OPINION | Technology Absorption Without Hype: How the Indian Army Is Adapting to a Drone-and-Data Battlefield

By Ashu Maan

When the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025, what stood out in its cross-border response was not dramatic announcements of futuristic weapons systems. Instead, the operation highlighted a deeper shift in how a modern military force absorbs and operationalizes technology. Drones operated in coordination with layered air defenses and electronic warfare systems. These were not experimental prototypes, but integrated tools used by trained personnel executing a coherent strategy. This disciplined approach to technology integration offers valuable lessons in modernization beyond the hype of so-called future warfare.

The Indian Army declared 2024 the “Year of Technology Absorption,” a phrase that warrants closer examination. This did not mean acquiring the latest equipment simply to showcase technological progress. Rather, it signaled a shift from technology adoption to technology assimilation. The Army shortlisted 45 technologies for operational use, emphasizing capability building over mere ownership. In 2025, the Ministry of Defence also announced the “Year of Reforms,” reinforcing this broader institutional transition.

Training Pipelines as the Foundation

The most significant effort lies in transforming training structures themselves. The Army Training Command has committed to incorporating 34 niche technologies into its curriculum by 2030. In the current year alone, more than 18,000 soldiers have been trained in advanced technologies, with plans to train 12,000 personnel annually going forward.

This is not symbolic theater. The Quadrennial Training Directive 2025–29, recently released by the Army Training Command, extends policy frameworks across four years, acknowledging that meaningful technology absorption cannot occur within annual cycles. This longer horizon allows formations to implement guidelines, validate learning outcomes, and maintain institutional coherence.

Decision Support Over Autonomous Systems

Where technology truly reshapes capability, the focus remains on human-centered decision-making rather than autonomous execution. The Indian Army’s Command Information and Decision Support System serves as the central hub for tactical command and control, integrating operational, intelligence, and logistics data to help field commanders assess battlefield conditions and make timely decisions. At lower levels, the Tactical Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence system links corps to battalion headquarters, while the Battle Management System functions at the unit level.

These systems are being progressively networked and upgraded. The Artillery Combat Command and Control System, developed under Project Shakti, illustrates how artificial intelligence and networked communications can support tactical fire control without removing commanders from the decision loop. It processes large volumes of sensor data, recommends deployment patterns, and optimizes fire distribution, accelerating decision cycles while preserving human judgment at critical moments.

The emphasis on decision support rather than autonomous action reflects a mature understanding of technology’s role. The distinction lies between augmenting human capability and replacing it. Operation Sindoor reinforced this principle. Success stemmed from an integrated command-and-control framework that enabled real-time threat identification across multiple domains, while decisions remained grounded in human assessment and strategic intent.

Academia-Military Synergy

Effective technology absorption requires an expanding knowledge ecosystem. The Indian Army has established strategic partnerships with leading academic institutions. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has created “Agnishodh, the Indian Army Research Cell,” to translate research into military applications in additive manufacturing, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and unmanned aerial systems. IIT Kanpur focuses on collaborative engineering research, while IIT Guwahati provides specialized training in drone technology for junior commissioned officers and soldiers.

The Army has also announced an internship program beginning in January 2026, offering 75-day placements for university students to work directly with defense technology teams in artificial intelligence, machine learning, drone operations, and cybersecurity. This initiative reflects the understanding that technology absorption is fundamentally a human capital challenge.

Addressing Integration Challenges

The innovation pipeline is neither seamless nor exhaustive. The Ministry of Defence’s ADITI initiative has allocated ₹750 crore between 2023 and 2026 to advance critical and strategic technologies, recognizing that indigenous innovation requires sustained and focused investment. The iDEX initiative further encourages startups and small and medium enterprises to participate, acknowledging that defense innovation today is driven by a distributed ecosystem.

For the Indian Army, modernization is not about acquiring the most advanced platforms or pursuing autonomous lethal systems. It is about integrating technology into established doctrine, embedding it within training pipelines, and ensuring that human operators possess the judgment and skill to employ it effectively. Operation Sindoor demonstrated the returns of this disciplined approach. The institutional changes now underway, including systematic training frameworks, academia-military collaboration, and decision-support systems that enhance rather than replace human judgment, represent the substantive work of military modernization. Without sustained investment in training and capability development, even the most advanced technology becomes ineffective. The Army’s recognition of this reality marks a clear maturation of India’s defense modernization strategy.

---

About the Author

Ashu Mann is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. He was awarded the Vice Chief of the Army Staff Commendation card on Army Day 2025. He is pursuing a PhD from Amity University, Noida, in Defence and Strategic Studies. His research focuses include the India-China territorial dispute, great power rivalry, and Chinese foreign policy.