The Ministry of Defence has concluded the fourth edition of its Tri-Services Future Warfare Course in New Delhi on August 30, 2026. The four-week programme, run by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies at Manekshaw Centre, brought together military officers from all three services along with civilian experts to study how warfare is changing.
What the course covered
Participants examined multiple dimensions of modern and future conflict, including:
- Artificial intelligence and quantum technologies
- Cyber and cognitive warfare
- Information warfare and autonomous systems
- Military operations across land, maritime, air and space
- Grey-zone operations and multi-domain warfare
- Technology-enabled combat strategies
- Geopolitical developments affecting defence
The course mixed classroom learning with practical exercises. Officers attended lectures from senior military leaders, policymakers, scientists and industry figures. They participated in scenario-building sessions, cognitive warfare simulations, field visits and presented their own research.
Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani met with participants to hear their views and gather suggestions for improving future editions. Participants also explored unconventional approaches to strengthening how India’s armed forces work together across different domains.
At the closing ceremony, the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Marshal Tejinder Singh presented certificates to all attendees. Additionally, participants received a postgraduate diploma in Future Warfare from the Defence Research and Innovation Foundation at IIT Ropar.
What this means for you
This course reflects India’s effort to prepare military leadership for conflicts that may look very different from traditional warfare. By bringing soldiers, scientists, policymakers and industry experts into one room, the defence ministry is trying to build a more unified understanding of emerging threats like cyber attacks, artificial intelligence and coordinated operations across multiple military domains. The next edition of the course is scheduled to run from November 16 to December 11, 2026.