Three Ds of Democratisation, Diffusion and Demography defining modern warfare, says Army Chief Gen Dwivedi

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday said that the character of modern warfare is being reshaped by the “Three Ds” democratisation, diffusion, and demography which are changing how nations prepare for and fight wars.

Speaking at the Delhi Defence Dialogue 2025 at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), General Dwivedi said warfare is no longer defined by geography alone but increasingly by technology and people’s participation. “We are in an era of jostling and competition. Peace is declining, and comprehensive conflicts are rising,” he said, citing the Ukraine-Russia war as a “living laboratory” of modern conflict where drones stalk armoured columns, artificial intelligence (AI) jams communications, and precision fires strike targets over 100 kilometres away.

Explaining the Three Ds, the Army Chief said democratisation refers to the widespread availability of new-age technologies like AI, robotics, quantum computing and cyber tools, which are no longer confined to powerful states. Diffusion denotes the global spread of such technologies, reducing geographic dependency and creating an interconnected security environment. Demography, he noted, reflects the growing role of citizens, private players, and even merchants in warfare from operating drones and cyber tools to supplying dual-use equipment.

However, General Dwivedi cautioned that democratised technology also brings ethical and strategic risks. It blurs the line between combatants and civilians, enables access to lethal tools by non-state actors, and complicates accountability when autonomous systems or cyber weapons are used. “Technology must remain human-centric, it should support humans, not replace them,” he said, aligning with the Industry 5.0 concept that integrates automation with empathy, creativity and human control.

Referring to India’s security challenges, the COAS stressed that the Army must adapt emerging technologies across the five generations of warfare from trench to hybrid to fifth-generation operations. He also spoke about the advent of generation-7 technology, including seventh-generation computing, mobile systems and 7-nanometre microchips, which the Army is evaluating for operational use.

Earlier, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan noted that technology is gradually “overshadowing geography” in determining strategy, signalling a global shift from terrain-driven to technology-led warfare.

The two-day Delhi Defence Dialogue 2025, inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, focuses on “Harnessing New Age Technology for Defence Capability Development.”