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India embraces domestic AI defense capabilities

Mandeep Singh

India’s defense sector is committing to artificial intelligence (AI) by developing AI battlefield and dual-use technologies. Public and private firms and academia have joined the initiatives as Centers of Excellence in AI take root across the military sector. The Indian Air Force opened one such center in July 2022.

“Timely infusion of technologies like AI and big data in the defense sector is of utmost importance, so that we are not left behind the technological curve and are able to take maximum advantage of technology for our services,” Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) inaugural AI in Defence (AiDef) symposium and exhibition in mid-July 2022.

AiDef exhibited products and technologies developed by the MOD’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in conjunction with state-owned defense public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and private sector firms, according to an MOD news release. It also featured awards for prominent developers, panel discussions and speeches by defense officials and others.

In his keynote address, Singh praised efforts by the Armed Forces, DRDO, DPSUs and private industry to create cutting-edge and domestic AI solutions for defense. He underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of making India a global hub for AI and of creating AI-enabled and AI-led solutions to achieve social welfare and national security.

AiDef showcased three AI products developed by the DPSUs with potential for defense and civilian application. The dual-use devices included: AI-enabled voice transcription/analysis software developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd.; a driver fatigue monitoring system developed by Bharat Earth Movers Ltd.; and an AI-enabled system developed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers to evaluate welding defects.

Key to Indian government support for defense-related AI development is the MOD’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) program, Singh said. The program works with startups, established technology firms, academia and individuals. iDEX is challenging Indian developers to produce AI-based systems for radio frequency spectrum management, underwater domain awareness, satellite image analysis and friend or foe identification.

AI is also important for battlefield training, the minister said, particularly when coupled with virtual reality and augmented reality technology. The Indian Armed Forces employ Mumbai-based startup AjnaLens to use these technologies for combat and pilot training, according to India AI, a unit within India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Singh added that DRDO has helped establish several AI Centres of Excellence, or AI CoEs, involving defense organizations, industry and academia. AI CoEs began operating in 2020 in India’s private sector with organizations including IBM, Accenture and Indian tech giant Tech Mahindra, according to Analytics India Magazine.

An AI CoE for the Indian Air Force will include a big data analytics and Al platform to handle all facets of analytics, machine learning, natural language processing, neural networks and deep learning algorithms.

Military officials emphasized the importance of the new center to the Air Force’s drive to embed AI and other advanced technology into war-fighting processes.

Mandeep Singh is a FORUM contributor reporting from New Delhi, India.

IMAGE CREDIT: INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

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