General Chauhan said India's strength rests on robust institutions, democratic stability, and unwavering professionalism of our Armed Forces
Hyderabad: As warfare undergoes geopolitical, geo-economic and technological transformations, India’s future military leaders must master emerging domains such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and cognitive warfare, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said on Saturday.
Addressing graduating officers at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal, Gen. Chauhan advised that ignorance was more dangerous than arrogance and urged them to remain adaptive, principled and constantly in motion in a rapidly changing battlespace.
Gen Chauhan, reviewing officer for the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) of the 216th Course, said modern conflict was witnessing a major revolution where perception, information dominance and deception shape outcomes as much as traditional firepower. “In the cognitive battlespace, perception shapes distance and information decides tempo. The enemy must be unable to distinguish truth from deception and clarity from confusion,” he said, stressing that success in future conflicts would depend on sustaining superiority across space, cyber and technological domains.
The CDS underlined that a single disruptive technology could alter the operational balance and said the armed forces are actively pursuing new concepts and capabilities, including AI-driven data fusion, autonomous and unmanned systems, manned–unmanned teaming and cognitive domain operations.
Quoting a Chinese philosopher, he said knowing both the enemy and oneself was key to victory, particularly as wars in emerging domains are shaped by intellect, innovation and initiative.
The parade marked the completion of pre-commissioning training of flight cadets from various branches of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Gen. Chauhan conferred the President’s Commission on the graduating trainees and presented ‘Wings’ and ‘Brevets’ to flight cadets of the IAF, officers of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard, and trainees from the Vietnam Air Force.
A total of 244 trainees, including 29 women officers, graduated during the parade. The graduating batch comprised eight officers from the Indian Navy, six from the Indian Coast Guard and 2 from the Vietnam Air Force.
The flight cadet from the Flying Branch who stood first in the order of merit was awarded the President’s Plaque and the Nawanagar Sword of Honour and commanded the parade. President’s Plaques were also presented to flight cadets securing first position in the overall order of merit in the Navigation and Ground Duty branches.
The ceremony featured spectacular displays by the Akash Ganga skydiving team and the Air Warrior Drill Team, along with fly-pasts by Pilatus PC-7, Hawk, Kiran and Chetak aircraft. Aerial displays by the Sarang helicopter display team and the Suryakiran Aerobatic Team were among the major highlights of the event.
