
Speaking on India’s own strategic priorities, he reiterated that geography continues to shape the nation’s defence posture. “Given the nature of our borders, land will always remain the ultimate determinant of victory,” he said, adding that even major global powers recognise the enduring importance of territorial control in modern conflict.
Stating that the India Army is looking at human-centric technology and is also considering generation-7 technology, the army chief said, “Industry 4.0 has moved to Industry 5.0… 4.0 was when AI, quantum and all this were talked about. But 5.0 has realised that the rebalancing is required to bring in the human element. Technology is there not to replace humans, but to support them… Now, why is it important for us, especially for the Indian army… This industry, 5.0, is music to my ears because we are looking at human-centric technology adoption. We look at humans amplified by AI. The creativity, the empathy factor, problem solving, and turning data into decisions must remain in control of human beings.”
“There is another thing called technology generation-7. The 7.0 technology is the new mobiles and computers of that generation, video game consoles and 7 nanomillion technology for microchip. All these combined together and on the table for me to integrate, interpret and thereafter make sure that the Indian Army gets to gain from it,” General Dwivedi added.