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Rajnath Singh tells Air Force to prepare for drone, cyber and space warfare
He launched AI applications built in-house by the IAF and asked commanders to keep the “element of surprise” on both offence and defence.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to prepare for drones, electronic warfare, cyber and space operations, saying victory in future conflicts will depend "not merely on the number of aircraft".
Addressing the Air Force Commanders' Conference in New Delhi on 12 November, Singh urged the forces to strengthen both the offensive and defensive sides of the "element of surprise", and to build intelligence and surveillance that can spot threats before they unfold.
"No time to react or recover"
"Our Defence Forces must develop capabilities and methods that leave the adversary with no time to react or recover, while simultaneously ensuring that we are never caught off guard by an unexpected move from the enemy," he said.
Singh said modern conflicts are moving beyond traditional battlefields, with missiles, drones and advanced weapons playing a large role. Citing the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, he said drones and air defence systems have become critical, and asked commanders to prepare for kamikaze drones, surveillance and counter-drone operations. He also asked the IAF to develop dedicated doctrines and architectures for electronic, cyber and space warfare.
AI tools launched
At the conference, Singh launched a suite of AI applications built in-house by the IAF's AI Centre of Excellence, part of the Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Application Networking (UDAAN). The tools will automate and speed up work in operations, administration and aerospace safety, and run on the IAF's secure network.
Operation Sindoor and the services
Singh commended the IAF for the "professionalism, restraint and judgement" of its air warriors during and after Operation Sindoor, and said lessons from it are shaping the pace and direction of change across the forces. He also stressed jointness among the three Services and asked commanders to keep training personnel in new technologies and to use the skills of young recruits.
On the Second Tour of Duty for Agniveers, he said the decision followed feedback from the forces.
The conference
The two-day meeting is themed "The Year of Empowerment: Maximising Efficiency Through Decentralisation". Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh attended the inaugural session, along with other senior officials and IAF commanders.
Photos
Source: official release by the Ministry of Defence, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (12 NOV 2026 2:04PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Element of Surprise, Technological Superiority & Jointness key to enhancing operational readiness against emerging threats: Raksha Mantri at Air Force Commanders’ Conference.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2335351) issued by the Ministry of Defence on 12 NOV 2026 2:04PM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.Element of Surprise, Technological Superiority & Jointness key to enhancing operational readiness against emerging threats: Raksha Mantri at Air Force Commander — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
