Tri-Services Future Warfare Course concludes with focus on AI, cyber and multi-domain operations
New Delhi, August 31. The fourth edition of the Tri-Services Future Warfare Course concluded in New Delhi on August 30 after four weeks of discussions and professional military education focused on emerging technologies and the changing nature of warfare.
Conducted under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) and coordinated by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), the course brought together officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force, along with representatives from government agencies, academia, industry and strategic think tanks.
The programme examined a wide range of issues expected to shape future conflicts, including geopolitical developments, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, cyber and cognitive warfare, information warfare and autonomous systems.
Participants also discussed future military operations across the land, maritime, air and space domains, besides grey-zone operations, multi-domain warfare and technology-enabled combat.
The four-week programme featured interactions with senior military officers, policymakers, scientists, industry leaders and domain experts through lectures, brainstorming sessions, scenario-building exercises, cognitive warfare simulations, field visits and participant-led presentations.
Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani also interacted with the participants and sought their views on the course, while inviting suggestions on emerging areas and subjects that could be incorporated into future editions. Discussions also focused on unconventional ideas to improve the operational and functional efficiency of the three services within an integrated framework.
The valedictory ceremony saw Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), Air Marshal Tejinder Singh, present certificates to the participants.
Lt Gen SS Mahal (Retd), Managing Director of the Defence Research and Innovation Foundation at IIT Ropar, presented the participants with the ‘PG Diploma in Future Warfare’.
The Ministry of Defence said the fourth edition underscored the importance of joint learning, technological awareness, strategic foresight and operational preparedness in preparing military leaders to deal with the evolving character of warfare.
The fifth edition of the Tri-Services Future Warfare Course is scheduled to be held from November 16 to December 11, 2026.
