CDS Addresses Fourth Tri-Services Future Warfare Course

Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani addressed the inaugural session of the Fourth Edition of the Tri-Services Future Warfare Course on 3 August 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. The four-week course is organised by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) in collaboration with the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS).

Tri-Services Joint Training

The course brings together officers from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. It also includes participants from academia, strategic think tanks, the defence industry, start-ups, micro, small and medium enterprises, and research institutions. Such joint training programmes are linked with the concept of joint operations in military planning.

Future Warfare Technologies

Future warfare is associated with artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, autonomous systems, information warfare, space technologies, and data-driven decision-making. These domains are relevant to modern military doctrine, command systems, surveillance, and battlefield communication. Military institutions use such courses to study technological change in defence preparedness.

Jointness in the Armed Forces

Jointness refers to coordinated planning and execution by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Integrated defence structures in India include HQ IDS, which functions under the Chief of Defence Staff. CENJOWS is a defence studies institution that works on joint warfare, strategy, and security-related research.

Important Facts for Exams

• The Manekshaw Centre is a defence venue in New Delhi named after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
• The Chief of Defence Staff is the senior-most military officer in India’s integrated defence structure.
• Artificial intelligence and cyber capabilities are part of the broader field of military technology studies.
• Micro, small and medium enterprises are often involved in defence manufacturing and innovation ecosystems.

Defence Education and Doctrine

Military courses on future warfare are used to familiarise officers with emerging threats and new operational concepts. The Indian defence establishment uses joint training to strengthen interoperability among the three services. Integration of industry and research institutions is part of defence innovation and capability development.