India’s Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday described the battlefields of Ukraine as a “living lab” for modern warfare, saying the lessons drawn from it are shaping India’s defence preparedness, especially along its own borders.
Speaking at the Delhi Defence Dialogue, Dwivedi said, “We are watching closely Ukraine battlefields because it is the living lab in terms of the conditions what we are having along our borders.”
“Drones are stalking the armoured columns, EW is jamming the radios, precision fires are reaching much beyond 100 kms range, info-campaigns win wars even before a single shell lands,” he said, noting how rapidly evolving battlefield dynamics are redefining strategy.
Outlining what he called the three “Ds” transforming warfare, the Army Chief said: “Democratisation — the newest technology coming in; Diffuse — geographically independent but dependent; and Demography.”
On India’s own military outlook, Dwivedi emphasised that geography continues to dictate strategy. “As far as India is concerned by virtue of our land borders, the way we are having it, land will remain the currency of victory,” he said. “If you take your mind back to the meeting which took place between President Trump and Putin in Alaska, they also discussed about the land only.”
Dwivedi also highlighted India’s growing use of artificial intelligence and data analytics in military operations. “‘AI in the box’ is something which we are looking at… we have tried out, it has been very successful,” he said.
He added that open-source and predictive analysis had played a significant role in Operation Sindoor 1.0, and that similar approaches would be expanded in “Sindoor 2.0 or any other battle thereafter.”
“We are looking at in a big way how to harness this initiative,” Dwivedi said, framing India’s approach as one that blends traditional territorial defence with emerging technology-driven warfare.