New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence is working with the IndiaAI Mission to develop a dedicated artificial intelligence layer for the armed forces, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday, October 23, at a KPMG event in New Delhi, The Hindu BusinessLine and ANI reported.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Singh said the military layer will offer secure domestic computing infrastructure for decision-making support, target acquisition and data fusion, leading to a sensor-to-shooter loop — the chain that connects information gathered by sensors to operational decisions and response.

"For the military layer for our services, we are working with the AI Mission to develop that. Compute for that has already been procured. We intend to piggyback on private industries already selected by the AI Mission to help develop the AI layer for our services," Singh said, adding that the process was already underway.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse

The Defence Secretary said self-reliance is essential in such critical technology, because foreign companies may withhold the technology or introduce vulnerabilities such as backdoors or kill switches. He did not, however, rule out partnerships with friendly foreign countries.

₹10,371.92 croreIndiaAI Mission outlay approved by the Union Cabinet on 7 March 2024 — yaani about ₹10,372 crore (roughly ten thousand three hundred crore rupees) for India's national AI programme

Singh also said the blueprint for the theatreisation of commands — the plan to promote jointness among the Army, Navy and Air Force — is ready and awaiting approval at the highest level, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.

According to the reports, operational decisions will continue to require human oversight, and the armed forces are working towards greater domestic control over the AI systems, including their underlying technology, software and intellectual property.