Rajnath Singh asks armed forces to preserve 'element of surprise'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the armed forces to strengthen AI, cyber, and autonomous capabilities while maintaining strategic unpredictability

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked the armed forces to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics, and secure communication networks, as well as maintain an element of surprise, which he said is “key to remain unpredictable and secure a strategic edge”.

 

A day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, Singh told a Joint Commanders’ Conference in Jaipur that India's military campaign against Pakistan last year was "a testament to the swift, precise and joint response of the Indian defence forces to safeguard national interests".

 

He said future conflicts, in general, will be shaped by hybrid threats and information dominance, with operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic, and cognitive domains. He said "jointness" of the forces will be crucial.

 

 

Themed on “military capability in new domains”, the conference was held over May 7-8.