Future wars will be won by the force that can sense, decide, and adapt faster: Expert panel

The next generation of warfare will be shaped not just by the platforms a military possesses, but by how quickly it can sense, understand, decide and adapt, emerged as a key takeaway from a strategic roundtable on Electronic Warfare and Sensors organised by the Synergia Foundation, a strategic affairs think tank, here on Thursday.

The discussion examined how advances in electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, autonomous systems, advanced sensors and space-based technologies are reshaping the battlefield and what India needs to prepare for next. The panelists concluded that the next generation of military advantage would depend less on individual platforms and more on how effectively sensors, data, software and decision-making capabilities work together.

A high-level roundtable brought together senior government and defence leaders, military veterans and industry heads, including Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Manisha Chandra, Joint Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Manoj Jain, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Ravi K, Chairman & Managing Director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Meera Mohanty, Joint Secretary (Personnel & Coordination), Department of Defence Production and Air Marshal B. R. Krishna, former Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, alongside senior serving and retired military officers, technology experts, startups and researchers.

The roundtable identified the emergence of a “post-platform era”, where the strategic value of a military system increasingly lies in the intelligence layers beneath the platform: sensors, data, algorithms, software and connectivity. The ability to turn a signal into understanding and understanding into action at speed has become a defining element of combat power.

“The character of warfare is changing rapidly. Success will increasingly depend on our ability to sense, understand, decide and act faster,” said Tobby Simon, founder & president, Synergia Foundation. “The question is no longer simply which platform we build or which system we induct. It is whether we can create an adaptive defence ecosystem in which sensors, data, algorithms and human decision-making work together to continuously improve situational awareness and response.”

AI is compressing the decision cycle

AI is rapidly changing electronic warfare from a largely reactive discipline into one capable of continuous learning, pattern recognition and faster decision support.

The panel examined the potential of AI-enabled systems to process increasingly large volumes of information, recognise emerging patterns and reduce cognitive overload for human decision-makers. The roundtable also stressed that AI-enabled systems must be supported by robust data integrity, testing, validation and human oversight, particularly as algorithms become embedded in critical defence decision-making.

The participants also expressed that quantum sensing and advanced sensors have emerged as another important frontier, with the discussion examining the potential of quantum sensing, atomic technologies and advanced RF receivers to enhance sensing and navigation capabilities. The roundtable also highlighted the potential of quantum sensors to detect extremely small changes in magnetic and electric fields, while advances in autonomous navigation could reduce dependence on conventional positioning systems in degraded environments.

Miniaturisation

A further theme was the growing importance of miniaturisation. Smaller, lighter and more capable sensors and electronic systems can enable greater mobility, survivability and scalability across a wider range of platforms and operating environments. The discussion highlighted the emergence of distributed and networked sensing, alongside compact spectrum-monitoring technologies, as an important direction for future defence systems.