India’s Tech-Driven Defence: AI, Space and Indigenous Systems Key to Thwarting Attacks During Four-Day Military Conflict

 New Delhi, May 16, 2025: India's recent four-day military engagement with Pakistan, which began on the night of May 6–7, showcased the country’s growing ability to harness advanced technologies for strategic advantage. According to senior defence sources, India successfully neutralised multiple incoming threats and executed precision strikes on key military installations across the border, owing to the seamless integration of indigenous space-based systems, cutting-edge electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven computing frameworks.

Tech Superiority on Display

The conflict marked a critical milestone in India’s evolution into a tech-powered defence force. Equipped with its own navigation systems and air defence infrastructure, India demonstrated the capability to detect, intercept, and neutralise hostile objects using both hard-kill and soft-kill measures. This technological edge enabled precise deep strikes at strategic Pakistani targets while simultaneously maintaining a robust aerial defence shield over Indian territory.

Sources emphasised that the cornerstone of this success was India’s AI-enabled integrated air command and control system—a cloud-based platform capable of real-time detection, tracking, and interception of airborne threats. “From identifying a radar signature to neutralising an aerial target via land, sea, or air, this was achieved through sophisticated AI and data-driven coordination,” a senior official stated.

AI as a Force Multiplier

The Indian armed forces' adoption of AI is not incidental—it is the result of years of systematic planning. The groundwork began in 2018 when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) constituted a multi-stakeholder task force to assess AI’s strategic implications for national security. Subsequently, the Defence AI Council (DAIC) and Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA) were formed to drive policy, structural reform, and implementation across services.

In 2022, a formal roadmap was released for AI adoption by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), which identified 70 AI-specific projects—of which 40 have since been completed. To date, 129 AI-driven projects have been greenlit in the defence domain, with 77 successfully executed. Each of India’s three military services has been allocated ₹100 crore for AI adoption and implementation.

Key Systems and Innovations

Among the notable contributions:

• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has developed an AI-based system to classify and recognise enemy aircraft activities, which enhances the Indian Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS). This platform integrates all air defence assets, offering complete situational awareness and faster threat response.

• The Indian Army has deployed an AI-based Intercept Management System (IMS) to automatically analyse adversarial communications in the western theatre. The system employs data visualisation and AI tools to generate actionable intelligence in real time.

• The Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) under the DRDO has built the Air Defence Control and Reporting System (ADC&RS). This system integrates various air defence weapons, enabling early threat detection and coordinated response to aerial incursions far from critical assets.

The defence establishment considers this operational performance a vindication of long-term investments in domestic innovation and AI integration. The success of India’s AI-driven defence posture during the recent conflict underscores a significant shift in modern warfare—where speed, intelligence, and precision are increasingly powered by code and computation rather than sheer firepower.

As tensions continue to simmer, India’s focus remains clear: consolidating technological self-reliance and transforming its military architecture into one that is agile, anticipatory, and indigenously fortified for the future.