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Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Warfare is going autonomous — India must catch up
The nature of warfare has undergone an irreversible shift. From boots on the ground and dogfights in the air to remote strikes from unmanned platforms and AI-driven decision cycles, war is now a contest of networks, autonomy, and lethality at machine speed. Nations that adapt to this shift will dominate; those that lag will perish in obsolescence. In this evolving paradigm, four key assertions emerge. One, artillery (rockets/missiles) will dominate offensive operations. Two, air defence (AD) will become the primary defensive shield. Three, sappers will rise in operational relevance beyond mobility and countermobility. And four, the infantry and the armoured corps will execute decisive manoeuvres, shaped by strategic fires and autonomous systems. However, a unifying thread underpins these shifts: All combatants and systems must become autonomous. Anduril Industries, a US-based defence tech firm, is at the frontier of this transformation, pushing the envelope in autonomous warfare — on land, at sea, and in the air. India must urgently grasp the significance, absorb the knowledge, and accelerate its entry into this ecosystem of autonomous combat systems. The clock is ticking, and the need for rapid adaptation is pressing. Artillery's dominance is being rewritten by autonomy and reach. It is no longer the 'support arm' but the shaper of the battlespace. In modern systems, such as the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) and Pralay-class SRBMs (Short-range ballistic missile), target acquisition is facilitated through AI-assisted ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) networks. Real-time data from drones, satellites, or ground radars enables autonomous strike decisions with minimal latency. Autonomous artillery must integrate target prioritisation, trajectory calculation, and dynamic retargeting — particularly in saturated battlespaces with decoys and GPS jamming. Autonomous fire units must function in near isolation with embedded computational power. The blending of strategic missile roles with tactical rocket utility — augmented by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) coordination — gives artillery a dual-use capacity never seen before. The future will see autonomous missile artillery regiments function as strategic tools of deterrence and tactical tools of disruption. As the battlespace fills with drones, loitering munitions, and precision air threats, air defence has become both a shield and a sword. AI algorithms embedded in systems like S-400, Iron Dome, and the Israeli Barak-MX can autonomously distinguish threats by trajectory, speed, RCS (Radar Cross Section), and behaviour, deciding in real-time what to intercept and how. Future AD systems must function in modular, redundant layers — each independently able to cue, track, and engage without centralised direction. Anduril's Lattice OS exemplifies this through the coordination of distributed AI sensors that facilitate cross-domain responses. Autonomous AD will increasingly combine EW (electronic warfare), jammers, EMP pulses, and soft-kill drones with traditional missiles. The AD environment will itself become a battleground of man versus machine versus machine. Combat engineers will emerge not only as physical facilitators but also as digital architects of terrain shaping. Autonomous bridging systems, mine-clearing bots, and construction UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) will enable engineering functions without exposing troops. AI route planning will identify optimal breaching points and tunnel networks. Sappers will deploy programmable decoys — heat-emitting dummy tanks, radar-mimicking structures, and electromagnetic spectrum obfuscation tools — to confuse enemy intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems and fire systems. AI-equipped drones will scout for chemical/radiological contamination, with autonomous decontamination robots managing zones, critical in high-threat environments like sub-conventional theatres or border skirmishes near WMD stockpiles. The boots-on-ground forces will remain indispensable — but only as the tip of an AI-enabled, precision-shaped spear. The modern infantryman will wear integrated heads-up displays (HUDs), battle management systems, health telemetry, and real-time situational awareness feeds. Sections will carry micro-drones and deployable jammers, transforming them into digitally autonomous squads. Tanks will still break through — but their survivability and lethality will depend on unmanned reconnaissance drones, AI-enabled fire controls, and active protection systems (APS). Platforms like Russia's Uran-9 or Germany's Rheinmetall Mission Master represent the future: Autonomous tank escorts and resupply units. Therefore, Anduril's work in unmanned submarines, AI-equipped robotic tanks, and loitering sea drones sets a precedent. These systems can autonomously patrol, detect, and even neutralise threats without a tethered control centre. India's challenge India lacks an integrated private defence-tech ecosystem with this level of vertical integration and autonomy. While the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), BEL (Bharat Electronics Ltd), and select private firms are developing UAVs and loitering munitions, there is no equivalent to Anduril's OS-level multi-domain integration. This is the frontier India must cross — and quickly. The Indian military must move beyond 'support arms' and 'teeth-to-tail' ratios and redefine operational autonomy as a force structuring principle. Mission command must extend to machines, not just men. India, therefore, needs a defence-tech incubation model integrating academia, startups, and DRDO labs; investment in dual-use AI, ML, computer vision, and edge processing; a Ministry of Defence-run autonomous warfare centre, modelled on the US DIU (Defence Innovation Unit). The private sector must not be a vendor — it must be a strategic partner. HAL, BEL, and BDL must co-develop with entities like L&T, Bharat Forge, Data Patterns, and new-age tech firms to build indigenous equivalents to Anduril's Lattice, Ghost, and Roadrunner. Future warfare will not wait for human consensus. Decisions will be made in milliseconds, across domains, by machines entrusted with limited but lethal authority. Artillery, air defence, sappers, infantry, and armour — all must be able to operate autonomously within the mission framework. Anduril Industries has demonstrated what is possible. It is now India's strategic imperative to match — and eventually lead — in the development of autonomous land, sea, air, and cyber combat systems. The writer is a lieutenant colonel (veteran), former Armoured Corps officer and defence analyst
Miami Herald
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ukraine HIMARS Destroys Russian Convoy Near Gas Station: Report
Russian troops were killed in a strike by Ukraine's forces on a convoy next to an abandoned gas station using a U.S.-supplied HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), it has been reported. The Telegram channel ASTRA said the strike took place in Makiivka, within the occupied Donetsk region last week and posted video that purportedly showed the aftermath of burning vehicles on the side of the road. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment. Ukrainian media outlets reported the strike, which shows the continuing role that the U.S-supplied weapon still plays on the battlefield. It comes as Kyiv's forces made gains near Makiivka, according to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). ASTRA reported that the Ukrainian HIMARS hit the Russian convoy in a strike in Makiivka on June 13 around 20 miles from the front line in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. The strike also destroyed a Russian Defense Ministry bus, and military vehicles. The wheeled HIMARS fired several rockets and hit the convoy with hundreds of thousands of tungsten fragments, according to a clip of the incident's aftermath posted by X account WarTranslated. Ukrainian media reports said eight Russian servicemen were killed and another 12 were injured. Most were in military unit 71443. Two civilians were also killed, ASTRA said next to footage filmed from a vehicle driving past the scene, which shows a column of cars, a large fire and a hole in the road. In its update on Sunday, the ISW said that geolocated footage published showed that Ukrainian forces had recently advanced northwest of Makiivka. Ukraine continues to use HIMARS on the battlefield. In February this year, the weapon was reported to be behind a strike on a Russian military headquarters in Selydove in the Donetsk region, which killed a large number of commanders. Overnight Monday, a Russian attack on Kyiv killed at least 15 people and injured 124 others during a nine-hour long barrage of kamikaze attack drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. The pro-Ukrainian Euromaidan X channel: "In occupied Makiivka, the Russians gathered in a column. In vain. Because Mr. HIMARS came." Ukrainian X user Maria Drutska, next to purported footage of the strike's aftermath: "The occupiers are scattered along the road." What Happens Next Ukraine's forces are likely to continue using HIMARS to strike at Russian targets. The military analyst David Axe said in a Substack article that Russian convoys are the kinds of target Ukraine's roughly three dozen surviving HIMARS are looking to target. However, Russian drone crews are improving their strikes on HIMARS, with Moscow's Iskander missile batteries able to hit them up to 57 miles away, he added. Related Articles American Killed in Deadly Russian Strike on KyivPutin Says Americans 'Galore' Agree With HimRussia Accuses UK of Sabotage Plans With US In 'NATO Lake'Ukraine Delegates Storm Out Over Speech by Alexei Navalny's Daughter 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Ukraine HIMARS Destroys Russian Convoy Near Gas Station: Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russian troops were killed in a strike by Ukraine's forces on a convoy next to an abandoned gas station using a U.S.-supplied HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), it has been reported. The Telegram channel ASTRA said the strike took place in Makiivka, within the occupied Donetsk region last week and posted video that purportedly showed the aftermath of burning vehicles on the side of the road. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment. This image from May 18, 2023 shows a M142 HIMARS launch a rocket in the Bakhmut direction in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. This image from May 18, 2023 shows a M142 HIMARS launch a rocket in the Bakhmut direction in Donetsk Oblast, It Matters Ukrainian media outlets reported the strike, which shows the continuing role that the U.S-supplied weapon still plays on the battlefield. It comes as Kyiv's forces made gains near Makiivka, according to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). What To Know ASTRA reported that the Ukrainian HIMARS hit the Russian convoy in a strike in Makiivka on June 13 around 20 miles from the front line in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. The strike also destroyed a Russian Defense Ministry bus, and military vehicles. The wheeled HIMARS fired several rockets and hit the convoy with hundreds of thousands of tungsten fragments, according to a clip of the incident's aftermath posted by X account WarTranslated. Ukrainian media reports said eight Russian servicemen were killed and another 12 were injured. Most were in military unit 71443. Two civilians were also killed, ASTRA said next to footage filmed from a vehicle driving past the scene, which shows a column of cars, a large fire and a hole in the road. In its update on Sunday, the ISW said that geolocated footage published showed that Ukrainian forces had recently advanced northwest of Makiivka. Ukraine continues to use HIMARS on the battlefield. In February this year, the weapon was reported to be behind a strike on a Russian military headquarters in Selydove in the Donetsk region, which killed a large number of commanders. Overnight Monday, a Russian attack on Kyiv killed at least 15 people and injured 124 others during a nine-hour long barrage of kamikaze attack drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. What People Are Saying The pro-Ukrainian Euromaidan X channel: "In occupied Makiivka, the Russians gathered in a column. In vain. Because Mr. HIMARS came." Ukrainian X user Maria Drutska, next to purported footage of the strike's aftermath: "The occupiers are scattered along the road." What Happens Next Ukraine's forces are likely to continue using HIMARS to strike at Russian targets. The military analyst David Axe said in a Substack article that Russian convoys are the kinds of target Ukraine's roughly three dozen surviving HIMARS are looking to target. However, Russian drone crews are improving their strikes on HIMARS, with Moscow's Iskander missile batteries able to hit them up to 57 miles away, he added.
Yomiuri Shimbun
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Finnish President Stubb Stresses U.S. Support for Ukraine Important in Interview with Yomiuri Shimbun
The Yomiuri Shimbun Finnish President Alexander Stubb speaks in a recent interview in Tokyo. Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun that continued U.S. involvement in Ukraine is important to end Russia's aggression against the country. While Russia and Ukraine have held direct talks twice since May, negotiations have made little progress. Ukraine called for a ceasefire, but Russia rejected it, demanding Ukraine become a neutral country. 'Russia and Putin are not serious about the ceasefire,' said Stubb, who assumed the presidency in March 2024. 'That's why they are putting forward demands and papers, which are completely unacceptable and violate any tenant of international rules, law and norms.' 'They're sending such low-level delegations to Istanbul who basically don't have any kind of a mandate to negotiate,' added Stubb, who has previously served as Finland's prime minister, finance minister and foreign minister. Stubb said there are two ways to force Russia to the negotiating table: applying sanctions and providing military and financial aid to Ukraine. 'That is then linked to air defenses like HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) [of the United States] or Tauruses that the Germans and others are providing,' Stubb said. 'So, these are the only things. We have to understand that the only language that Putin understands is power.' The Finnish president emphasized the importance of continued U.S. involvement in Ukraine. 'That's why we keep on engaging a lot with our American friends, and especially with [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump, to convince our friends to be tough with the Russians,' he said. In March, Stubb met with Trump at his residence in Florida and played golf with him. Stubb said he has been in contact with the U.S. president on a regular basis since then. Trump has recently criticized Putin, but his stance on support for Ukraine has not been clear. 'I think President Trump is adamant to end this war,' Stubb said. 'He wants to do that, and he wants to do it sooner, rather than later, and I sense frustration with the fact that he hasn't been able to do that yet, and I know that in the heart of his heart, he sort of knows that it's Putin's fault.' Stubb said a new U.S. sanction package would be a good incentive to force Russia to the negotiating table. Regarding Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2023, Stubb said, 'We feel that we have a lot of responsibility inside the alliance, and I'm sure that will continue, but we also need close alliances with countries like Japan.'
Saba Yemen
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Russian forces reach western border of Donetsk People's Republic
Moscow - Saba: The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that Russian forces are continuing to advance and improving their tactical position on several fronts in the area of the special military operation. The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement: "Units of the Russian "Center" Group of Forces continued their advance deep into the enemy's defenses. Units of the 55th Mechanized Brigade reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and, together with assault units of the 90th Tank Division, continued their offensive operations in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast." It added: "Units of the Russian "West" Group of Forces were able to seize more advanced lines and positions, inflicting human and material losses on the Ukrainian Armed Forces in several areas of the Donetsk People's Republic and in the Kharkiv Oblast. The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 220 servicemen, armored combat vehicles, and several field guns. An Octava-S electronic warfare station and three ammunition depots were destroyed." The statement added: "Russian operational-tactical aviation, attack drones, missile forces, and artillery inflicted damage on the infrastructure of military airfields, production plants, drone storage depots, and a Ukrainian Armed Forces fuel station, as well as enemy manpower and equipment concentrations in 147 locations." According to the statement, "Russian air defense systems shot down five JDAM guided aerial bombs, one HIMARS missile, and 120 Ukrainian drones." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
