6 min readFeb 27, 2026 01:46 PM IST First published on: Feb 27, 2026 at 01:46 PM ISTArtificial Intelligence is now a core component of infrastructure and strategy, underscoring its critical role in national power. Recent announcements by US companies to lay undersea cables linking the United States and India signal more than improved connectivity. They mark the consolidation of critical data corridors between strategic partners. At the same time, Indian telecom companies have signed MoUs at an AI summit to expand domestic AI capabilities. Together, these moves underscore a simple truth: AI is now a geopolitical asset. Nations that control data flows, computing power and advanced algorithms will shape the balance of power in the 21st century.For India, this is not just about economic competitiveness; it is about national security, with AI applications such as autonomous systems, cyber defence, and ISR shaping strategic priorities. Data, machine learning, IoT (Internet of Things) networks and quantum research are transforming modern warfare. Today’s battlefield spans land, sea, air, space and the electromagnetic spectrum. AI is embedded across all of them.AdvertisementAlso Read | After AI Summit, a question: Has India chosen to remain a consumer in an age of creators?At the tactical level, micro-drones equipped with computer vision can detect enemy movement without putting soldiers at risk. In intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, AI systems sift through satellite imagery and sensor feeds in seconds, flagging patterns that human analysts might miss. Targeting platforms increasingly fuse inputs from multiple sensors to improve accuracy and reduce collateral damage. Recent conflicts have shown how autonomous and semi-autonomous drones alter the cost calculus of war. Swarm technologies are being tested. Decision-support systems compress the observe-orient-decide-act cycle. The side that processes information faster often gains the upper hand.AI will not replace soldiers. It will augment them. However, the speed and scale of augmentation will determine the operational advantage. It will depend on what data can be processed without latency in real terms. India’s AI initiatives show promise, and focused programs can unlock significant strategic advantages, inspiring confidence in our national progress.India has recognised the importance of AI. Policy initiatives and institutional efforts reflect this intent. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has established AI-focused centres. The iDEX framework supports start-ups developing defence applications. The Services have initiated pilot projects in surveillance, predictive maintenance and unmanned systems. These are positive developments. Yet the quantum of R&D remains modest compared with global leaders. The United States and China dominate defence AI spending and patenting. American firms, working closely with the Pentagon, invest heavily in autonomous platforms, AI chips and secure battlefield clouds. China has integrated AI into a civil-military fusion model, backed by strong state support.AdvertisementIndia’s overall R&D expenditure remains below one per cent of GDP. Defence R&D must compete with multiple national priorities. AI research is often dispersed, siloed and constrained by funding cycles and procedural delays. While India has a talented AI workforce, fostering large-scale collaboration among academia, industry, and the armed forces will build a collective sense of purpose and ownership. The US-India data cables are strategically vital, as undersea cables carry most global data traffic, which is essential for AI systems that rely on rapid data exchange and low latency.The foundation of AI sovereignty lies in secure cloud infrastructure, indigenous semiconductor capability, and resilient data governance, ensuring confidence in our independence during crises. Quantum computing adds another layer. Though still emerging, it has the potential to disrupt encryption and accelerate complex optimisation tasks. Defence applications range from secure communications to logistics and war-gaming. India’s quantum initiatives are promising, but translating laboratory research into deployable capability will require sustained investment and military alignment.India’s private technology ecosystem is a strength. Telecom expansion, AI-driven enterprise solutions, and dual-use technologies such as 5G, edge computing, and IoT can support defence applications. However, integration between the armed forces and private AI firms remains limited. Procurement timelines are long, and start-ups face uncertainty after the prototype stage. Innovation in defence requires faster field trials, sandboxed experimentation, and assured pathways to induction. Building defence AI requires a collaborative ecosystem where the military, engineers, and entrepreneurs work together, empowering India to lead in strategic innovation.As AI adoption accelerates, India must establish clear doctrinal and ethical frameworks. Autonomous systems raise questions about human oversight, accountability, and the control of escalation. Military doctrine must ensure that AI supports, not supplants, human judgment. AI systems are also vulnerable to adversarial attacks and data manipulation. A spoofed sensor feed or a poisoned dataset can lead to dangerous outcomes. Cybersecurity and AI robustness must therefore evolve together through regular stress testing under simulated adversarial conditions.you may likeIndia needs a mission-mode National Defence AI programme with clear ownership, defined operational priorities and assured multi-year funding. Scattered pilot projects must give way to focused outcomes in ISR, autonomous systems, cyber defence and predictive logistics. Academia and start-ups must be embedded within real military problem statements. Structured partnerships, controlled access to curated datasets, and faster procurement under frameworks like iDEX can accelerate innovation. Assured pathways from prototype to induction will attract talent and capital. Indigenous computing capacity and secure defence cloud infrastructure are critical. AI sovereignty rests not only on algorithms but also on chips, data governance and resilient networks. Telecom expansion and dual-use digital infrastructure should be leveraged with secure overlays. Finally, civil-military talent mobility, integration of cybersecurity expertise, and alignment of quantum research with defence requirements will ensure continuity and depth.The cables being laid across oceans and the MoUs signed in conference halls are visible markers of a deeper shift. AI is becoming the nervous system of modern defence. India has begun its journey. The question is whether it can move at the speed and with the coherence that the strategic environment demands.The writer a former Armoured Corps officer is a defence analyst