Theatres of war: How thought leadership, tech could reshape future conflicts

The interplay becomes crucial amid plans for theatrisation of India’s armed forces

Bengaluru: Thought leadership, as an idea, is yet to gain meaningful traction with the Indian armed forces. Strategy analysts have underscored this gap and noted how it limits the forces as they prepare for future conflicts where reliable intelligence and tailored resources are all the more critical.

Synergia Foundation has been exploring future warfare from multiple military and geopolitical standpoints for about 10 years. On Wednesday, the Bengaluru-based think tank, along with Bharath Electronics Limited, will host deliberations on leveraging these insights on future combat and streamlining critical technologies that can help the forces stay ahead of the curve. General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, will deliver a special address at the seminar. The event, themed around global futures and aligning technology to future conflicts, will be held on the sidelines of Aero India 2025 at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka.

The focus on thought leadership comes at a time decision-makers are moving closer to theatrisation of the armed forces, a potentially transformational reform that integrates components of the army, the air force and the navy into joint command structures in specific geographic areas. Tobby Simon, founder and president of Synergia Foundation, said the CDS’ presence at the event was a validation of efforts to push theatrisation – adopted as strategy by countries such as the US, the UK and China – in India.

Wednesday’s session will have ‘Theatre command for future combat’ as its key theme. Scientists, strategists and industry leaders will explore topics including drones and anti-drone technologies, AI, UAVs and robotics, directed energy weapons, quantum technologies, biotechnology in warfare, and space.

Evolve or exit

“You are buying all these weapons and long-range bombers but what is the conflict? The sellers are pushing their products that have worked elsewhere, in other theatres,” Simon said.

There is a need to understand the global future, make informed predictions about the next conflict and then, design strategy and weaponry specifically for that conflict. This is where thought leadership comes into play. “It’s like turning a headlight on to reveal a road. It’s also about enabling the companies here (to develop technologies). This is war but we can’t design for the last war because warfare is changing every three months. The way forward is in getting the armed forces to work with tech, in building gigs for the future and aligning them with the military requirements,” he said.

“The event will highlight the interplay between future conflicts, theatrisation and emerging technologies. In effect, it presents the idea of theatrisation and calls for technologies that could be embedded into the idea,” Lt Gen G A V Reddy (Retd.), Chief Strategic Officer, Synergia Foundation, said.

Adoption of emerging technologies becomes non-negotiable in future conflicts. Bengaluru, home to premier talent in space, AI and quantum technologies, was a natural choice for a venue. Simon noted opportunities the city presents for businesses to shun silos, develop relevant technologies and integrate them with the military apparatus – “Tomorrow, battles could be fought out of Bengaluru, or from the South.”