Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday said future wars will no longer be fought only through conventional weapons, manpower or platform-centric operations, but across multiple domains including land, sea, air, cyberspace and cognitive warfare.

Speaking at the inauguration of a defence manufacturing unit in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district, General Chauhan said modern warfare is being shaped by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, drones, robotics, cyber systems, autonomous platforms, space technologies, precision-strike weapons and information dominance.

“Future wars will be multi-domain where land, sea, cyberspace, cognitive warfare and air will operate together,” the CDS said.

He said future battlefields would not be limited to physical geography alone, but would extend into information networks, digital ecosystems and cyber infrastructure. The ability to use technology quickly and effectively, he added, would play a crucial role in determining success in military operations.

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General Chauhan said countries that innovate faster, scale up production rapidly and ensure quicker adaptation by their armed forces would hold a strategic advantage in the future security environment.

Notably, Chauhan’s remarks come against the backdrop of recent conflicts where AI-enabled systems, drones, cyber tools and information warfare have moved from the margins to the centre of military operations.

In the Russia-Ukraine war, both sides have relied heavily on drones, electronic warfare and increasingly autonomous systems. Reuters reported in 2024 that Ukrainian start-ups were developing AI-enabled drones to help aircraft navigate and strike even when Russian jamming disrupted communication with pilots.

In a later report, Reuters said some drones being used in Ukraine could lock on to a target through their onboard camera and continue flying autonomously even after losing contact with the operator.

Furthermore, the Gaza conflict has also triggered global scrutiny over the use of AI-assisted targeting. The Associated Press reported in February 2025 that US-made AI models and cloud services had supported Israel’s ability to process intelligence and identify suspected militants more quickly in Gaza and Lebanon, even as concerns grew over civilian casualties.