Chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday said artificial intelligence will shape future warfare and help the armed forces make timely and right decisions to emerge victorious in conflicts. He added that running AI systems for the military will require dedicated power in the future.. “AI will play a major role in warfare tomorrow, and so will autonomous systems,” General Anil Chauhan said. (ANI). Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, he said AI is already playing a major role in ongoing conflicts, including decision support, targeting, and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).. Also Read | Era of few powers shaping world is over, multipolarity here: Jaishankar at Raisina Dialogue. “Military might was so far based on platforms such as aircraft, tanks, and ships/submarines, but today you also need data, networks, integration and intelligence. AI will play a major role in warfare tomorrow, and so will autonomous systems,” Chauhan said in a session themed “Tech Triad: Power, Autonomy and Energy in the Data-centric Age.”. The CDS touched on how AI will help military commanders take the right decisions and influence the outcome of combat.. “Combat today is very complex. It’s happening in multiple domains and realms including physical, synthetic and cognitive. Without automated systems, making timely decisions becomes very difficult. In any combat situation, if you want to win, two things are critical — timely decisions and the right decisions. AI helps us to do this,” Chauhan said.. Also Read | Indians make the best diplomats: Andhra CM at Raisina Dialogue. The CDS pointed out that a huge amount of power will be required to run these systems, adding that energy is closely associated with AI and autonomy.. “India is taking small steps towards AI… we are yet to formulate how we want to use it. So it will be a bit premature to say that independent power structures are a must for the military’s needs for AI. But there will be a requirement of dedicated power to run AI systems for the military in the future,” he added, responding to a question on if militaries need independent energy infrastructure to maintain the resilience of mission-critical AI systems.