The next war India fights may not start with boots on the ground or tanks rolling across a border. It could begin in milliseconds, in the silence of algorithms. Picture a swarm of drones making real-time decisions without human pilots, or an AI commander predicting enemy manoeuvres before the first bullet is fired. This is the unsettling new frontier: warfare at machine speed, where the difference between victory and disaster could come down to lines of code.
AI on the Frontlines: From Experiments to Deployment
The Indian military has already taken steps to integrate artificial intelligence into its doctrine. Swarm drones , once dismissed as sci-fi — are now being tested as scalable war assets. At the 2021 Army Day Parade, a homegrown demonstration of 75 coordinated drones stunned observers with precision reconnaissance and simulated strike missions. One of the firm behind it, NewSpace Research & Technologies, is among the startups working closely with the Indian Air Force and DRDO to scale these systems.
Events like Surya Dronathon, an AI-and-drone hackathon supported by defence institutions, illustrate how India is cultivating indigenous innovation. Student teams, startups, and defence scientists are encouraged to prototype UAV systems, testing out concepts like autonomous navigation, battlefield mapping, and AI-enhanced targeting. These aren’t just “contests” — they’re proving grounds feeding into real-world deployment pipelines.
Sea, Land, Cyber: Expanding the Scope of Machine Warfare
Warfare is no longer bound to trenches or skies. AI is extending its reach across domains:
- At Sea: Startups like Sagar Defence Engineering are developing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and AI-powered patrol boats, designed for everything from anti-submarine warfare to port security. These systems reduce the risks to human sailors in high-threat environments while scaling up maritime surveillance.
- On Land: AI-enabled robotics and ground vehicles are being tested to ferry supplies, evacuate wounded soldiers, and even engage in surveillance behind enemy lines, reducing human exposure in contested zones.
- In Cyberspace: The battlefield may increasingly be digital. AI-driven cybersecurity systems are being trialled to predict, detect, and neutralise cyber intrusions in real time, a step ahead of conventional firewalls or manual response teams.
Together, these layers represent a shift from soldier-first to machine-first combat strategies.
The Legal Grey Zone: Who Owns the Decision to Kill?
The rise of autonomous weapon systems brings with it thorny ethical and legal dilemmas. International humanitarian law is based on human accountability — principles like proportionality and distinction assume a soldier or commander is making the call. But when an algorithm decides which radar blip counts as an enemy, who is legally responsible for the outcome?
India has so far avoided explicit commitments on “lethal autonomous weapon systems” (LAWS) in global forums, choosing instead to focus on pragmatic R&D for self-reliance. But as AI systems take on increasingly autonomous roles, the country will face mounting pressure, from both domestic courts and international watchdogs — to define accountability frameworks.
For instance, can an Indian startup supplying AI navigation code be held responsible if that software misidentifies a civilian vessel? Should liability lie with the coder, the procurement agency, or the commanding officer who authorised deployment? These are the questions policymakers must confront before machine warfare scales further.
Startups at the Core of Defence AI
What’s striking about India’s AI-defence story is that startups are leading the charge, not traditional defence PSUs alone.
- Tonbo Imaging: Specialises in computer vision and thermal imaging systems that enable night operations and target tracking — critical in terrain-heavy combat zones.
- NewSpace Research: Pioneer of India’s swarm drone program, collaborating directly with the IAF.
- Optimized Electrotech: Provides long-range surveillance solutions powered by AI analytics, already integrated into border security.
- ideaForge: Known for its UAVs used in counter-insurgency and surveillance, including by the Indian Army.
- Big Bang Boom Solutions: Developing AI-driven robotic systems for explosive disposal and battlefield logistics.
Unlike the slower cycles of state procurement, these startups iterate fast, raising the possibility of India skipping a generation of legacy systems and leapfrogging into machine-speed warfare.
The Investor and Geopolitical Angle
There’s also an unmistakable economic story here. India’s defence-tech startups are drawing increasing venture capital, not just from domestic investors but from international funds betting on dual-use technologies. AI-based imaging systems can serve both military and civilian surveillance markets; autonomous vehicles designed for naval defence can pivot into commercial maritime logistics.
Geopolitically, India’s pivot to AI warfare is partly defensive. China has embraced “intelligentized warfare” as a doctrine, with PLA investments in AI swarms, robotic tanks, and satellite-based combat networks. For India, lagging behind would mean strategic vulnerability.
Risks of War at Machine Speed
But here lies the paradox: while AI may give India faster, smarter defence systems, it also introduces risks for which no one has answers.
- Conflict Escalation: AI systems reacting to ambiguous signals could misclassify threats, triggering unintended escalation before human intervention is possible.
- Opacity of Algorithms: Commanders may not fully understand the decision logic of machine-learning models, reducing transparency in wartime decision-making.
- Surveillance Spillover: The same AI-enabled systems designed for defence may creep into civilian use, normalising 24/7 tracking in the name of “national security.”
So, who’s in control?
The real question is not whether AI will be part of India’s next battle, it will. The question is who, or what, controls the tempo of war. If machines can make life-or-death calls in milliseconds, are humans truly in command, or are they merely approving what AI has already decided?
India stands at a critical juncture: it can shape AI into a tool that strengthens national security without undermining accountability, or it can stumble into the global AI arms race without guardrails. Events like Surya Dronathon show there’s no shortage of talent and innovation. The challenge now is building a legal and ethical command structure for a battlefield that doesn’t wait for humans to catch up.
