India Sharpens Defence Strategy Around AI, Jointness and New-Age Warfare

India is moving towards a fundamentally different model of national security, one that places joint military operations, artificial intelligence, cyber and space capabilities, cognitive warfare, indigenous defence production and whole-of-nation coordination at the centre of future preparedness. This direction was underscored by the Combined Operational Review and Evaluation (CORE) Programme 2026, which concluded at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi after five days of deliberations from September 14 to 18.

Organised by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) and conducted by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), the programme brought together senior officers from the three Services and officials from the Defence, External Affairs and Home ministries. Discussions covered jointness, integration, modern warfare, non-kinetic threats, defence production and emerging technologies including AI, robotics and quantum computing. Senior military leaders, including the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, CISC and the Vice Chiefs of the Army and Air Force, interacted with participants, while academics, think tanks and subject experts contributed to deliberations.

The programme forms part of a wider military transformation outlined in Defence Forces Vision 2047, released in March 2026. The roadmap seeks an integrated, agile and multi-domain military capable of operating across land, sea, air, space, cyber and cognitive domains, while linking military capabilities with diplomatic, technological and economic strengths.

India's push for jointness gained momentum with 2025 designated as the “Year of Reforms”, while the Army has declared 2026 the “Year of Networking and Data Centricity”. Joint doctrines covering cyberspace and amphibious operations have also been introduced, alongside work on military space and integrated communications.

Technology is becoming central to this transformation. Recent defence deliberations have focused on AI-enabled warfare, autonomous systems, data analytics, secure communications and cyber resilience, while initiatives are also examining indigenous advanced chips, sovereign operating systems and defence data centres.

The financial push is substantial. The 2026–27 defence allocation stands at ₹7.85 lakh crore, including ₹1.85 lakh crore for capital acquisition, with ₹1.39 lakh crore or 75% earmarked for domestic procurement. Defence production reached a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY2025–26, while exports touched ₹38,424 crore.

With CORE 2026, India is therefore moving beyond platform-based modernisation towards a networked, technology-driven and whole-of-nation security architecture, aimed at preparing the country for increasingly complex future conflicts.