Military superpowers all over the world are attempting to outsmart one other by utilising breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. No country can afford to be left behind in the AI arms race. Take a look at some of the instances:

• The US Department of Defense recently announced the appointment of Dr Craig Martell as the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO). The focus is on speed – and ensuring that the right processes are in place to leverage AI and data.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in 2017 that the country that leads in artificial intelligence will rule the globe. Come 2022, the Russian military is said to have utilised AI-based drones in their recent invasion of Ukraine. 
• Ukraine is utilising the power of AI to combat misinformation during the war. 
• The role of AI-based drones to turn the war results in favour of Azerbaijan is a well-established fact.

India is no exception and is working on different fronts to modernise and equip its forces with state-of-the-art AI technologies to be ready to face the next-gen challenges. Almost halfway down the year, it’s important to take note of the initiatives taken this year. We have listed down some of the recent developments taking place:

WARDEC

Recently, the Army Training Command has signed an MoU with Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) to develop a Wargame Research and Development Centre (WARDEC) in New Delhi. RRU is an Institute of National Importance located in Gandhinagar and established by the Government of Gujarat. The responsibility to prepare the laboratory lies with Tech Mahindra and the centre will be used to develop new war strategies, practise tactics, and assess combat formations in order to improve warfare skills.

According to sources familiar with the development, the project will be India's first simulation-based training centre. Here, the Indian army will be able to train its soldiers in different types of combat situations using virtual reality (VR) wargames, with artificial intelligence being used to design the "gameplay" to meet the army's current requirements. A team from the RRU will shortly travel to Delhi to obtain all of the data needed to begin work from the Army. 

As per the Indian Express, the task has been assigned to faculty members from RRU’s School of Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security. “We already have a prototype lab for wargaming at our campus which was visited by Army officials recently. We have enhanced capabilities in the domains of artificial intelligence and cyber security. Our team will be visiting Delhi soon to begin work,” said the RRU official.

Defence India Startup Challenge

In a recent move, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh kickstarted the sixth edition of the Defence India Startup Challenge under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme. The aim is to fund startups that address AI, sophisticated imaging, sensor systems, big data analytics, autonomous unmanned systems, and secure communication systems, among other technologies for the defence forces.

This program is designed to help projects with budgets ranging from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 10 crore. The Indian Coast Guard, the newly constituted seven defence companies, and organizations under the Ministry of Home Affairs will also take part. Shri Rajnath Singh, speaking on the occasion, stated that such difficulties demonstrate the country's growing technological prowess. He further said: “The iDEX programme has provided our science and technology professionals an opportunity to understand futuristic technologies such as AI, augmented reality, block-chain and space technologies.”

India-US Defense Artificial Intelligence Dialogue

During the recent fourth U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between India and US Defence and External Affairs Minister, there was a call for increased collaboration. As the US and Indian forces jointly meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, the four leaders pledged to increase cooperation in new defence sectors such as space and cyberspace. A further agreement was made to establish the Defense Artificial Intelligence Dialogue and to increase collaborative cyber training and exercises.

Further to all this, the Defence Ministry has made an Artificial Intelligence (AI) roadmap for each Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), under which 61 defence specific projects have been identified for development. Out of these 61 projects, 26 have been completed by the defence PSUs - the Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt, said earlier.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence-powered platforms are the battlefield's future. They are undetectable and extremely effective. The process to induct AI into defence has already begun, and the goal is for every army personnel to have access to technologies that incorporate Artificial Intelligence. The Ministry of Defence has already established a Defence Artificial Intelligence Council, with the defence minister as chairman and the three service chiefs, the defence secretary, and the secretary of defence production as members. It’s time to move ahead with greater force.