Military leaders discuss future of warfare, networked precision fires at Chandigarh seminar

The future of artillery will depend increasingly on how effectively sensors, weapons and decision-makers are connected across domains rather than merely on the range or calibre of individual weapon systems, a senior Army officer said at a seminar here.

The observation was made by Lt Gen Anoop Shinghal, Director General Artillery, at the fourth edition of the General S F Rodrigues Memorial Seminar, which brought together senior military leaders, veterans, defence industry representatives, academics and domain experts to discuss the evolving nature of warfare and the future of artillery.

The annual seminar, organised by the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army in collaboration with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), was held in Chandigarh on Saturday.

This year's theme was "Asymmetric Capability through Networked Precision Fires by Artillery". The discussions focused on lessons from global conflicts, emerging asymmetric capabilities and the growing importance of automation and decision superiority in Multi-Domain Operations.

In his opening address, Shinghal said integrating guns, rockets and missiles with unmanned aerial systems, battlefield surveillance systems, satellite and aerial intelligence, precision target-acquisition systems and resilient command-and-control networks could enable disproportionate combat effects against an adversary.

The seminar examined the concept of asymmetry in firepower, under which technological integration, precision, reach, responsiveness and information superiority can allow comparatively smaller forces to impose disproportionate costs on an adversary.

A key focus was the development of a seamless "sensor-to-shooter" architecture capable of rapidly converting battlefield information into accurate targeting solutions.

The discussions also covered the convergence of artillery with unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, communications and precision-guided munitions.

AI-enabled target recognition and decision-support tools, autonomous and semi-autonomous systems, secure battlefield networks, resilient positioning, navigation and timing solutions, and collaborative employment of unmanned platforms were discussed as important elements of the future fires architecture.

The deliberations highlighted the need for forces to be able to detect threats at greater distances, take decisions faster, strike with precision and remain survivable on increasingly complex battlefields.

"Networked precision fires" would therefore represent more than an enhancement of conventional artillery, the official statement said, describing it as an integrated combat architecture built around the convergence of information, technology and firepower.

The seminar began with a tribute to General S F Rodrigues, the 15th Chief of the Army Staff, whose contributions to military modernisation and forward-looking approach continue to be remembered. Rodrigues served as Army chief from 1990 to 1993 and later as governor of Punjab from 2004 to 2010.

In his closing remarks, Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army's Western Command, said the Regiment of Artillery was undergoing comprehensive transformation driven by enhanced ranges, precision, artificial intelligence, automation, persistent surveillance and networking.

He stressed the need to continuously evolve doctrines, technologies, organisational structures and training methodologies to ensure the Indian Artillery remains capable of delivering responsive, precise and decisive fires across the depth of the battlefield.

The seminar concluded with an emphasis on connecting sensors with appropriate weapon systems, rapidly converting information into targeting solutions and delivering precision effects at the time and place of decision as key elements of future artillery capability.